Tuesday, November 15, 2005
11/15/2005 10:42:00 AM
11/15/2005 10:42:00 AM
For Raymond
posted by Francis Ho
I received an email yesterday morning from a friend informing me of the tragic death of her brother Raymond, whom I had never met. Words fail you at times like this. What can you say to ease the pains the family is feeling.
This struck a chord as my eldest brother Ho Khee Jin also passed away suddenly at his prime when his life was just beginning after graduating from 
As I drove home later than usual from work and feeling melancholy, it started to rain and the sky bled dark red in the setting sun. The colour of this last light was most unusual and unlike any I had ever seen. When I reached home I instinctively took out my camera to capture the fading half light in the brooding sky, with wrenching thoughts of departed love ones whirling in my head, despite the rain and mosquitoes. Is heaven crying at times like this?
Regardless of our awareness of it or not; we are all loved and our lives had been meaningful, wonderful and significant in ways unknown to us.
May your soul rest in peace, Raymond.
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At Wednesday, 16 November, 2005 Robin CHAN said:
What Happens to Us After Death?
According to Buddhist tradition, reincarnation is a process in which the spirit is continually reborn after death until ultimate enlightenment is reached.
The Christian believes that death is when the soul is sent to judgment and, according to whether or not the soul was saved, will either be granted into heaven or damned in hell.
But whatever your religion or belief may be, death is very seldom discussed and not many people actually prepare for their own death.
Not many but one, my dad, who wrote his own obituary, decided on his own funeral plan, chose what he wished to be burried in and what clothes to wear in the coffin. He even got all the ang pow ready for all the helpers and visitors for his wake.
I, for one, will have to learn this preparation and planning as death, to all, is inevitable.
According to Buddhist tradition, reincarnation is a process in which the spirit is continually reborn after death until ultimate enlightenment is reached.
The Christian believes that death is when the soul is sent to judgment and, according to whether or not the soul was saved, will either be granted into heaven or damned in hell.
But whatever your religion or belief may be, death is very seldom discussed and not many people actually prepare for their own death.
Not many but one, my dad, who wrote his own obituary, decided on his own funeral plan, chose what he wished to be burried in and what clothes to wear in the coffin. He even got all the ang pow ready for all the helpers and visitors for his wake.
I, for one, will have to learn this preparation and planning as death, to all, is inevitable.
At Wednesday, 16 November, 2005 Francis Ho said:
That's really admirable of your dad.
Sociologist Tony Campolo told about a study in which fifty people over the age of ninety were asked to reflect upon their lives. "If you had it to do over again," they were asked, "what would you do differently?" There was a multiplicity of answers, but three responses dominated. Here they are.
1. I would reflect more. Do you ever feel that too much time is spent in "doing," and not enough spent thinking about what you are doing and why you are doing it?
2. I would risk more. Do you think that important opportunities either have been or might be forfeited because of your fear to take a necessary risk?
3. I would do more things that would live on after I died. Do you feel that you are immersed in something bigger and more enduring than your own existence?
Sociologist Tony Campolo told about a study in which fifty people over the age of ninety were asked to reflect upon their lives. "If you had it to do over again," they were asked, "what would you do differently?" There was a multiplicity of answers, but three responses dominated. Here they are.
1. I would reflect more. Do you ever feel that too much time is spent in "doing," and not enough spent thinking about what you are doing and why you are doing it?
2. I would risk more. Do you think that important opportunities either have been or might be forfeited because of your fear to take a necessary risk?
3. I would do more things that would live on after I died. Do you feel that you are immersed in something bigger and more enduring than your own existence?