A morbid subject

My uncle passed away last week and the family donated his body to the hospital for a program titled 'Silent Mentor'.  Throughout the wake, there were only prayers, but no body.  Friends and family who came to pay last respect can only see his photo and not the body.  

Hmm...such a subject in my baby/child friendly blog.  But I feel the need to touch on this.  It makes me wondered about life and the end of it and what happens after we die.  Every religions has their own belief and somehow I feel weird about the whole thing.

I have heard of organ donation but this is the first time ever hearing about body donation.  However, if you go to the website for Silent Mentor, you would see that the whole process is very respectful, dignified and honorable.

Just that I can't seem to understand the whole thing and it really define 'funeral' in a new way.  Because of this, there was no funeral, there was no last journey before the cremation, there was no last send-off.  So, it leaves like a gap in my brain that I felt there was no closure.  But another way to look at it, you become detached with the whole thing about having a body and there is no need to shed a tear because it is not that sad after all.

My uncle had been ill for the last 2 years.  His family had spent almost a fortune to treat him.  I visited him 2 weeks before he passed and although his speech was slurring, I could get the understanding that he doesn't want to be operated anymore.  He just want to be home and just want to die peacefully, I assume?  However, his family has different set of opinion about this.  Because my uncle's sickness was never determined, he was only treated symptomatically.  There was no answer as to why he needed blood transfusion every week or why there was liquid in his chest or how come his blood pressure would go down the moment he sits up.  So he was in and out of the hospital, doing multiple test and so on, to the extent I felt the doctors gave up on treatment as he was already in his 70s.

I was told by the family that my uncle had always wanted to do organ donation.  But because he was sick, all his organs were out of order and can't be donated.  Therefore, they decided to donate the body instead.  

But....my uncle clearly said he doesn't want to be operated anymore.  What does body donation do to him?  More cuts without anesthetic I guess since he doesn't feel pain anymore.  So that's the whole scientific thing that I can't seem to comprehend.  Did the family decide on this just so to show that my uncle was very generous?  How about my uncle's last wishes?  That we will never get to find out.  It was bothering my quite a bit but now I just let it go and I pray that I will be able to fulfill my parents' last wishes, whatever it may be.

Now, forget about the scientific part.  How about the spiritual part?  What happens when the soul leaves the body?  Some said it will linger on near the body.  Does that mean my uncle is around his body still, which is kept frozen in the mortuary until the next Silent Mentor program in January 2019?  Then when the family did Buddhist prayer at the funeral home, does that mean my uncle couldn't hear it because he was following the body and not his family or his photo?  So what's the point of chanting the prayers then?  I have so many questions that can't be answer.  I just feel the whole thing defeats the purpose.  The whole wake I mean.  It's for my uncle, but he wasn't there.  So who was it for and what is it for?  I mean I look at it this way.  A wake is for friends and family to pay last respect to the deceased.  A wake is also to prepare the deceased for his onward journey to the another world.  But now what happens with this body donation program?  Does that mean my uncle have to wait until January before he can leave this world?  Would the family still chant Buddhist prayer to him then?

Then there is this part of me that think, hey, the body is just a shell.  Once you die, there is nothing more left.  You leave immediately.  There will be angels or someone to lead you and guide you to where you supposed to go.  So, there's no worry if he can hear the prayers or not.  He will be guided.  That gave me comfort.

So yeah, a morbid subject in my baby/kid friendly blog.  Makes me question about life after death.  But doesn't matter.  I will just do my best to those who are still alive and would respect their wishes and whatever they want.  No matter what, don't go to bed angry.  Don't hate someone for life.  Just forgive and move on with life.  Because life is so fragile and you don't know what your next-of-kin would do to you.  Just be kind and generous and live life to the fullest.  And hopefully, the Gods and Goddesses listens to your prayers and guide you all the way to the afterlife.