Life, Death and Ancestors
How can arrangements after a pet’s death express blessing rather than only keeping it close?
English translation draft · Based on the Chinese article. This is not a word-for-word translation approved by Master Shengyuan.
When a beloved pet dies, it is natural to find it hard to part. As you arrange what happens afterwards, consider whether you are trying to keep the animal with you or wishing it well on its way to a better place. If you have a faith, you can also seek help through rites, asking Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to guide and assist the pet.
Before deciding on arrangements, you can try to understand the animal and clarify what you yourself intend to do. When YOYO and I discussed this, we mentioned pet communication and divination. These are ways we use within our faith to understand pets, hoping to learn more about their wishes before making arrangements.
After YOYO’s beloved dog died, she consulted chess cards and eventually buried it in a place in her garden that it had enjoyed during its lifetime. Her home had the space to make that possible. Without those conditions, other arrangements would need to be considered. In her heart, YOYO hoped that the dog would have the blessings to go somewhere better, and that, if the connection remained, they might meet again in a different way. She was not insisting that it remain beside her in its original form.
We can keep our remembrance in our hearts. Keeping mementos is not entirely wrong, but from the perspective of practice I would prefer that people gradually learn to let go. Especially if an object keeps you trapped in sadness and makes the attachment harder to release, notice whether what began as a blessing has turned into a wish to hold the animal here.
If there are still things you want to say to the pet, you can express those feelings. At one pet ceremony in which Dao Xuan and I participated, the owner could not attend and joined by video instead. Through our perceptions at the time, we felt the pet’s reluctance to part with its family, and gave the family an opportunity to speak from the heart. The staff all found that occasion very warm. When saying goodbye, we can express gratitude and blessings properly as well as arrange a ritual.