A tribute to Elvis

This morning we got a knock at the door. Our neighbors had come over to let us know that Elvis, their golden stripped cat, had past away in their front planter. We went over and inspected the situation. It looked like he was resting calmly on his side. It appears that he had died sometime early in the night.

Not long after our neighbors had moved in their house over two and a half years ago, Elvis had become part of our family as well. Our neighbors had another cat and a dog. Elvis did not seem to like enjoying the space with these other animals and decided that he would spend an increasing amount of time in our house. So while he was not our cat, he did live here most of the time.

I remember when Elvis started comming to stay. Every morning I wake up and go down to our Meditation room to do my morning practice. One morning while doing a mantra portion of the practice, I heard a screeching sound outside the door. I got up and found that Elvis was sitting at the door wanting to come in. It took about three more days before he decided to fully come in. Almost every morning thereafter, Elvis would come and sit with us during our morning practice. Then he would usually jump up on on of the couches in the meditation room and sleep for awhile. Elvis seemed to truly connect with something that was going on in the Dharma/Meditation room.

Elvis would travel around the immediate neighborhood. However, he was almost always the first to welcome me home from work. I think that he knew the sound of my car. Unless he was already inside the house, he would be waiting for me at the back gate and meow. He would then follow me into the house.

If he saw me sitting. Elvis always wanted to jump on my lap and moosh his paws into my clothes. When we would go out of town, sometimes for extended periods of time, he would be like glue by my side for the first few days after we returned. Elvis truly knew how to give love and was a wonderful friend to our whole family.

This afternoon, we are going to bury him in his own spot in the yard. We will perform a short ceremony for him, say our good byes and pray for his swift transistion into the pure land.

Elvis was always full of love and caring. I am certain that he had a connection to the Dharma and spent time benefiting from our practices. He also spent time with many masters who came to our home and gave teachings. Elvis was always around for the teachings. Most notably he took teachings from Khenpo Choga Rinpoche, Khenpo Sonam, and Tulku Choejor.

Elvis, we pray for you. Thank you for being part of our household. We will always love you and remember your kind heart.

Geoff