trifocal | PC: Su Waner

Yes. In this way, we can receive guidance and protection from our departed loved ones.

What sort of ritual can accomplish that...?

Oh, well, when our loved ones pass away, we bring their bodies to the Orbwise Path, where they are made as offerings to the snakes there. Legends say that those whose flesh is consumed by the holy beasts will ascend to become guardian deities.

I see...

[honestly to her that sounds like it's just a way to dispose of dead bodies without having to bury him but she knwos better than to say that out loud.]

How does one know if they are being looked after by a guardian deity?

Well... we cannot directly see into the spiritual world, so I suppose we have faith.

[her gaze flicks briefly to eupha's third eye.]

That sort of faith must be very comforting.

[ there's a brief hesitation. ]

Well... yes, usually.

What did you think would happen, after death?

[she looks a little curious about that hesitation, but doesn't pry. they've only just met, after all.]

Well... reincarnation, truthfully. I did not expect to be conscious as myself.

Oh! You thought that you would be reborn in another form?

[she nods]

Yes. It's a commonly-held belief where I'm from.

[ neat!! ]

Can someone be reborn as anything? Another person, or an animal, or anything else?

In theory, yes. There are six... "realms," so to speak, in the cycle of reincarnation. Gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. If you accumulate good karma in life, you will be reborn as a god, demi-god, or another human; bad karma, and in your next life, you will be reborn as an animal, a hungry ghost, or a hell being.

You can escape the cycle of reincarnation by achieving enlightenment, but by and large, that is how it works. Of course, there are also many levels of hell for those who are being punished, but...

[she shakes her head.]

...none of what I have been taught lines up with what we are experiencing now.

[ there is a raised eyebrow at the mention of being reborn as "another human," but she refrains from interrupting. ]

... So it is your deeds in life that determine your fate? I suppose there is a sense of fairness in that...

Even if the details are different, the philosophy of it may be similar to this path of redemption we find ourselves on.

Somewhat similar, yes. But... it is your deeds in life, not in the afterlife, that are counted. If what I had been raised to believe was true, I should already have been judged by now, not standing here having a conversation.

Well... it isn't so bad to have a little more time to prove yourself, is it?

The problem is not knowing what it is the person we must prove ourselves to is looking for. What will they use to decide if we are "better" than we were?

I have wondered this as well... When I spoke to the angels about what is considered "good," they seemed to agree with my ideas of morality... But we do find ourselves without any clear guidelines.

...the lack of clear guidelines is the most concerning thing, I think. If we knew what we were being judged on, we could work toward it. Without that guidance we are left to flounder in the dark.

Are you afraid that some of us will fail?

...maybe. I do not know anyone well enough yet to be able to truly judge if they will pass or fail. But it seems unfair, for someone to judge us based on criteria that we do not know.

The angels have been receptive to our questions so far. Perhaps they will elaborate if we ask them for specifics?

They did not seem to know much about the specifics the day we met... mostly, they mentioned that it would be God doing the judging.

I did ask how we might speak to God, and was told that when we speak to the angels, God hears us then, too.

But does God speak back? Or merely listen?

... I do not know of it speaking back to us...

(no subject)

jiaohua - 2025-02-17 21:26 (UTC) - Expand