In South Korea, for around $25 you can attend Coffin Academy. It’s not a school, but a seminar. And apparently people walk away with a valuable life lesson.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Coffin Academy is run by 39-year-old Jung Joon, and customers are able to experience death without the actual dying part. They write goodbye letters, attend their own funeral, and lie in a closed wooden casket for 10 claustraphobic minutes.
Why do they do this?
“It’s a way to let go of certain things,” says Jung. “Afterward, you feel refreshed. You’re ready to start your life all over again, this time with a clean slate.”
Sounds absolutely terrifying.
Read more about it here – http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-korea-coffin4-2010jan04,0,5816736.story?page=1
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I read this article yesterday in the LA Times. I hope this “coffin academy” experience isn’t as futile as Korean-American youths who sob and “rededicate their lives to Christ” at Korean-American Christian retreats on testimony nights. I’ve been to a plethora of them, and I’ve grown quite cynical and even gloat at the mass majority who feign contrition, but only to revert to their old ways a few days thereafter.
While it’s definitely a bit dramatic, I still feel that it’s generally an excellent idea to wake us up from the slumber of believing that life will go on forever, and that we’re immune to death and dying. There’s no better way to cultivate gratitude for life’s preciousness than to get as viscerally as we possibly can that this life is impermanent, fragile and precious. When we truly do get this fact in our hearts, minds, and spirits, we treat ourselves, each other, and the world with more respect, kindness, sensitivity and consciousness. This is exactly the spirit behind the acclaimed book and CD set, Graceful Passages, which was created to help people experience the facing of our mortality and that of our loved ones with acceptance, grace, and compassion, in an aesthetically inspiring way. Graceful Passages can be obtained on Amazon.com anywhere, as well as at http://www.wisdomoftheworld.com.