Since
the dawn of faith the people of South East Asia, similar
in this respect to the ancients of Egypt, have held
a particular reverence for the cat. Even to this day,
in the societies of Burma, now Myanmar, Cambodia and
Thailand man’s feline friend plays a visibly active
religious role: acting as guardian to Buddha’s temples
and shrines. Far before the time of Buddha, there
stood a beautiful lakeside temple called Lao-Tsun high
in the mountains of Burma. The temple, originally built
by the Khmer people of Cambodia, stood in honor of the
goddess Tsun-Kyan-Kse, and was guarded by more than
a hundred brown-eyed, white-haired cats. The goddess
Tsun-Kyan-Kse, whose job it was to take care of men’s
souls as they transmuted on their journey to heaven,
was carved of gold, and possessed beautiful Blue Sapphire eyes.
The temple’s head monk, Mun-ha, was
a wise man whose long braided beard had been turned
a beautiful golden color by the adoration of the golden
Tsun-Kyan-Kse. Everyday, he knelt in meditation before
the golden goddess with his faithful companion Sinh,
a temple cat who would always share his master's meditation
starring deep into the goddess’s Blue Sapphire eyes
for as long as his master meditated.
However one night, unknown to the wise
old monk as he sat deep in transcendent harmony before
his goddess, a band of brigands had crept into the holy
grounds intent on stealing the temple’s riches. The
pillagers attacked, but the temple’s cats lept to their
masters defense driving off the attackers. Alas, it
was too late for the old monk monk Mun-ha who had been
mortally injured in the ensuing struggle.
As his master lay dying, Sinh placed
his paws upon the monk's flowing robes and faced the golden goddess. As soon as he had done so the hairs
of Sinh's white fur became like gold, as beautiful as
the light that radiated from the golden Tsun-Kyan-Kse.
Then as the cat sat transfixed before the goddess’s
stare, Sinh’s eyes also underwent a magical transformation
turning a deep Blue Sapphire color just like the eyes
of Tsun-Kyan-Kse. After that Sinh’s face, ears, legs
and tail became the velvety brown color of rich earth,
and his four paws resting gently on his master, remained
perfectly white, as a symbol of purity.
Next morning, all the ninety-nine white cats of the temple were as golden as Sinh. Sinh did
not leave the sacred throne until seven days later,
when he died carrying his master's soul into paradise.
Since then, whenever a sacred cat died in the temple
of Lao-Tsun, the soul of a priest was said to accompany
it on its journey to the hereafter. |