Does Heaven Really Exist? - From Frieren: Beyond Journey's End -

Hello, I'm Haru.
I am self-studying pet loss and grief, and I share the information I gather here.

With the Obon season approaching, I would like to introduce one of my favorite stories about "the other side."
(Approx. 2,000 characters)
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(*Please be aware that this contains spoilers for the first season of the Frieren: Beyond Journey's End anime 🙇‍♀️)

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It is a famous manga (anime), and I'm sure some of you are fans, but I am only a casual fan and have only seen the anime series.

At first, I thought it was a story about a mage (Frieren) traveling with her merry companions.

Even the official synopsis describes it as a story about the aftermath of defeating the Demon King.

However, as I learned more about the content, I realized it was also a story about facing grief.

The protagonist, the "elf mage" Frieren, was unable to grieve properly at first when Himmel, the hero (human) who traveled with her for"10 years"to defeat the Demon King, passed away from old age decades later.

This is because Frieren knew so little about Himmel.

As a long-lived elf, Frieren had vaguely assumed she could spend time with Himmel and the others whenever (or for as long as) she wanted, but she unexpectedly encountered the loss of Himmel.

Frieren is bewildered by the strange emotions welling up in her heart, thinking, ""It was only 10 years"that we traveled together..."

And then,
"I knew that human lives were short..."
"...Why didn't I try to know more about him..."

she says, shedding tears of regret.

And so, Frieren sets off on a journey to understand "humans."

(↓ You can read the story up to this point for free on the following site.)

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When I watched it for the first time, I took it as a depiction of the sadness of losing a companion, but when I watched it a second time, I burst into tears here.

Isn't it just like the relationship between humans and their pets?

"Short-lived humans" compared to "long-lived elves"
"Short-lived pets" compared to "long-lived humans"

Even though we humans know that our pets have short lifespans,
we tend to think, out of wishful thinking, that we will be together forever.

And so, when it comes time to say goodbye, we are left with so many regrets.

Thinking about it that way, I realized this is a story about facing grief.

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After that, Frieren sets out on a journey with new companions, retracing the path she took with Himmel and his party, to learn what Himmel (a human) cherished while he lived and to discover what she can do for humans.

During that journey, there is an episode that depicts how heaven is perceived.
(Episode 4 of the first season of the anime, "The Land Where Souls Rest")

In a flashback scene from when she was traveling with the hero Himmel, there is a passage explaining that while the mainstream way of thinking in the past (thousands of years ago) was that "people return to nothingness when they die," in the era where priests exist (the present in the story), the way of thinking has shifted to "people go to heaven when they die."

In reality, it hasn't been proven whether heaven exists or not, so it's just a matter of believing, but that is when the priest Heiter says this.

…I love this line so much that it makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

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Many Japanese people may identify as "non-religious," but I think when we imagine the afterlife or where our departed pets end up, we naturally picture heaven (Christianity) or the Pure Land (Buddhism).

I had always found it strange that we would imagine such things while calling ourselves non-religious, but I was convinced after reading a book on views of life and death. It seems this comes from the history of Japan's uniqueShinbutsu-shūgō (syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism).

I thought that for those of us with such ambiguous religious views, a way of thinking like Heiter's line would feel very fitting.

And above all, I was moved by the fact that this view of life and death, which is kind to everyone and everything, could be completed in such a compact line.

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Where and how do our loved ones exist after they leave this earth?

I think everyone has their own thoughts on that.

…I think it's okay for everyone to have their own.

I think it doesn't matter what the idea is, as long as it gives those left behind the courage to live.

It was a story that made me feel that it's fine to just imagine a place you'd want to go to when you eventually head there yourself🌿

Thank you for staying with me until the end today as well💜