If death is single best invention of our life

By Janet Shin

I appreciate the fact that I have a healthy body and soul so that I can walk, enjoy food and journey with companions, hug others, write to touch the soul and comfort other’s pain and sorrow. However I dare say that I have never clung to life just to enjoy living and possessions, yet it doesn’t mean that I totally transcend the fear of death.

I stayed at my father’s deathbed with unbearable sorrow. I watched how much people crave a longer life in terminal illness. When I stayed in the wards of terminal cancer patients, they were filled with remorse. It may be the portraits of ordinary people’s fear of dying, while there truly are touching stories of dignified people in front of death.

If you could surmount the fear of death, whether it is your own or others’, you would sense that the fog that beclouds your eyes clears and you may see the core essence of life. Although saju differs from religion, it has the thought of an eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The letters, or the energies in your saju from birth circulate to indicate your destiny from the karma of your ancestors and your past, present to the future.

Many fortune tellers often say that one has to console the spirits of the deceased, whether they are one’s ancestors, parents or spouses. Even though I don’t totally buy this advice, some saju indeed shows one’s former life or the death of loved ones. Just telling this tragic life story, often veiled for the fear of pain, may heal their latent trauma.

The past few weeks have been covered with a gloomy mood. When we learned about the death of a legendary pitcher in Korean baseball history, people couldn’t believe their ears. People were wondering how he had been doing, but they never imagined he, who had the nickname “Iron Arm,” had fought against a disease for a long time and finally ended his short and fierce life. He was Choi Dong-won, 53 years old when he died. There still are many fans of baseball that have a certain nostalgia about the days when Choi played as a top-class pitcher. People around Choi’s age said they felt the transience of life and asked me to read his saju.

Choi didn’t have a so-called “strong saju.” If I said he was not strong, when he played as a top pitcher, who would trust me?

I also received many calls and messages asking me how I see the death of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Most of them asked me if I foresaw his death. I immediately answered I didn’t. When there was a rumor about it earlier this year through the Internet, I denied it, so I was wrong.

Referring to Jobs’ saju, the year 2011 is more about acquiring admiration and reputation. He was born with the energy of the sun. Instead of reading each element in his saju, I told my closest student last weekend, “Isn’t it one of our best wishes to die gloriously?”

Someone even called him a revolutionary of the 21st century and compared him to Leonardo Da Vinci, saying that Jobs designed our future. People all over the world are mourning his death and are in awe of what he did in his life. He had many alter egos through which we still appreciate his spirit.

I read the saju of many historic heroes. Although they were appraised greatly for what they did, many of them actually led miserable lives during their living years. Their achievements were only recognized after their death in many cases. In addition, their families, especially spouses also had to go through the hardships.

Ultimately, their lives are venerated by posterity. Then, how do we consider their lives: Were they happy or not?

Living a long time cannot be the true pursuit in our life. Our lives are full of turning points, from fortunate to misfortunate and vice versa. If one’s life is appraised, even after death, that is a successful life. If we could live fiercely and come to fruition, which is even admired by others, isn’t it an “insanely great” thing?

Information: Are you interested in learning more about saju, the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny”? Saju and face reading workshops are held in Itaewon, Seoul.

For further information, contact Janet Shin at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com.

The writer is president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and author of “Learning Four Pillars” For more information, visit her website at www.fourpillarskorea.com