9-12-22
Gin Mei, the shelter cat, is on palliative care.
She has an enclosure to herself with food, water, litter box and a bed for her comfort. She is medicated and syringe fed to keep her as comfortable as possible.
When I prayed outside her enclosure a couple of days ago, she stopped pacing about and came towards me as if drawn to the recitation of the Medicine Buddha Mantra.
She pressed her face against the wire mesh, let me hold her paws as she stood on her hindlegs for quite some time while I bent as low as my joints would allow me to recite the mantra in her ears.
Throughout this session there was no pity and no dread, but peace between the cat and me.
Because of Gin Mei’s willingness to come to me despite not being familiar with me, I was also able to place my *mala bracelet on the top of her head to bless her further.
The cat’s response to the mantra offering to ease her difficulty is open to interpretation. But for me it shows that animals are not only sentient, but they might be as spiritual as we are.
So even in the most desperate of situations where all medical resources have been exhausted, we must remember we still have the one medicine that goes beyond life & death, and that is our mantras & prayers. ❤️🙏
*mantra – sanskrit word meaning “sacred words”, “chants”, etc that are repeated to aid focus and create beneficial outcomes.
*mala bracelet – prayer beads. This particular one was lovingly made by a friend who meditates regularly & does charity work in Cambodia.
Lisa Ong 