But worldly affairs kept me occupied, and that moment, 20.05, came and went, never to return again. Mum passed away, moved on to a world away from this one that is full of issues and conflicts, full of problems created by people and misunderstandings. I do not know what is in the world beyond, but really often I wonder why if the world is already so full of discontents and imperfections, people must still somehow find a way to create even more problems.
Just spent over ten minutes on the phone with the priest who is supposed to take care of mum's funeral arrangements and make sure her transition from this world to the next takes place as smoothly as possible. This morning he called to say he quit, because of disagreements with my uncle (mum's second brother). "A personality problem," the priest said, and explained everything comes down to respect, mutual respect. I don't know what clash of personality has taken place, all I know is that the priest and my uncle were on the phone for over an hour last night.
Brother is close to tears now that the priest quit. "All I want is to make sure everything goes smoothly, and that mum can go peacefully..." After spending so long on the phone with the priest, I had to comfort him, reassure him that even if he quits, it does not really matter.
"It is all just rituals and rites. And so if not everything is perfectly followed according to how it should be done?" I told him. In my mind, what matters most is our intentions and our actions. And I believe that my brother and I have done everything we possibly could to be with mum and to give her a beautiful end to a life well lived. Just because there are certain rites and rituals that are not followed properly and conducted under the guidance of a priest trained in the 'invisible arts', does that mean that mum's spirit will suffer and that she will forever be condemned to a life of pain and suffering in the hereafter?
I believe in karma, not mysticism and rituals thought up by people. If we do good, we put good energy into the universe, and we will receive good energy in return. And I believe mum has been a good person, and that she has done a lot of good in her life. Even the monk in the mountains said so, for why else would she be surrounded by so many loved ones and have so much good fortune throughout her life, and especially at the end of it?
Problems are created, and are never there in the physical sense. They are mental states, just like emotions and feelings are. And they are created by people.
If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.
Dalai Lama
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