The weather was fine that morning, the sky as clear and blue as summer.
Even though the bright white still piled on the ground constantly served as a reminder, for a moment, it was easy to confuse the season before their eyes.
March 4th, the forty-ninth day after Dober's death.
"Forty-Ninth Day" referred to the forty-ninth day counted from the deceased's date of death, or the period leading up to that day.
Buddhism held that forty-nine days after death, a person would journey to the Western Pure Land.
During those forty-nine days, the deceased would be judged every seven days for the good and evil they had done in life, until the final judgment came on the forty-ninth day and decided whether they could be reborn in paradise.
To pray for the deceased to attain rebirth in paradise, family members would usually chant sutras and offer prayers every seven days, performing good deeds and accumulating virtue.
On the Forty-Ninth Day, when the final judgment arrived, a grand memorial service would be held to pray for and guide the deceased onward.
Besides—
The Forty-Ninth Day was also known as Mourning Completion, the day when bereaved family members resumed their normal lives.
Perhaps things were different for horses than for people, but if the feelings in their hearts could be conveyed truthfully, even the bodhisattvas over there would probably show some leniency.
Rather than any overly specific—or intense—emotion, the memorial service that day had maintained a state of mind that was lighter than expected.
They set up the Bardo Altar, placed the white wooden memorial tablet, urn, and portrait, offered fresh flowers, water, and incense for prayer, and then came the matters after the service.
By the time the guest register and condolence ledger had been checked, condolence gifts returned, belongings sorted,