COMING TO TERMS

Article by

KAYSOON KHOO

Death may not be the most cheerful subject to touch upon but we shouldn't be reluctant or afraid to think about it. It's the one absolute certainty each and every one of us has. What begins MUST end.

There is a well-known story of a woman who approached a sage with the corpse of her only child in her arms, begging him to use his powers to bring her dead child to life again. He agreed to do it for her on one condition. She must bring him a mustard seed from a house which death has never visited.

She went through the whole town to ask for that mustard seed but the inhabitants of every house she called at told her their homes had seen death at one time or another in the past. Aggrieved, she returned to the sage and told him she could not get that mustard seed. Every single home she visited had known the presence of the Grim Reaper.

The sage comforted her by showing her how to come to terms with the death of her child. He taught her death is the inevitable outcome of life, no matter when, how or where death claims its due.

Death is the culmination of all life on the material plane. When life springs, within it is embedded its own inevitable end. We should remind ourselves of this when we are in deep grief over the death of a loved one. The question we should pose ourselves is whether it is better to remember that loved one with pain or with love. Pain serves no purposes unless it teaches. What are we learning by prolonging or sorrow?

Words of comfort help when one is in pain. So do the sympathy and concern of others. But pain can be healed soonest when the balm of wisdom is applied on the wound. It is always the right knowledge that effects all cures.