transcending to paradise

Today was the final day of the funeral and monks were engaged from this organisation called Heart for Peace. The lead monk is Bhikkhu Buddha Dhatu, who led the prayers with his team of 9 - 3 men, 3 women, and 3 young boys. As there were a lot of preparations to be done for the prayers and many people moving about, that strange chill suddenly came back, and I knew that something was clinging onto me again. I engrossed myself deeply in the prayers by the 9 as I felt that the monk was emitting energies. He believes that he helps human beings go to paradise. Throughout the session, I saw his paradise. It was a space with a lotus and many bright spots of light around it. As it was the first time I saw this image, I was quite sure that it was from him.

Those shivers continued and a feeling of uneasiness swarmed over me. The prayers required us to walk around the coffin 3 times, and each time, I had the strong urge not to look at the body, so I briefly glimpsed, as a form of respect. It was as if I had wandered off for a few days, and then suddenly got called back, and I don't know why. The prayers were indeed effective because at the end of all the praying, I felt that I was back to normal, so I know that the grandma's soul must have transcended to paradise.

I was grateful to be part of the experience, and wonder whether the others felt the same. I felt extremely serene and at ease. After everything ended, I went to read the monk's book, because he said we can learn more by reading his book. After reading, I refreshed my memory of what I used to tell myself, that I need to do good deeds, for a better next life. Of course we may say that we are what we are now because we worked hard for it, but I believe in karma, and that a past life of good deeds results in a good present life. For example, if your past life was a nurse, and you served many patients, then the good karma accumulated results in a good present life, less hardship and burdens. However, if we take advantage of the good life and forget about serving the community, then our next life will not be as good. So then we wonder why we bother about our next life... It's just so that we have a peace of mind when we leave our bodies, that we have done many good deeds in the present life, and we are moving on to a better next life, with no regrets.