Title: A Message from Jehovah, The Word & The Great Soul

Part 1: “Raven and Dawn”

Life is always changing. Each of us was once a child. That child may have been happy or not, but memories of childhood are always etched in a special way in the soul of anyone. When a child is born into this world, what is he/she most afraid of? Does he/she wonder why he/she was born? What does the child begin to think about love, how does it face its first emotions, is it joyful or frightened by the changes within and around it?

Usually, most children are born innocent and carefree, never thinking about such things. Some even wish to grow up quickly, to no longer be children. Have you ever thought, “Adults are amazing, being an adult means you can do whatever you want”? If you’ve ever thought that, congratulations. You had a beautiful childhood, a loving and happy family. You didn’t know that your loved ones, who were once children themselves, had to endure so much and bear so many burdens to give you a full childhood. Or perhaps you were dissatisfied with your parents and wanted to become like them because they could make their own decisions.

And of course, no child thinks about death. To them, time stretches endlessly ahead. [“When will I grow up, when will I become a university student, I wonder when I can go somewhere far away and beautiful?”] When you were a kid, did you ever think like that?

Childhood Obsession [Vo Minh An]

From the moment he became aware of the world, An always wondered if other children thought like him. An had deep thoughts and questions within his soul, and naturally, these questions stemmed from a strong fear. A primal fear of an undeniable truth: funerals, elderly people passing away when their time comes, incurable diseases, and young lives ending for whatever reasons. An was afraid of death, very afraid of it. Did other children think the same? An could never know.

Back then, he was just an elementary school boy, often lost in sudden thoughts while gazing at pictures of the sky or the sea. In the teachers’ minds, he must have had complex emotions. Indeed, An was a shy, quiet child, rarely playing with his classmates during recess, and he wasn’t close to any of the children in the class. His eyes were strange, even though they were wide open, and his face was bright, but to outsiders, there was always something troubling that couldn’t be expressed.

One time, a young female teacher, during recess, noticed the student who kept sitting in class even though it was time for a break. Most of the other children had gone outside to play games with their friends. The remaining students in the classroom were grouped together. Some discussed a comic book on the desk, while others competed in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe on graph paper meant for elementary students. Only An sat alone in the classroom, his eyes always drifting towards a corner or some picture in the pale yellow-painted room.

But what was An thinking about? Perhaps only An knew because he rarely spoke to other children his age. The teacher, with a special concern, approached him and gently sat on the wooden bench opposite him.

“An, it’s recess time. Why don’t you go outside and play with the others? Everyone enjoys recess. Don’t you like it?” she asked kindly.

“No, ma’am, I do like recess,” An replied politely.

“Then why don’t you play with your friends?”

“I’m not close to any of the kids in class, and walking around the yard alone isn’t fun, ma’am.”

“You look sad. Are you afraid of snakes? Are you afraid of mice?” The teacher asked gently.

“No, I’m not afraid.” Indeed, An was never afraid of such creatures.

“An, what are you most afraid of in life?” The young teacher looked at him with deep concern.

“… Death, I’m afraid that one day I will die!” An hesitated for a moment, then answered.

– “Do you have any health problems?”

– “No, not at the moment.”

– “Then why are you afraid of death? Everyone will die someday; why should you be afraid?”

“………….” An couldn’t answer her.

But at that moment, the small boy could not yet grasp deeper meanings. For instance, deep down, everyone has thoughts of fearing death. If that teacher had received news that she was suffering from a terminal illness that day and had only a short time left to live, she would have been devastated.

The thoughts in him were difficult to articulate for the teacher to understand. Why? Because life is beautiful, because childhood with his grandparents was so good. His uncle was also humorous and caring. Yes, An could have lived happily and cared little about it. He still had a long time ahead.

An was loved dearly by his family, even though at that time, he was often disciplined for neglecting his studies. And occasionally, his mischievous antics shocked his family, like when he nearly set the bamboo thicket on fire at his grandparents’ home. An remembered his grandfather was very upset about that. But aside from those moments, his grandparents were exceptionally caring and indulgent. His grandfather encouraged and supported his love for reading. He even went to town and rented dozens of books at once because he knew his grand child loved to read.

Unlike his mother, his grandfather didn’t forbid him from reading comic books. Every time An visited his grandparents for an extended stay, he was free to indulge in reading. The small village library soon ran out of books for him to read. From old newspapers to fairy tales and children’s books, he often had to read them repeatedly.

His grandfather often took An along with him, whether to do errands around the village or to buy things. Both would ride on an old bicycle, with his grandfather in front and the little boy sitting behind.

Once, An spotted a stall displaying various kinds of books, most of them old, with some even having broken spines and yellowed pages. But their content wasn’t bad, and in the countryside, this was wonderful enough.

To satisfy his grandson, his grandfather went directly to the bookstall owner’s address. That time, he rented a whole bunch of books at once for n to read gradually. A few months later, just like with the small library before, the bookstall had no new books left for him to read.

In the end, on An’s subsequent extended visits, his grandfather had to take him to a large provincial library, a two-hour bike ride away, to borrow books and stories for his grandson. This time, An had plenty to read, as there were many books that a reading child like him would love.

That’s how it was—those childhood days, the memories and joys with his grandparents were too beautiful. At that age, when visiting the graves on the mountains during special holidays with his grandfather, An feared that one day his grandfather, too, would be lying under the dry, rocky, and sun-baked earth. An couldn’t accept this truth, and when he thought about growing old like his grandfather, and… That always haunted An.

The happier he was about those beautiful childhood days, the more afraid An became when thinking about the possible changes, and he was also terrified when considering the most natural thing: death by old age. Didn’t his grandfather enjoy having grandchildren like An or Minh, An’s younger brother, by his side? One day, his grandfather would surely pass away. Didn’t it sadden him to think about leaving behind his beloved children and grandchildren? An didn’t know what his grandfather thought, but if An were his grandfather, An couldn’t accept that, at least not at that moment.

An knew that death was very natural, a law that no one could avoid. But from the time he was a little boy until many years later, he could never accept that harsh reality. There were many times since he was a child when he had a burning wish. [If only these happy, peaceful days could last forever, he could live year after year. If only he could live thousands of years like the immortals or gods.] An had an intense admiration for these characters.

He longed to observe all the changes in the world over thousands of years and travel from star to star.

The gods like Odin, the king of the gods, Thor, the god of thunder… in Norse mythology, to Zeus, Apollo, and Dionysus, had a strong impact on An. As he grew older, An came to understand that these immortals or Greek or Norse gods only lived for a very long time. Immortals or gods also grew old… then hundreds of thousands of years later, or longer, their lives would end. And immortals or gods could also die from other causes. Didn’t Apollo, the god of Light and Music, fearfully surrender when Hercules aimed his arrows, poisoned with the deadly venom of the Hydra [1], at him?

[1]: Hydra, one of the creatures Hercules (from Greek mythology) defeated in his second labor. The Hydra’s poison is renowned for being extremely toxic and capable of causing instant death, making it a source of fear even for gods.

In “Journey to the West,” the Patriarch Bodhi [2] laughs heartily when he hears the stone monkey Sun Wukong express his desire to learn the art of immortality. The great sage explains to the monkey, created from Primordial Stone, that:

– You seek to live long and avoid the suffering of reincarnation, but you must understand the true nature of life and death. Immortals may live for thousands of years, but even they cannot escape the end. Cultivate yourself, understand the principles of the Dao, and accept the natural laws.

[2]: A character in “Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en, known as the first teacher of Sun Wukong.

Naturally, he also noticed the wrinkles and the white beard of the venerable Patriarch Bodhi. It turns out that even someone with such supernatural powers ages. According to Bodhi, even achieving immortality or living a long life does not free one from the cycle of life and death.

This realization disappointed him deeply, as what he truly sought was eternity, permanence. A century seemed too short, and even a hundred thousand years would not satisfy him. While living for a hundred thousand years would be remarkable, it is still not true immortality. Moreover, has anyone in human history ever lived for a hundred thousand years? Such a span of time, while not eternal, seemed like a myth, something that might only occur in legends or fairy tales. He also came to a bitter understanding that he might not even live to old age. Perhaps tomorrow, in a fire, an accident at sea, or a mishap, his precious yet insignificant human life could end abruptly. Such things are unpredictable.

Years later, as he began studying physics and scientific knowledge in high school, he learned that the sun has existed for billions of years, but even this celestial body will eventually reach its end and disappear.

[So, is there truly nothing that is eternal? If life and death might not be immortal, then even a mere pebble or the Earth itself cannot be everlasting. Is this really true?]

This was a thought he kept to himself since childhood, never sharing it with anyone, as it seemed quite peculiar.

“Life is short; cherish it.” This was what he always heard when someone passed away: be it a relative, a friend, or even someone he didn’t know.

But the future is unpredictable. His friend Hong-Lan, the daughter of the principal of Nghien Hoa Kindergarten, died in a traffic accident when they had just turned ten. From that day on, year after year, he celebrated birthdays of 12, 13, 18, 19, 20… but that little girl remained forever ten years old.

Will the future hold happiness or sorrow? He could never know. And he was fearful of it. At that young age, happiness, existence, or sudden death… whether from accidents, illness, or anything else, seemed like sheer chance. The wise elderly people told him that life is “Impermanent.” Everything happens by chance. Even a person who lives virtuously might pass away the next day. Those who leave this world come in all forms: an old woman succumbing to age, a blacksmith dying from food poisoning, a worker perishing in an accident, or his childhood friend, Hong Lan.

Funerals, accidents he had witnessed, and death notices in his neighborhood or family—whether of relatives or acquaintances, all made him reflect. In his mind, death was something terrifying and haunting.

Like leaves falling with the seasons, time passed quietly, and the child of yesteryears grew into a 25-year-old man, no longer the naïve boy he once was. Yet, remarkably, his soul remained as clear as ever. The bumps and bruises of life turned into rough stones scattered by the stream’s edge. The stream of his soul cleansed and smoothed these hardships, turning them into sparkling, fine pebbles. He had also experienced joy, happiness, and delight throughout his childhood and even now. These formed lush green trees and vibrant vegetation growing along the stream.

The shy, timid child of the past had grown up. But a part of him remained a child, burning with a desire to uncover the secrets of eternity and the mysterious.

But most importantly, although the flow of time sweeps everything away like an endless river, there are still eternal stones on the shore that remain unshaken. He continues tirelessly on his journey of exploration, seeking answers to the incomplete puzzles from his childhood.

What happens to a person after death? Do they vanish into the void forever? Is Heaven real, and what would we be like there?

“That city is built of pure gold, like transparent glass.”

“The city gates are made of twelve pearls, with each gate crafted from a single pearl.”

“The only One who is immortal, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, is power, glory, and eternity.”

… [To be continued in Part 1… To be supplemented later]