Readings -Philosophical, Secular and Religious
Philosophical funeral readings sources
"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius
"On the Shortness of Life" by Seneca
"The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy
"Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl
"The Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus
"Being and Time" by Martin Heidegger
"The Republic" by Plato
"The Art of Happiness" by Epicurus
"The Symposium" by Plato
"The World as Will and Representation" by Arthur Schopenhauer
"The Ethics" by Benedict de Spinoza
"The Bhagavad Gita"
"The Tao Te Ching" by Laozi
"The Analects" by Confucius
Christian Religious Readings
Psalm 23 ("The Lord is My Shepherd") – A comforting Christian passage about guidance and peace.
John 14:1-4 ("In My Father’s House") – A New Testament reading offering hope in eternal life.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 ("A Time for Everything") – A passage about the changing seasons of life.
Revelation 21:4 ("No More Pain or Sorrow") – A promise of comfort in heaven.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 ("I Have Fought the Good Fight") – A reflection on a life well-lived.
Matthew 5:4 ("Blessed Are Those Who Mourn") – A simple message of comfort.
Isaiah 41:10 ("Do Not Fear, for I Am with You") – A message of divine comfort.
Romans 8:38-39 ("Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love") – Reassurance of eternal love
Winnie the pooh
"Halfway Down" – A poem from When We Were Very Young (1924) that reflects on being in-between places, often interpreted as a metaphor for transitions in life.
"If Ever There Is a Tomorrow" (from Winnie-the-Pooh) – A well-known quote often used in remembrance:
“If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together... there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart... I’ll always be with you.”"Wherever They Go" – A passage about how those we love never truly leave us, used in funeral readings.
"The End of Edward Bear" (from The House at Pooh Corner, 1928) – The poignant final chapter where Christopher Robin says goodbye to Pooh and childhood, sometimes interpreted as a gentle metaphor for moving on.
Epicurus:
"Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist."
Seneca:
"Death is not an evil. What is it then? The one law mankind has that is free of all discrimination."
Marcus Aurelius:
"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."
Marcus Aurelius:
"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live."
Source: Marcus Aurelius - Wikiquote
Epictetus:
"I cannot escape death, but at least I can escape the fear of it."
Source: Epictetus - Wikiquote
Seneca the Younger:
"It is not death; but a bad life, which destroys the soul."
Source: Quintus Sextius - Wikiquote
Zeno of Citium:
"No evil is honorable; but death is honorable; therefore death is not evil."
Source: Zeno of Citium - Wikiquote
Marcus Aurelius:
"Death, like generation, is a secret of Nature."
Source: Marcus Aurelius - Wikiquote