Our beloved pets are important
Dear friends,
Every member of our family that loves us is important. Be they human or animal. Many have pets that are more family than human family. Pets usually are loyal, uncomplaining and give us love, affection and company. When they pass, it can be as devastating as any human member of our family. Some people might feel pet funerals are extravagant or unnecessary, but to the pet owner, it is a way of thanking the pet for the wonderful company they provided in life. This article is really interesting in that more and more people are spending on pet funerals and pet funeral homes are growing. What is your opinion? I feel it is more than fine.
Tsem Rinpoche
P.S. It is good to give mani pills, or blessed items with the animal to bless them on their journey for cremation or they can be buried with them. These items can be placed in their mouths. Reciting the mantras of Medicine Buddha, Namgyalma, Manjushri, Tsongkapa and Dorje Shugden is very beneficial for the animal. You can recite the mantras of these Buddhas and blow on the pets daily or on their bodies after they have passed away as much as possible. These mantras are wonderful to be blown on them daily when they are alive. 35 Confessional Buddha Sutra, Heart Sutra, Vajrasattva prayers, Medicine Buddha pujas/prayers are also excellent for a deceased pet. One can save some of the hairs of the pets and have a ‘ruchok’ puja done on the hairs and it can be enshrined in a large outdoor stupa of a monastery/temple or a personal indoor stupa or Buddha image. This would generate merit for the pets too. The ruchok puja on hair of pets can be for live and deceased pets. It is nice to always recite mantras, various prayers for the pets to hear and blow on them daily. They provide you with company and love and you provide them with a good rebirth in their next lives by the power of these mantras. Pujas for live and deceased pets can be done by yourself or others.Very good to bless the pet daily with holy mantras and prayers or have them circumambulate around stupas or Buddha images if possible. Buddha images in the garden where the pets play is good. I have a consecrated Medicine Buddha statue in my pets’ room where they sleep. Offering of light and water is offered to Medicine Buddha for my three pets daily in their rooms. Expose our pets to the Three Jewels as much as possible to effect a good rebirth for them in the future. Our love for them should extend beyond this life but into their future lives.
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Business bringing new life to pet funerals
By Ke Jiayun | September 14, 2015, Monday
A carved wood coffin is borne by limousine hearse to a 750-year-old temple in Pudong New Area, where Buddhist monks chant eulogies to the deceased before the body is cremated and the ashes turned into a synthetic memorial diamond.
Has someone famous died? No, the object of this funeral is a pet dog.
Shanghai households that treat pets as family members are sparing no expense when it comes to caring for their dogs, during life and after. In addition to funerals, they splash cash on pet spas and insurance.
It may all seem a bit strange to those without dogs, but the pet services industry is thriving. Just ask Zhou Jinxia, owner of the Shanghai Shiyou Pet Service Co in the Minhang District. He’s been in the business for four years.
“Customers come from other provinces seeking our services,” Zhou told Shanghai Daily.
The cost of a pet funeral can range from 500 yuan (US$78) to 9,000 yuan.
For the popular 780-yuan service, Zhou and his staff place the pet’s body on a flowerbed, where it is groomed and a few prayers said before cremation. The ashes are given to the owner. The top of the range is the hearse and monks service.
“When we started out, the going was tough,” Zhou said. “We had barely one customer a week, sometimes none. But now, thanks to online and offline promotion, and word of mouth, numbers are growing.”
Zhou’s “funeral parlor” evokes the aura of one devoted to humans. The staff wear white shirts, the color of bereavement in China. The walls contain loving photos of dogs gone, surrounded by wreathes.
The company also owns a 2,000-square-meter pet cemetery in Huinan Town in the Pudong New Area for dog lovers who don’t want their pets cremated. An online cemetery is also provided.
Zhou is frequently asked why on earth a Shanghai Jiao Tong University graduate would go into the pet funeral business.
He said it all began with his pet dog Xiao Hua, that was poisoned in 2006.
“She was adorable, a really good dog,” Zhou said. “Even now, I still remember her following me around and sitting at my feet when I watched television.
“Then, one day, I found her frothing at the mouth and took her to a pet hospital where she died. I wrapped her body in a white cloth and was going to bury her.
“At that moment, I decided to give my dog a funeral and bury her ashes where mine would be buried someday.”
Zhou said while the local government operates a center for cremating dead pets, his company was formed to go beyond that and give pet owners more remembrance.
“If you search online, you can find several companies offering similar services to ours,” he said. “But the quality varies, and some are just swindlers out to take advantage of grieving pet owners.”
Yu Yin, the owner of 3-year-old West Highland terrier named Mi Mi, told Shanghai Daily that she understands why people would want funerals for beloved pets.
“If I am able to afford it, I would be willing to pay for such services,” she said.
Gu Aiping, vice general-secretary of the Shanghai Pet Trade Association, said dog lovers should be realistic about the death of pets even though their grief at the loss may be deep.
“I still advise pet owners to have a standard pet cremation and not buy a grave,” he said.
Funerals aren’t the only burgeoning service for pet owners. Grooming is a booming industry as well and last month, qualification tests for pet groomers were held at Pet Fair Asia 2015.
Li Zhun, a manager at the Shanghai branch of Shenzhen-based Ruipeng Pet Hospital, said that new services include pet spas providing skin care, high-protein coat supplements, de-fleaing and de-worming.
Li said his 100-plus staff of certificated pet groomers also offers Japanese and South Korean “styles.”
“Our groomers’ mission is to make the pets look prettier and let everyone see them at their cutest,” he said.
“A new look also brings joy to their owners.”
“We generally receive over 700 customers at a Ruipeng outlet per month,” Li said. “One third of owners try new services.
Ruipeng Pet Hospital also provides pet insurance for accidents, death and even advertisement fees paid by owners looking for lost pets.
Keeping pampered pooches looking their best is certainly a lucrative business.
Westie owner Yu admits that she spends about 300 yuan a month on grooming for Mi Mi.
Source: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/society/Business-bringing-new-life-to-pet-funerals/shdaily.shtml
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Thank you for the good thought and sharing. In my own experience, pets are usually loyal, affection, uncomplaining give us company and love. When they pass, it can be as devastating for us as a family member.
Through this article, i get to know that reciting the mantras of Medicine Buddha, Namgyalma, Manjushri, Tsongkapa and Dorje Shugden has very much effect and beneficial for the animal. It is good to reciting mantras or other prayers for our pets hears and blow on them daily. This will help our pets to have a good rebirth in their next lives and also they will always protect us with good company. I had a good read and will share this article with my family and friends.
An interesting article.We treat our pets equally as a member of our family.Love and care for them no matter what happen to them .They are royal and keeping us companion.To thank them it would be wonderful to have a proper burial for them as more and more people are having funeral for pets nowadays..As advice by Rinpoche always recite mantras, various prayers for the pets to hear and blow on them daily.Well i have been doing it since i know recite mantras can help them.I do hope my pet might have a good rebirth in her next live.
It is good that now funeral parlor do provide pets funeral services for pets owners.Is a sign that peoples thought towards pets are changing.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
Animals, our companions deserve to go with dignity. Least we can do for them.
As we age, we experience an increasing number of major life changes, including the loss of beloved friends, family members, and pets. The death of a pet can hit retired seniors even harder than younger adults who may be able to draw on the comfort of a close family, or distract themselves with the routine of work. For older adults who live alone, the pet was probably your sole companion, and taking care of the animal provided you with a sense of purpose and self-worth.
I agree with the idea but at the same time I don’t really agree with it. Why I agree with it is mainly because I think it is great that the owners of the dead pets actually treats them equally just like how they treat their own families and that is most probably why they would even go as far as buying coffins for their beloved pets.
Why I don’t really agree is because this idea also kinda let me think that the pet owners are overly attached to their beloved pets, and it is never good to be overly attached to something, especially the being has passed on.
Please do not get me wrong though. It is fantastic that you love and care for your pets, but when they pass on, we should let them go as well. It is very hard not to hold on to them because you love them so much, but it is also not good for them as they might choose to be attached to you in spirit forms and they will have trouble taking a good rebirth. Thank you for reading.
This is really an interesting article. It makes sense, but still very interesting.
Everyone should love their pets, and care for them until they are gone. And judging from this article, many people still care for their beloved pets even after they have passed away. Its not easy to develop this kind of mindset and i am happy that people have done what they did in this article.
The reason why i am happy about this article is because the fact that pet funerals now exist shows that pets are not being put onto the same level as family members. This is amazing to know as people are actually considering their pets are a real part of the family, and that they deserve the best, even when the pass away.
Anyway, to conclude i would like to say that this is a sign that peoples thoughts and opinions towards pets are changing and becoming stronger. Pets now hold a stronger and more concrete role in society and in families. They are becoming more respected and cared for. We must keep this up.
Thank you for sharing this article with us Rinpoche. Really very interesting to read about.
I totally support funeral services and cremation for our beloved pets. All of them have personalities and are unique. They keep us company and make us laugh and sometimes angry. hehe. They are like our own children. So it makes so much sense to give them dignity when they pass on. I wish there were such services when my pet dogs passed away many years ago. I was deeply saddened to see my “children” pass on during the years. I was never with them when they passed away as I was at work. It broke my heart to not being there.
They are now buried at the backyard of my parent’s house where they can rest in peace. I hope they’ve take a good rebirth.
Funeral services are very beneficial for both the deceased and owners.
I completely agree on why is should be a thing because I respect and love my pets like family and like people because I know that hey are just like us and I willing Leah’s look at my dogs as one other being or person. Same level of respect. When my pets die my family does something to wish and see them off like we do because we are quite religious and at is good and I learned from Rinpoche’s teachings that all beings are equal and pets are my way of proof and seeing that animals are like us.
Once you take that puppy home or that poor animal home hey are in your family now whether you like it or not so you must take care of that animal because you too kind he responsibility and the commitment to take care of him/her. So we take care of them through life and earn and if you don’t and you took an animal home and don’t care for your poor pet, I will not respect you, you take their chance of life away and you by signing the forms to take the pet home, you stop any chance of a better life for that animal.
Because of that, we should look after our beloved pets through life and death. So we should take the time to see them off properly and make sure that they will be safe and do this out of love and your commitment to them as a last act of care and love. I know the day wil come when my dogs die, I will dread that day, but I will love my dogs every moment I am not with them and when I am too. they are a part of my family.
While concentrating on the contents of the above blog, my attention was suddenly being drawn away by the Head-Lines of the Star paper showing “Battle to check Rabies in Penang, Kedah and Perlis go full swing”. It was said that an estimated 25,000 stray dogs had to be admitted as derived from pursued complaints. It was also alleged that the state veterinary services had failed to control the growth of stray dogs in recent years. But, it was said the Government is not being cruel or inhumane in ‘CULLING’ (i.e. put to death by killing,burning) the rabies’dogs, as it is the most effective method to curb the spread of the deadly disease, even to humans. When culling was announced by the Govt., the animal rights Group mount fresh protests in stringent disapprovals! Such on-goings on this sensitive phenomena is being driven on a ding-dong! It is true to say that the representatives and parties concerned were being swept through and fro by four “raging rivers of attachment, confusion, desire and wrong view” at this disturbing juncture! Sometimes we can be caught up in some very strong pull-and-push dilemenas torn between love and hate, attachment and rejection. Many a times we shed tears, not crocodile tears, but real heart aching/breaking tears! As such many of us may have the experience of suffering such tormenting phenomena during our lives. Therefore, if you do feel that any pets are part of your family, are loyal, loving, affectionate and provide good company by all means, they too very deserve to be treated as “SENTIENT BEINGS” in all respects!!! Om mani padmi hung.