Death and the Afterlife of Christianity and Buddhism - Essay Example

Death and the Afterlife of Christianity and Buddhism Buddhism and Christianity share some main similarities in regards to death and the afterlife. Christian traditions maintain that an individual is given a chance to be righteous and follow God’s commandments. If they do not follow these guidelines, they do not enter into heaven. This explains that their lives are spoilt, and they are dropped into heal where there is constant suffering. Buddhism religion, on the other hand, maintains that death is not the end of life. When an individual dies, they are allowed another chance in a different life form to do well. This sequence continues from good to worse life forms. They believe that when an individual dies, they can be reincarnated in animals, spirits and even human life forms. This is totally different from Christians who believe that individuals are allowed only one chance. If they lead a righteous life they head to heaven where there is eternal happiness, if they do not, they head t hell where there is total suffering. This essay seeks to discuss the similarities and differences in the Christian and Buddhist beliefs about death and afterlife. This is on my background of Christianity as my main religion and the Buddhist influence from my grandparents. In Christianity, physical death is seen as an event which can be escaped through having life after death. The Christian traditions are set on the basis that when one leads a righteous life on Christ, they get a chance to have another life after death. Having a strong relationship with god is the only way out for any Christian seeking to have eternal life. In Christianity, therefore, physical death is depicted as a mere separation of one’s soul from the physical body. The christen bible stipulates that the dust returns where it came from, and the soul goes where it came from. Christians maintain that it is God that gives life and has the right to take it from anyone (Nicholas 262). On the other hand, spiritual death is separation of man from God due to sin. Christianity also depicts that there is spiritual death. This is in the sense that when one sins against God they get spiritual death. This is a situation where a Christian loses a good relationship with God. They believe that one’s inequities make the relationship with God not clear hence they sufferer spiritual death. It is in line with this that Christians believe that when one becomes spiritually dead, they have no chance of entering the Kingdom of God. The sinners have no place in heaven, and when they die both physically and spiritually they do not ascend to heaven. Heaven is seen as a place where there is joy, happiness and eternal enjoyment. This is where the Christians who spent their lives in a rightful manner in earth get to enjoy the fruits of their labor. This means that, in their afterlife, only the righteous will experience joy and happiness. For those that do not lead righteous lives spiritually and physically will head to hell where there is eternal suffering. It is in this respect that Christians are in constant search for spiritual nourishment to get to heaven. They also lead their lives according to the way of God. They spent their lives righteously knowing that in the afterlife they would have eternal happiness and joy in paradise. In daily life of a Christian, it is appropriate to live rightfully and forgo the worldly pleasures (Duncan 25). The belief in the afterlife influences numerous activities that Christian engage in. the Christian traditions are dedicated to seeking high spiritual levels and beliefs in the commandments of God. Many people live their daily lives in the expectations of having a better life in the afterlife. The Christian scriptures attest that there is life after death through the story of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not only resurrect from death physically but also spiritually. Christians base their belief on this story since it is true evidence that there is life after death. The biblical texts record of joy and happiness to any individuals who have values in their lives. They are promised of a better life after death since they went through many temptations and still kept their faith strong in God. Similarly, Buddhism has the same projections about life after death. In the Buddhism traditions, death is not the end of life and everyone has a second chance after death (Becker 278). However, unlike Christianity, where one soul or spirit is judged after physical death to determine if the soul or spirit go to hell or heaven, in Buddhism, the soul will seek out though the need of attachment, attachment to a new body and new life. The traditions maintain that, one will be born is a result of the past and the accumulation of positive and negative action, and the resultant karma. The cause and effect is because of one’s past actions. Thus, the judgment of the life one person is currently living will decide the fate of their new life. Consequently, every action one takes will trigger new karma. Karma is the guide to living one’s life, If anyone causes happiness to other people, one will be happy in the next life. The same rule also applies to a person who cause suffering to others. This is called the Law of Karma. Nirvana is unachievable compared to the idea of heaven in Christianity. Nirvana is the “heaven” of Buddhism in which eternal happiness awaits in the afterlife. This interpreted means a state of freedom or enlightenment from the confines of existence. It is the release from the succession of rebirth through innumerable lives up and down the six aspects of existence. It is attained through the destruction of desire. Only firm individuals that lived and mastered life in spotlessness and harmony to their regular will make it to Nirvana. Larger Sutra birth is the conversion of the dead body of transmigration into a body that will surely get to Nirvana. These customs govern the Buddhism religion in that all the believers agree that it is only through doing well in the present life will determine the next course of life after death. Transformation of realization and accomplishment of wisdom is described in the Cheng weishilun. Furthermore, four different types of wisdom are achieved through this conversion of consciousness. There are six ways to be reincarnated. One is in heaven where there is no suffering. This is a belief mostly by the Christian who believes that if one has a good life on earth then they will have the best in heaven. The eligibility to get to heaven is by having led a spiritual and righteous life on earth. This is similar to Buddhism where they believe that one must have had a righteous life on earth to get to Nirvana (Bernstein 195). An individual can also be reincarnated in human life. Reincarnation in human life relates that an individual is given a second chance to make their lives right. This is especially in the Buddhist believes about reincarnation. In this they live as humans but are judged again if they will lead a good life or a bad one. Reincarnation can also be in form of a god, Asura. This demi-god is never satisfied and is full of jealousy. This is a spiritual reincarnation, and the demigod does not have physical relations with the individuals who still live their lives on earth. Reincarnation can be in terms of a hungry ghost, which is a spiritual realm in which their spirits are tortured and exhausted (Obayashi 16). This is the regards of constant search with no satisfaction. This is usually a punishment for a bad life on earth during the first chance. Individuals reincarnated in this form usually have a bad record of evil doings in their first lives. Lastly, one can be reincarnated as an animal. This details a situation that if one has done many evil activities will live as an animal. In this life, they are in constant mistreatment by human beings. When they are in hell, their souls are in constant torture and pain through eternity. In summary, Buddhism and Christianity share some major aspects in relation to death and afterlife. Christians believe that there is life after physical death. They maintain that abiding by the scriptures is the only way to achieve life after death. The Christian bible stipulates that Christians should forgo the earthly pleasures since real pleasure and riches are stored in heaven. This is a similar belief in the Buddhism religion. They believe that death is not the end of life. They describe life as a cycle, and when an individual dies, they are reincarnated into another body or spirit. They explain that getting to Nirvana is an uphill task and one has to be very spiritual to achieve this status. The Buddhism beliefs explain that when one dies, they become reincarnated into a different form. This is on the notion that they are allowed a second chance to do well on earth. If one fails to do well on the second chance, they are reincarnated into other forms like animals and spirits. This is different from the Christian beliefs, which stipulate that everyone has a single chance to prove their spirituality to God. Works Cited Bernstein, Andrew. "Death and the Afterlife in Japanese Buddhism (review)." The Journal of Japanese Studies 36.1 (2010): 193-197. Becker, Carl B. breaking the circle: death and the afterlife in Buddhism. Southern Illinois University Press, 2008. Duncan, J L, and J N. Reid. Fear Not!: Death and the Afterlife from a Christian Perspective. Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2008. Print. Nichols, Terence. Death and Afterlife: A Theological Introduction. Grand Rapids: Baker Pub. Group, 2010. Print. Obayashi, Hiroshi, ed. Death and afterlife: perspectives of world religions. Greenwood Press, 2002. Read More