She was unwanted. Not the father. Not the mother. She did not know the love of her parents. Orphaned and lonely, she struggled to find love to sustain her young heart. But her foster mother was not one to give love easily. She had only profit on her mind and used her adopted child in many ways to achieve her objectives.
It took courage. But when the child finally leaves the cold embrace of her foster mother to the embrace of her new husband, she thought she found salvation.
She was wrong. The man was not one to endure the hardships of reality and turn to abusing his wife. Silently, she endured for the sake of her children. But eventually, her heart hardens and she became increasing bitter and when her children grew to adulthood, she realized that she can no longer accept the loves of her children.
But that was when she found hope. A kindly friend inspired her with teachings from Buddhism. Renewed, she struggled day and night to provide hope to others who are suffering. Daily, she seeks to help the poor, the sick and the distressed. And slowly, her life revolved. From an uneducated and unfortunate child, she learned to quote many teachings and could even explain many of life’s concepts. She had become a lady respected by thousands.
She developed compassion. It was an impressive achievement for a heart which was closed for so many years. But much emotional baggage continued to plague her. But her passion to help others never wavered.
She had declared after learning that there are plans for a new headquarter for the Singapore Soka Association in ten years time that she would be too old to enjoy the facilities, so she plans to pass from this world and be reincarnated quickly to witness the event. A few weeks ago, her schedule became increasingly hectic. She had told a friend that she would be busy until the 6 Jan 2008. And true to her words, 6 Jan was to be the day she was cremated at the veteran age of 80.
A few days before her passing, she entered into depression, telling her children that she was suffering from heart pain. She also mentioned that she was remembering more and more things from her past. Many doctors she consulted all told her to放心. She did not understand immediately.
Then a day just before her passing, her mood picked up and she was so cheerful that everyone was amazed. She declared that she understood everything now. She had 放心 discarded all her emotional baggage. She knew that her children love her and she accepted all the loves around her. She was happy. She was enlightened.
The day she passed away, she was making her way to the Singapore Soka Association Headquarters to encourage her fellow members. To her last moments, all she could think of was to help another person to find hope. It was the perfect ending.
That was the story of Mdm Wong as I heard from her eulogy. It was one of the most touching eulogy I heard. I did not know her personally though the GF did. I wished I did
But I did learn a valuable lesson. That no matter how hard life is, it is important to learn how to 放心.
It took courage. But when the child finally leaves the cold embrace of her foster mother to the embrace of her new husband, she thought she found salvation.
She was wrong. The man was not one to endure the hardships of reality and turn to abusing his wife. Silently, she endured for the sake of her children. But eventually, her heart hardens and she became increasing bitter and when her children grew to adulthood, she realized that she can no longer accept the loves of her children.
But that was when she found hope. A kindly friend inspired her with teachings from Buddhism. Renewed, she struggled day and night to provide hope to others who are suffering. Daily, she seeks to help the poor, the sick and the distressed. And slowly, her life revolved. From an uneducated and unfortunate child, she learned to quote many teachings and could even explain many of life’s concepts. She had become a lady respected by thousands.
She developed compassion. It was an impressive achievement for a heart which was closed for so many years. But much emotional baggage continued to plague her. But her passion to help others never wavered.
She had declared after learning that there are plans for a new headquarter for the Singapore Soka Association in ten years time that she would be too old to enjoy the facilities, so she plans to pass from this world and be reincarnated quickly to witness the event. A few weeks ago, her schedule became increasingly hectic. She had told a friend that she would be busy until the 6 Jan 2008. And true to her words, 6 Jan was to be the day she was cremated at the veteran age of 80.
A few days before her passing, she entered into depression, telling her children that she was suffering from heart pain. She also mentioned that she was remembering more and more things from her past. Many doctors she consulted all told her to放心. She did not understand immediately.
Then a day just before her passing, her mood picked up and she was so cheerful that everyone was amazed. She declared that she understood everything now. She had 放心 discarded all her emotional baggage. She knew that her children love her and she accepted all the loves around her. She was happy. She was enlightened.
The day she passed away, she was making her way to the Singapore Soka Association Headquarters to encourage her fellow members. To her last moments, all she could think of was to help another person to find hope. It was the perfect ending.
That was the story of Mdm Wong as I heard from her eulogy. It was one of the most touching eulogy I heard. I did not know her personally though the GF did. I wished I did
But I did learn a valuable lesson. That no matter how hard life is, it is important to learn how to 放心.
