To live is life; And to die is to start a new life. Though we don't know what happens after dying…. We still believe in what the old folks have to say about that. No one has ever witnessed the life after death.

But what you haven't seen does not mean it is not there and what you witnessed is always right! Confused? Well, it is so confusing to me too. I never knew how things could relate to each other. One night, while I was sleeping I heard a cry of a dog in pain. As though the dog was calling for help, the dog squealed for a several times and it put the night to calm, dead silence. Hearing the squeal of the dog I was rather overwhelmed by fear than the need to help. The next morning I felt so sorry to find the dead dog outside my house. The sight made me feel sick. I felt as though I was to blame. It was Leather, the stray dog. People called him Leather because he hadn't any fur. Some said that leather was once a beautiful dog. He had reddish brown fur and was so fluffy. And he lost his beauty while he is being castrated. Now, as leather is dead. The neighbors talked of his past; they said he might have been sinner in his past generation and that he had suffered this life as a dog. They even believed that the dog died around my house and it was a sign that he had come to pay the gratitude that was due on me. And I should forgive it. Whether it mattered or not I had to bury him and say prayers. Something that is difficult to understand something that is beyond my understanding but still have to believe it.

It is Buddhist believe in 'next life' that makes us good people.  Its Buddhist compassion that made you feel for the Leather...Believe gives you hope, it gives you a reason to smile.

What r wonderful creative essay.....................