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Poor souls.

NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
edited October 2010 in Buddhism Basics
Today and yesterday have been some awakening like days. There were two things, that followed closely (as time period) one another. In fact, there is one thing. Death. For example yesterday morning, while going to school ,I saw in a bus station the carcass of a dog. From the distance it was like ' Oh, look a dog's dead body! It's nothing special ! I see these dead things by the side of the road smashed with their organs spread on the highway ! So, move on!". But one thing made me think again, at 7 a.m. in a cold, dark, rainy morning : the dog itself. It was a small dog, with black curly hair, and had black eyes. When I passed by that body, The thing that struck me the most was the look. Empty, but at the same time so ... full of life. The dog was just lying down, without moving an inch. It was staring into nowhere. I was beginning to feel afraid. 'Why, why like this ?'. I couldn't answer the 'why' questions that day, vecause I was distracted by the useless things developing very rapidly in my school.

Today, as usual, I arrived home,I was greeted by some of my dogs. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But was one of the dogs, who didn't come to greet me. I thought that nothing happened. I passed by that dog ( which has white fur) and saw some blood stains. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. But, when I was about to enter the house, I saw something lying on the pavement: the body of a freshly killed cat. iwas a bit terrified, because I didn't know what to do. I was asking myself if I should let the cat there for a few more hours, for my parents to see it, and to bury it (well, I , when I heard abut picking up dead things, I refused to do this, because it made me feel really sick), or if I should throw the body at the trash can. I chose to bury it in my own quick style. Got home, changed my clothes, covered my mouth with a rag, grabbed some plastic bags used for storing garbage, and used them to cover the dead body. For me , the whole 'ritual' made me rethink about what bodily life is. When I was trying to cover the dead cat with four sacks but the damn wind was blowing pretty hard, making the 'funeral' a pain in the...rib. I finally managed to bury it into the trash can. Now, today was for me the time I 'touched death'.
I am asking : what is death ? Why did those creatures died that way ?

Comments

  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    edited October 2010
    "What is death?" This is a good koan question! :)
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Death is just a very natural and needed part of life. The only reason we instinctively fear it is because we do not fully understand it. We know that we die... but then what?

    all I know is that I do not worry about death. My death, will come when it will come. I will not fight it (of course I won't stand in traffic)

    My advice to you? sit down, alone, and in a quiet and dim room. Think very long and hard about everything you experienced that day, and try to relate it to yourself as much as possible.
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Well, I tried that, well not really to meditate on those experiences, but to meditate ( contemplate) how death looks like, and during that session, I got really scared about the thougth of...not existing. :(. I'll try again to 'see' death again on another session.
  • ravkesravkes Veteran
    edited October 2010
    What is death?

    Forget that, what is life?

    :)
  • edited October 2010
    What is life?

    Forget that, where's my beer?!
  • edited October 2010
    Where's my beer?

    forget that, where's my BEAR??
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited October 2010
    @ karmadorje and Pietro, your beers are in the fridge , or on the shelves of some supermarket; and about the bears...go into the middle of the forest. Don't forget to bring guns and ammo with you. ( :ot:)
  • edited October 2010
    I got really scared about the thougth of...not existing. :(. I'll try again to 'see' death again on another session.

    If you did not exist at some point, then something stopped you from not existing. At every point in your life events have taken place to prevent such a thing from happening, which makes a little more sense than some sort of non-existing you waiting around in hyper space.

    Imagine a brain with billions of cells in it. Each cell is aware that it has a finite lifespan. One of them goes 'oh crap, I'm done for' not knowing that it's part of the rest of the brain. Now this cell eventually dies, but it's part of the whole and a new one comes along. It goes 'oh crap, I'm done for' unknowing that the same thing has happened over and over.

    It's a bit like in that new film moon where... oh wait maybe you've not seen it yet?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q
  • edited October 2010
    I found a really realistic skull at a holloween shop last week. I use it to practice my death meditation. Its a great tool and was very inexpesive. It is good to contemplate death, it helps with understanding inpermenence, and interbeing.:om:
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Well when you think about it utterly ceasing to exist isn't so bad.

    I mean it's not like you'll be around to worry about it.
  • edited October 2010
    The way I see it. IT is the working of karma, cause and effect. High possibility that in previously life, the cat killed or cause grievously harm to your white dog. This live, your dog return in kind. Contemplating on this, life is short - practice hard and escape this suffering.

    Amituofo
  • ChrysalidChrysalid Veteran
    edited October 2010
    First thing that pops into my mind, did you recognise the cat? There is probably a family out there worrying about their beloved pet, I'd stick a flyer up to let people know you've found (and buried) a cat with a short description.

    As for death, you'll never truly appreciate it until you watch something die. It's a process, not an event or a state of being. There's no such thing as a dead dog.
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    edited October 2010
    In the romanian country-side, there is no such thing as pets. People let their what you call pets out in the streets during the day (dogs especially) , and let them in at night. As for the cat, it was a stray one. As I said, in the countryside there is no such thing as pet, especially when it comes to cats. In my area, cats wander during the day, and come to someone's home during the night to eat.
  • BarraBarra soto zennie wandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of Canada Veteran
    Where I live we have turkey buzzards that clean the 'carrion' (aka road kill) off the road. Very effective system. I don't think they operate in the city, though....
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    Well, we have crows, but, still most of the road-kills are left there to rot in the middle of the road.
  • edited January 2011
    I've been to the Romanian countryside a long time ago, NomaDBuddha, and in the villages some people do keep guard dogs on a chain. I'd think it would be dangerous to let dogs run free.
    Dacă vrei, putăm să vorbim romanește.
    In the romanian country-side, there is no such thing as pets. People let their what you call pets out in the streets during the day (dogs especially) , and let them in at night.
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    I've been to the Romanian countryside a long time ago, NomaDBuddha, and in the villages some people do keep guard dogs on a chain. I'd think it would be dangerous to let dogs run free.
    Dacă vrei, putăm să vorbim romanește.
    Well, normal people keep their guard dogs o an chain. But where I live now, there are no normal people.

    Bine, hai să vorbim româneşte ! :D:lol:
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    "Dacă vrei, putăm să vorbim romanește."
    Mai corect era : "Dacă vrei, putem să vorbim româneşte."
  • edited January 2011
    De ce în satul tău n-are lume normală? Ați avut o invădire de țigani? :lol: Unde în România locuieșți? Eu am fost cîteva oare în Munții Apuseni. Am cunoscut și Sinaia
    Iartă-mă, asta e prima oară că am utilizat programul de limba română. Nu cunosc bine "keyboard"-ul. :o Și n-am vorbit românește foarte mulți ani!
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    Locuiesc în sudul Bucureştiului, deşi am locuit 16 ani în capitală. No, pun o întrebare, eşti român, sau ai învăţat româna ?

    Aşa, on-topic : oamenii aceia din satul meu nu sunt normali, pentru că nu prea au auzit de bun simţ. Parcă nu există aşa ceva în sat. Bine, cu câteva excepţii.
  • Am învățat română la universitate în America. Mi-a plăcut foarte mult România. Dar nu știu care e situația actuală acolo. Nu prea avem noutăți din România aici. Care e situația politică, dacă se poate întreba? Si cum ai învățat engleză așa de bine?
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    1.Situaţia din România e una foarte foarte proastă, din toate punctele de vedere, politic mai ales. Politicienii fac numai tâmpenii.
    2. Am învăţat limba engleză la şcoală şi, în paralel cu şcoala, la nişte cursuri particulare.
  • Unde vrei să lucrezi, într-o zi? Probabil vrei să mergi la universitate, și după aceea, ce planuri ai?
  • judajia ejkla dbnia la-ierahr maniekas, lakksue puisskkalme?
  • edited February 2011
    Hahaha! You caught us, Journey! SHHHhhhhhh...don't tell anyone, or the moderators will shut us down. :)

    (You know, that almost sounds like Finnish and/or Baltic. If you faked it, you did a good job. ;) )
  • Hey i'm on your side!
  • :thumbsup:
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    Unde vrei să lucrezi, într-o zi? Probabil vrei să mergi la universitate, și după aceea, ce planuri ai?
    Vreau să mă duc la medicină şi să ajung...nu ştiu...medic ortoped. Mai am destul timp să mă gândesc la ce facultate să mă duc .
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    Ok, we exagerated...indeed...let's return to the topic:deat and dead things, shall we ?
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