The main character Thomas in Eternal life is a successful American businessman, also a confidant of author Nguyen Phong. In part 1, Thomas has lived through mystical lives, from the mighty Atlantis civilization to the ancient Egyptian kingdom of powerful Pharaohs to modern-day America. In part 2, Thomas continues his human journey through three lives Assyrian, Greek and modern times with a mysterious colleague from past lives, Kris. The incredible interlacing stories of the two easily explain the Buddhist lessons – from attachment to cause and effect, reincarnation… Attachment remains after death The story goes that, one day Thomas was visiting the old house of an old friend, this businessman suddenly saw a strange old man, turned out to be a spirit that passed away decades ago. This accountant’s soul implored Thomas to fulfill one wish: Destroy the papers recording the wrong payments of the former owner, because of sudden death the accountant was unable to do so. . “It’s been more than 80 years, I still have that in my heart and have never dared to leave this house. I have to stay here to keep the notebook, to avoid it falling into the hands of others,” the old man said. That is, just because of an unfinished task that his spirit could not escape forever. Thomas’s strange encounter with the old accountant’s ghost can help us figure out where we are in the river of destiny. Meeting is destiny, working with the boss is life; spending in the dark is the cause, and the notebook is the effect. The old accountant’s attachment is that the boss’s secrets should not be kept, secrets that can affect the reputation of the person he has served. It has become a stored part of the store consciousness of this life. “When a person dies, a person leaves the physical body and exists in another form called the bardo or spirit body. This is the intermediate state between death and the next rebirth. The only thing that really exists is the store consciousness, which is the basis of existence, the foundation of all consciousness. Every thought, word, and action in a lifetime, whether good or bad, creates a cause, or a seed, which is stored in the store-consciousness, never to be lost,” the book explains. Eternal life, part 1, 2 – Author: Nguyen Phong Sow cause and reap fruit Human life is like a dream, it’s too short for us to stop and reflect on what causes cause and effect, and then steps into the spirit world and the rest is just attachment. Meetings in Eternal life Part 2 is sometimes too mundane, like what we have been going through. But reading until the end, we realize, it turns out that every daily action can cause cause and effect, which no one can control. Thomas and Don C (the new owner of the accountant’s ghost house) make friends from a co-worker relationship that is also a result of cause and effect for both of them. Thomas meeting the spirit is a part of life, releasing the responsibility for the spirit to return peace to the Don C family is a part of picking the fruit. But it is also possible that Thomas is spreading past cause and effect, or new cause in the future. Still follow Eternal life In part 2, when cause and effect will bear fruit depends on many other factors such as inspiration, subsequent behavior and merit of each person. Causality interdependence manifests: “If this exists, the other is formed. When this arises, the other arises. If one does not exist, the other does not exist. When this is destroyed, the other is destroyed.” That is also the fate, the predestined birth. Our small actions every day can make a huge connection over time. The Mission of Reincarnation We humans are inherently sentient and as in theory Dependent origination of Buddhism, one can become entangled in the cycle of samsara. A continuous cycle of cause and effect can then be transmigrated to the six paths of reincarnation: heaven, human, Atula, animal, hungry ghosts, and hell. Thomas’s colorful journey back to his past life, through “the Mesopotamian deserts of Assyria to ancient Greece, Persia, and India through the conquests of Alexander the Great” has explained us better about this. the reincarnation of a human being. Thomas and his mysterious friend Kris have cultivated together for many lifetimes, although the path is not the same, but the predestined connection has caused them to meet again to complete their previous promises and missions. Or Thomas reunited with friends from past lives to relearn lessons to be learned. If there is a cause, there must be a result, so two people keep borrowing and repaying each other, lasting for many lifetimes without end. Such is the complexity of cause and effect in samsara. And each person’s task is to live a life that opens their hearts to everyone, develops love, and learns the lessons they need to learn, “instead of just worrying about beautifying the body, which is now dead and floating. life after life in the endless stream of samsara”, as Thomas explained.

A false door dated to 2,400 BC. Photo: Sharron Mollerus. What is a fake door? False doors were one of the most common architectural features in ancient Egyptian tombs, mainly royal tombs, dating back to the Egypt’s Old Kingdom period. False doors first appeared in the Mastaba . tombs [loại mộ cổ hình chóp cụt] It belonged to the Third Dynasty and was widely used in tombs of the Fourth to Sixth Dynasties. False doors are usually made from a monolithic limestone rock, sometimes painted red with black spots. Its shape resembles a real door with an outer frame but is longer and narrower, such as the false door in Sean Khui Ptah’s tomb located in the Teti cemetery in Saqqara, Egypt. However, in the tomb of Hesire lăng [bác sĩ của Pharaoh Djoser] and many others, false doors can be made of wood. The fake door is almost always fixed in place. But in rare cases, they can be teleported. The original form of the false door was just a small alcove facing the west. Then, the ancient Egyptians carved out a square or rectangle at the top where they believed that gods or dead relatives would appear to receive offerings. The sides of the door are stone and linoleum [bộ phận nằm trên khung cửa có tác dụng đỡ mảng tường gạch phía trên] where the Egyptians wrote hieroglyphs. During the nearly 150-year rule of Sixth Dynasty pharaohs including Pepi I, Merenre and Pepi II, the false door underwent a series of design and layout changes. Based on that, historians can date many tombs based on the characteristics of the false doors. After the First Intermediate Period, the popularity of false doors in tombs dwindled. During the New Kingdom period, false doors became simpler, just drawings on the flat surface of a wall or stele engraved with hieroglyphs. Sometimes, fake doors are painted on the sides of the stone coffin. A grave may consist of two false doors, one for the owner of the grave and the other for his or her spouse. Also, in some cases of extended family graves, each member has their own false door. Gateway to the afterlife For the ancient Egyptians, false doors were considered a gateway between the world of the living and the world of the dead. They believe that the souls of deceased relatives can pass through this door to receive offerings or offerings. The false door is usually located on the west wall of the main room in the chapel, or altar room. It is meticulously decorated, bearing the name and title of the owner of the tomb. The hieroglyphic content on the false door also refers to offerings for the deceased. Sometimes it was a curse meant to protect the mummy and their spiritual journey after death. Anyone who dares to enter or tamper with the mummy’s tomb will be met with bad luck and inevitable death. However, those with good intentions who come to make offerings will be blessed. For example, the false door in Redi-ness’s tomb at Giza (Egypt) records the following: “I never wanted to harm anyone. But anyone who dares trespass on my resting place will be punished by the gods.” The life-sized statue is walking through the fake door. Photo: Wikimedia In some of the tombs, life-sized statues were created walking out of the center of the false door. On either side of the door were painted two servants accompanying them to show their noble status. Usually, in front of the fake door there will be a stone table – where offerings for the dead are placed. Offerings can be real food or symbolic food carved directly on the table such as bread, beer, chicken, beef, etc. Currently, fake doors are one of the unique architectural features of the ancient Egyptians that are interested and studied. Although many fake doors still exist in the mausoleum grounds, there are a few that have been removed and displayed in different museums around the world. Fake door outside Egypt Egypt is not the only place where strange fake doors can be found. In 1996, tour guide Jose Luis Delgado Mamani accidentally discovered a stone gate 7m high, 2m wide in the mountains of Hayu Marca, about 35 km from the Peruvian city of Puno. It was named the “Gate of Gods”, or “Gate of the Gods”. According to legend, anyone who walks through the Gate of God will become immortal. The native Indians believe that the great heroes of the past passed through this gate to enter the land of the gods and enjoy eternal life. Gate of God in Peru. Photo: Alamy In addition to the Divine Gate in Peru, there are many ancient structures that are said to be portals to other worlds. For example, the Stonehenge stone circle in England; Gate of the Sun in Tiahuanaco, Bolivia; The Star Gate in Sri Lanka, … In January 2018, archaeologists discovered a fake door in a Greek tomb at the Al-Abd archaeological site in Alexandria. Dr Ayman Ashmawy, an expert in Egyptian antiquities, said that the fake door in this case played a role in misleading thieves, making it impossible for them to find the real door of the tomb.