Samsara Dog is a beautifully touching book that teaches children about reincarnation through the many lives of a dog.
Every once in a while a reader will come across a book that catches the very essence of life and its meaning. Why is there life? What is the purpose to living over and over, a seemingly endless succession of many lives? Samsara Dog, written by practicing Buddhist Helen Manos, teaches children and adults the true meaning of reincarnation.
The Story
Dog has lived many lives. Once he was a street dog. He loved and trusted no one. He lived a bitter life and died alone. In Dog’s next life he lived with a biker gang. He loved to feel the wind in his face as he sat with his owner on a motorcycle. It was a wild life, filled with fighting and danger. Dog met his tragic end one night when he was thrown from the motorcycle during a police chase. But Dog was born again. This time he was a sniffer dog and he worked hard until the day he died.
Sometimes Dog lived a life of many years and sometimes he lived only a short time. Dog was born again, but he was very weak and sick. A Buddhist child held his tiny puppy body and chanted as Dog’s frail life slipped away.
His next few lives aren’t as tragic as his earlier lives. In one life, he works with a street juggler and entertains people with his fancy tricks. In another life, Dog is a rescue dog and searches for survivors under snow and ice.
With each new life, Dog is slowly becoming aware of something special, something that will one day, in one life, set him free. In a big house, filled with four adoring girls, Dog is loved. The girls play with Dog all the time and like to dress him up in play clothes. He lives a happy life. When it is his time to go, the girls hold him and weep.
Dog is born again, this time inside a boat shed. He hears someone singing outside and, when he crawls out from the shed, he finds a young boy. The boy takes Dog home and they become close friends. Each day they run and play in the sand. At night, they sleep together, curled up in the blankets.
One frightful day, the boy falls and lies in the sand unconscious. Dog stays by his side, offering the boy what comfort he can until help arrives. As the boy lies in bed, still unconscious, Dog stays by his side, never leaving him.
When the boy finally wakes, everyone is happy, but Dog knows that the boy is different because the boy’s eyes have turned milky white.
Together, Dog and the boy continue on their lives together. They play together and grow up together. For the first time in his many lives, Dog loves someone more than himself.
Stunningly Beautiful
Samsara Dog by Helen Manos (Kane / Miller Book Publishers, ISBN 978-1-933605-51-7) is a book to be treasured for life. The Buddhist message of selfless love is unmistakable: freedom from the trials of many lives comes when one places another before herself.
