From the Life & Death Exhibition to the Xiao En Centre: Embracing Life Through Death

Education takes time to nurture, and only then can its impact gradually become evident. A few years ago, the counselling department at Chong Hwa Independent High School in Kuala Lumpur began introducing life education to students from the perspective of caring for life. The school’s 2023 “Life & Death Exhibition” is a valuable example worth reflecting on.

Now, this group of senior one students, who were once nurtured by the Life & Death Exhibition and had listened to life stories shared by Family Care consultant and Clinical Care specialist at the “Love Never Ends”—are ready to take the next step.

This time, they visited the Xiao En Centre, a space that honors the completion of life, to experience first-hand concepts like “body retrieval,” “clinical care rooms,” and “funerals.” With a foundational understanding already in place, their learning deepened, and their reflections on embracing life through death became more profound.

“Experiencing it in person is very different from just imagining it. Life education can be quite fascinating.”
“I felt that sadness flows and changes.”
“When I saw the small coffins for children, I realized how lucky we are to experience birth, aging, sickness, and death.”
“The life practitioners do work that others dare not do; it’s wrong to think of them as unlucky or ominous.”
“When I heard bodies referred to as ‘teachers,’ I felt a deep reverence for life, as if it could be something truly noble.”
“What we think of as superstitions in funerals are often just misunderstandings of what our ancestors wanted to express.”
“Seeing my peers reflect on life made me feel warm inside, and it also inspired me.”

Education requires time, as well as relentless nurturing. One day, when you look up at the sky, you may feel the nourishment that life education has provided.

Dear students, let us continue to encourage one another on this journey.