Sunday, September 28, 2008 Lim: Superstition By Melanie T. Lim Wide Awake
THE Asian culture is replete with superstitious beliefs. The Chinese as well as Filipino cultures are no exception. Raised in the midst of both cultures, I have often been irked by the endless rules and rituals I have been told are necessary to preserve harmony in life.
The Chinese, for instance, live in great fear of death—-the old folks don’t speak of it because death, to them, connotes bad luck, misfortune, tragedy. So when death arrives in a family, this “bad luck” must be broken or overturned by a host of rituals too many to enumerate.
Elaborate efforts are made to send someone off to the next life so they will not return. The preparation of money (not the real kind, of course) is an absolute must. Gold and silver paper (symbolic of money) are folded in different styles and marked with the name of the deceased and then burned.
Of course, the more money you send, the better. And the reason for marking them with the names of the deceased? Well, as my cousin would say “If I wrote you a check, wouldn’t you rather have it paid to Melanie T. Lim than paid to Cash? Hmm...
I don’t believe death brings bad luck. And I don’t mind if the deceased comes back. After all, I’ve often called on my deceased grandparents to hold my hand when I am in pain or in a bind. They’ve always sowed strength not fear in me.
Some people actually buy special mourning clothes to wear to a funeral and discard these afterwards simply because they hold the irrational belief that these mourning clothes will bring them bad luck if they take them home. Any other item associated with the funeral, for that matter, is often discarded for the same absurd reason.
In this life, I may be branded a heretic but I take my faith to the end—-holding no irrational fear of death and not requiring money or mansions in the after-life.
Thank God, most people have come to their senses and stopped sending paper cars and mansions to the deceased. The bereaved, after all, can be persuaded to do anything to make life better for their loved ones in the after-life. It doesn’t matter that it doesn’t make sense. At their most vulnerable state, they can be had.
I have often challenged friends and relatives who are devout Catholics and yet strangely cling to the fear of death and all the “bad luck” it supposedly brings. I thought you believed in God. If you do, then, why do you fear death? As the good monsignor whose masses I have attended in the past week has said, “Death represents a change not an end of life.”
If there is anything you should fear, it should be the living who harbor evil intentions in their hearts NOT the dead who have returned to the arms of God.
The American Heritage dictionary defines superstition as an irrational belief that an object, action or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome. I contend that I don’t believe in superstition. But I suppose atheists would argue that my faith is superstition itself. Let’s leave the verdict to the souls and spirits.
