New names for the deads…

In Japan, when someone dies, the family and friends can invent a new name for the dead (better do it yourself, monks charge an obscene amount of money for it). It’s all as if death was just a process, to start afresh a new life, up there with Buddah… Dead people seem to carry on with a physical existence. I was invited tonight by a japanese friend, Taka. This man has lost his sweetheart, years ago. But he still has her photo on a little shelf, and he had gently put around a little plate with some sushis, a glass of wine, peanuts … all things she enjoyed during her life, and that he wanted to share with her again tonight… It’s so moving…