The cat who went to heaven, written by Elizebeth Coatsworth, talks about a poor painter and the unexpected arrival of a Calico cat soon named Good Fortune. The Artist was poor and needed food, so he gave money to the housekeeper to buy some. However, she brought home Good Fortune and the artist was very angry. But the housekeeper thought the artist was lonely, and so convinced him to keep the cat. The artist then realizes that the cat has three colors, which means good fortune, thus its name. The priest asks the artist to paint a painting of Buddha and the animals he had blessed and sent to heaven. The artist was happy because it was an important job, and got to work. Every day, he drew an animal, snails, birds, elephants, lions, and bears. But he never drew a cat in the painting. One day when he was drawing the last animal, he saw Good Fortune’s dismay at not being in the drawing. When he saw that, he felt sorry for it, and so then he drew a cat on the painting, just beside Buddha. And when Good Fortune saw this, it was so happy that it died. On the day of Good Fortune’s death, the artist gave the painting to the priest. Upon seeing the cat in the painting, he was angry and ordered the painting to be burnt because cats are known to be disrespectful and disobedient to Buddha. But at the end of the story, everyone sees that the Buddha is raising his hand in blessing to the cat. This story shows that even the most bad people, or things, can change.
When the artist adds the cat into his painting, it shows the true meaning of compassion towards things. The meaning of compassion is to take action with others and observe their feelings, and also help and recognize the suffering of others. The artist shows compassion by knowing Good Fortune’s pain and finally deciding to make him feel better by drawing it into the painting. This is an act of compassion because it shows compassion when the artist includes Good Fortune in his painting when it is not supposed to be there. The artist sacrificed all his money to buy food to get Good Fortune, and to show his love for it. Compassion is very important to know because it can help other people in hard times. Just like the artist and Good Fortune, we should all help people when we can. Showing love or friendship for people in need can help the person’s suffering a lot. The elephant sacrificed himself for the fugitive’s hunger in the elephant story. This is all an act of compassion and sometimes it is needed after the artist’s meditation and thinking, he realized the importance of compassion to even the most untrusted things, such as the cat. This is the reason why he drew Good Fortune onto the painting. Compassion is in our hearts, and it could help someone from suffering badly.
The cat used redemption to show that it was good enough to be blessed by Buddha. In order to change people's belief that cats are bad, selfish, and rude to the Buddha, Good Fortune tried to show his master that he was not the kind of cat he thought. When Good Fortune first got brought into the artist’s home by the housekeeper, he was very angry because the cat had been brought at the worst time, when he was hungry, desperate, and poor. Good Fortune, however, showed the artist how much mercy and kindness one cat could have. The artist was touched by this and wondered why cats could not be blessed by Buddha if they were so genuine. In the cat story, even if the cat is very, very hungry, it will let a small bird go free from its grasp. This is because cats can contain more mercy and kindness than people can notice, which is the reason the artist ponders this question. Good Fortune also started to eat less so that it will not burden his master and cause him to lose even more money. Now, the artist is deeply touched by Good Fortune’s behavior and decides to risk and sacrifice his own work to show the true virtue of cats. The artist knew the price that would have to be paid if he added a cat to his painting, but he didn’t mind because he wanted to show everyone what one little cat, such as Good Fortune, would hold. When the story ended, it was shown as Buddha giving a blessing to the cat, meaning his acceptance of the change of belief towards cats.
Forgiveness is very important, especially a god forgiving something that was disobedient, disrespectful, and rude to him. An example of a god is the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), he was born into a rich family but he used his money to lavish them on the poor. This is how he became a god. From the root of how Buddhism was created, it shows that this religion is related to Buddha, and also that we should promote love and friendship even if it costs sacrifice. Since Buddha was so impressed and touched by Good Fortune’s act to help others, like the artist, he forgives her. And then, he performed a miracle; giving the cat its first blessing ever. Buddha helps the cat by blessing it, and this is all caused by forgiveness when he realized that everything can change, even the worst things like cats. Buddha is a god, and he understands that Good Fortune is trying to change to prove that she is not the cat that everyone thinks she is. This shows that everyone and everything deserves love and also a second chance. Buddha helped the cat in order to prove to everyone the importance of forgiveness even to the most disrespectful beings.
Because of this story, even today we honor cats and think of them as good fortune. Every religion believes a cat is a symbol of change and respect. We should take care of and respect everything and everyone on earth. It also shows us that everything is possible because even the most disobedient and independent creatures can be blessed by the great Buddha. In order to do this, all we need is to chase and follow our hearts in the right way, and perhaps there will be a miracle. When the artist found out that Good Fortune was not the bad cat he had heard from, he tried everything to prove it, even if it meant sacrificing himself or losing his job. But finally, with the help of Buddha, he proved to everyone the true identity of cats and how much they are mistaken. Good Fortune and the artist both stood up on hard times and believed in themselves, and soon they succeeded in what they wanted. Buddha knew that disobedient and rude animals will change, and he has been waiting for a cat to prove him right. Little did he know, the artist had the same desire and so they helped each other to prove the cat’s good side. Nothing is easy, at all, but if you try hard and stand up during difficult times, nothing is impossible.
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