For all of us thinking about death and grieving, the Body Worlds exhibit is holding an interesting event this weekend:

Religious Views of the Human Body and Soul After Death
In conjunction with the InterSpiritual Centre of Vancouver (www.interspiritualcentre.org)
Saturday, November 4, 2006
7:00pm — 7:50pm
Science Theatre (seating is limited)

CBC Radio host Priya Ramu will host a discussion among representatives of Vancouver’s Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh religious communities regarding their perspectives on death and dying, the body and soul, funeral practices and the public display of human bodies for educational purposes. The remainder of the program will provide an opportunity for the audience to address questions to our panel.

This event is FREE with purchase of a BODY WORLDS 3 ticket for that evening. Seating is limited and is available on a ‘first come/first served’ basis.

Featuring:
Orai Fujikawa Sensei: Bishop of the Hongwanji Buddhist Temples in Canada
Pandit Prameya Chaitanya: Priest of the Shree Mahalakshmi Hindu Temple
Giani Jasbir Singh Ji: Priest of the Akali Singh Gurdwara Sahib
Dr. Amr Hafez: Islamic Society of BC
Tara Bentall King: Vancouver School of Theology
Rabbi David Mivasair: Ahavat Olam Synagogue

Whew. I have had a week to recover from my Saturday morning at the BodyWorlds exhibit at ScienceWorld, so I feel ready to talk about it.

I cant say I was dying to go in the first place, I just kind of found myself drawn there. In fact I was sort of frightened that it would be really grotesque. I was surprised that when I entered the exhibit, my immediate experience was relief; the bodies didn't seem real at all, they seemed like they were made of resin or plastic or some synthetic substance. My mind had a hard time reconciling the information it was receiving: what I was looking at had, at one time, been living, breathing humans each one with a set of stories, a network of other people who loved them and each one with their own voice.