The hope of the descendants that the deceased will receive the merit they have earned.

Hello all friends. In a home with a warm family, parents and children, it's truly a wonderful feeling. But one day, when the mother passes away, the whole house seems quiet and lonely, lacking the emotional anchor for the children. It leaves a feeling of utter emptiness. Even though I'm just a daughter-in-law who married into my husband's family, for the past 10 years I've lived with my kind and loving mother-in-law, who cared for me as if I were her own daughter. Every morning, on some days, I used to take her for a drive to the market to buy groceries. Now, those moments are gone, but we haven't forgotten her. Whenever we have the chance, we still make merit and pray for her, believing that she will receive the blessings we've accumulated and that our prayers will guide her to a better realm. Even today, when we look at my mother-in-law's photograph, we still feel that she is close by and don't feel like she's gone at all.

Today, we went to a small, peaceful, clean, and serene shrine. We entered and paid our respects to the Buddha, offering prayers for our deceased mother. This will likely be the last thing we can do for her. Although we cannot know if she will receive what we offer, according to our beliefs and faith, we are confident that our intentions will reach her.

This shrine is quite beautiful. Inside, there's a section dedicated to the 12 zodiac signs, built along the side fence. There's plenty of shade where you can visit and enjoy the cool breeze.

The beautifully crafted dragon zodiac figurine is not meticulously detailed; the emerald green scales of the dragon are truly stunning.

The statues in each style are very beautiful and intricate.

The Year of the Monkey is my birth year. The sculpture is so realistic and lifelike. My eldest daughter, being mischievous, took pictures with the monkey and posed in funny ways to relax after visiting the temple.

What we really intended to do was to make merit, and after that, to visit beautiful places to relax and release our attachment to something that had hurt us deeply: the passing of our mother. Taking ourselves to a peaceful and serene place and talking with our siblings was a great way to relax. Why do we keep thinking about and remembering her all the time?

Thank you to my friends who stopped by to read my article today. See you again in the next article. Goodbye for now.