Life Education that Flows Beyond Walls
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By Admin
Not every community has equal access to resources that encourage people to confront life and death in order to understand the value of “cherishing life.” What is precious, however, is the shared recognition and support from various community partners. Together, they allow this form of life education to move beyond physical spaces — flowing outward, reaching further, and carrying life’s compassion into more corners of the community.
Choosing to reflect on “cherishing life” by directly facing life and death is not something every community has equal access to. What’s rare—and precious—is when various community groups recognize the value of life education and join hands to promote it together. Their support allows this form of care to move beyond physical spaces and flow into wider corners of society.
At Xiao En Group, the Xiao En Memorial Park and Xiao En Centre serve as immersive learning grounds for life education. Here, the Life Practitioners—the frontline professionals behind Complete Farewell Care—serve as guides, accompanying participants through a reflective journey of “living forward by facing death.” But only a limited number of people can visit these spaces in person. For life education to reach beyond its physical setting and enter different communities, it needs diverse formats—and more importantly, community partners who are willing to stand together in this mission. Their acknowledgment and collaboration are the true driving force that allows life education to “flow further.”
This August and September, several community organizations joined hands with Xiao En Group, enabling life education to travel north and south in various forms—reaching people of different ages and backgrounds. These included Muar Chung Hwa High School’s large-scale 《启 · 圆》 Life Education Exhibition, as well as Daie Culture’s mobilization of the community for the “It’s All About Life and Death” public lecture series held in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, and Sungai Petani, Kedah—accompanying more individuals who seek understanding, reflection, and growth.
At Muar Chung Hwa High School, the Counseling Department has long integrated life education into its curriculum, helping students explore life from multiple perspectives through a systematic approach. Beyond arranging visits to the Xiao En Memorial Park and Xiao En Centre, the school also hosted its own life education exhibition. Two Life Practitioners from Xiao En Group were invited to share their frontline experiences with thousands of students, presenting the poignant story “Love Never Ends”—a narrative about love, farewell, and cherishing those we hold dear.
In addition, Xiao En’s registered counselors, Aw Pei Xin and Quek Ser Pin, conducted sessions such as the “My Beloved Grandma” Picture Book Sharing and the “Life Gatekeepers” talk. These sessions offered heartfelt perspectives on topics ranging from childhood loss to suicide prevention, providing students, teachers, and the broader community with grounded and compassionate insights into life education.
Following the 2024 “It’s All About Life and Death” community tour across Klang, Kuching, and Kota Bharu, this year’s outreach expanded to Seremban and Sungai Petani, joining hands with local communities to explore life from the perspectives of “understanding death through life” and “embracing life through death.” Across different towns, we encountered diverse living contexts and varied faces of grief — yet one thing remained unchanged: a shared, heartfelt commitment to life and to caring for one another.
There is no shortcut in life education. But what life education can offer is a space — a platform where participants confront mortality and begin, from the heart, to reflect on what it means to live. Respect for life should not begin at the final moment; it should begin in the everyday. As the Life Practitioners on the funeral frontline often witness, care and compassion can — and should — be practised long before life fades.
Life education thus becomes a platform where emotions flow. Some shed tears; some rediscover a connection with what they’ve lost; some feel a subtle release. These moments cannot be measured, yet they are precisely what make life education invaluable — the invisible but deeply felt touch that accompanies a person quietly forward.
This Original article first appeared in《 PUMEN普门 》magazine. [ Click Here ]
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