AT A FUNERAL

AT A FUNERAL

What is born, dies. That is the story of both the body and all material things. If we think we are our body, the story ends there. But if we examine who we are and understand that we are not our body, then we may begin to recognize something else. There is that which is not born. Which does not dies. “What we attend the funeral, we may start to think about our own. We say” If we both come into the world with nothing and leave with nothing, what does our life mean? Does it mean anything? This is the same question that the Buddha asked many years ago. He also answered it. Someone we knew and loved is now nothing but bone and ash. How is it possible? How can someone we knew, who was active, who we love become just bone and ash? But this is the body, which is actually made up of earth, fire, water and air. When it creamed, it returns again to these four elements. Examine the ash and bones, which are displayed after the cremation. The bones now look like coal dug out of the earth. They are hot, but after the heal they may be poured gently into the cool river, or blown into the air the whole story? A Khmer funeral is both a regular ceremony that we may experience any day and part of our ancient culture and tradition. We ought to be able to learn something from it.