Comparing the Concepts of the Afterlife of Buddhism and Christianity - Research Paper Example

In religion, mythology, philosophy andfiction, the concept of afterlife is a realm in which the essential part of a persons consciousness continues to exist after the physical death of the body (Brown 65). Afterlife concept is commonly referred to as life after death in various doctrines. According to the various theories that explain this concept, the essential part of a persons making that continues to live in entirety or partially is the spirit or soul. The spirit or the soul is the unique element in the making of the human beings that confers a personal identity. The concept of afterlife maintains that life after death may be either supernatural or natural depending on the doctrine of reference. The afterlife belief contrasts the oblivion after death credence. There are significant differences in the approaches taken by various views and major religious beliefs in explaining the belief in life after death (Fahlbusch and Bromiley 668). While some modern theories maintain that the continued existence assumes a spiritual nature, other traditional beliefs postulate that a person is reborn after death into this world and starts a new life. In the latter view, it is assumed that the reborn individuals have no memory of their past existence. The rebirths are believed to occur recurrently until a person acquires the entry into the spiritual life. The Christian Concept of Afterlife The Christian believe in life after death has its primary foundation in the teachings, suffering, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 130). According to Christian teachings, the birth of Jesus marked the beginning of a common era. Jesus is believed to be the Messiah that translates to ‘the anointed one in the Christian faith. More precisely, Jesus is believed to be the son of God Incarnate and the highest. In the Christian faith, the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus were meant to confer salvation on humankind by absolving the original sin and opening the way to eternal life. The Biblical teaching in the book of John explains that it was out of God’s eminent love for the world that He chose to send His Begotten Son into the world, so that whoever believed in him may have life in eternity. The concept of an afterlife in the Christian doctrine is ultimately founded on the belief that Jesus resurrected from the death specifically on the third day. The Christians believe that upon his death, the Lord took away their sins and in his resurrection brought life back to them so that they would embrace it eternally (Moreman 101). Jesus conquered death that was brought to the world by the evil kingdom of Satan against the will of God the Creator. It is the sin that brought death and suffering to humankind after mans disobedience to God. God abandoned the man after eating from the tree of knowledge good and evil. The Christian faith belief is that there could be no death and suffering in the world if only Adam (the first man) and Eve (the first woman) had not disobeyed God. Adam and Eve were thrown from the garden as sinners subject to death and suffering. According to traditional Christian Theologians, all humans are born sinful. They are unworthy of Gods grace and hence their destiny is death. Humans are not immortal naturally unless by the grace of God which comes through the death of Jesus for the sins of humankind. Christians believe in the freedom of choice in accepting the right to life that comes through salvation. According to the popular Christian belief, Jesus defeated Satan and the kingdom of doom that were responsible for the human death and suffering and took from him the key to eternal life and happiness. Therefore, whoever believes in Jesus cannot die but lives with him in eternity after the physical death. In the Christian faith, afterlife takes the form of the spirit and not the body. It is believed that Christians die the natural in Christ and resurrect with him to life eternal (Fahlbusch and Bromiley 670). The earliest Christians who were a sect of the ‘Apocalyptic Judaism’ believed in the Day of Judgment. They believed that in this chosen day when Gods kingdom would rule over heaven and earth, the people who die in righteousness would resurrect on that particular day to live eternally with God. The early view of resurrection among the first Christians maintained the notion that people will experience resurrection in the form of the body on the last day. However, with the evolution of the Christian faith through ages, different perceptions emerged and are maintained today. Across the various Christian denominations in the world today, though, with minor differences, the majority of Christians believe in the spiritual resurrection of the body. The Apostle Paul in his epistles to the churches and individuals in the New Testament neutralize the Christian view of resurrection and life after death. In his first letter to the Corinthians 15, Paul says that blood and flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God. He maintains the belief that a trumpet shall be blown, and people shall be raised from the dead in the spiritual form. It is the widely adopted Christian belief of the afterlife. Christians believe that the common destiny of the dead is Heaven, the dwelling place of God (Moreman 101). Those who seek their salvation through Jesus Christ and die in righteousness find rest with God in Heaven. There are varied beliefs of the ultimate time when a person gets to heaven after death among different Christian denominations. While some believe that after death the soul parts of the body and awaits judgement in the purgatory, others believe that the spirits of the righteous join God in heaven immediately after death. The latter group believes that the souls of those who die in sin go to Hell where they suffer eternally. The Buddhist Concept of Afterlife Just like other major religions on earth, Buddhism also believes in the life after the physical death. The Buddhist faith maintains two beliefs about what follows when a person dies (McClelland 21). Firstly, they believe that a person is reborn to life in a new form. Rebirth into a new life in the Buddhist faith is referred to as reincarnation or transmigration. Secondly, they believe that a person who upon death is not reborn enters nirvana. However, only Buddhas attain this latter destination. Buddhas according to Buddhism are people who achieve complete righteousness get the privilege to meet with Buddha. According to Buddhism, life is a systemic journey while death implies a return to earth. For the Buddhists, the earth is like an inn and the years that pass in a person’s life on earth are like dust. For them, the world is like a bubble of water or a star at dawn. It is like a dream. In Buddhism, there is absence of the belief in the existence of the soul. In its Anatta (no-soul) doctrine, Buddhism believes that Buddha described reincarnation of the body in a manner that differs from the traditional Indian understanding (Stone and Walter 49). Buddhas description of the taking of another body in a new life after death compares to using the flame of a candle to light many other successive candles. Even though each flame is causal to the flame before it, it is not the same flame. Buddhists refer to reincarnation as transmigration. It reflects the change in the old body into a new one in the new life. Nirvana, in Buddhism, is the final liberation that individuals get from the repetitive cycle of death and rebirth. For Buddhists, this is the end of suffering. Nirvana means to extinguish just as fire goes out upon the termination of fuel (McClelland 23). The place as described by Buddha in the Surangama as one where there is nothing seen except what is seen of the mind. There, one recognizes the nature of their self-mind and no longer cherish the dualities of discrimination. In Nirvana, there is no more grasping, or thirst or attachment to externalities. Nirvana in the Buddhist faith compares to the heaven described in the Christian Bible. It is the dwelling place of Buddha (God) and the righteous that live to do the will of God on earth. Nirvana is indescribable. Just like in Christianity, there are variations in Buddhism on the views of what occurs after death. However, Buddhists universally believe in the cycle of death and rebirth and the existence of Nirvana (McClelland 25). In Nirvana, there is no survival of the subjective experience or existence of the individual. The desire for identity and permanence according to the Supreme Buddha (Gautama Buddha) encompasses the suffering nature of the embodied life. For Buddhists, there is no permanent essence that lives after death. There is no soul. However, emotions, physical phenomena, sensory perceptions, consciousness and responses to sensory perceptions may exist though not in the form of the immortal soul. These elements, however, are dissolved upon the attainment of Nirvana. Theravada and Mahayana are the two major schools of Buddhism. These two schools demonstrate the difference in Buddhist views of the afterlife in the reincarnation. Different from the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the Mahayana school of thought professes the existence of a new land. The concept of the existence of the pure land describes the existence of material decorations in the Field of Buddha (Nirvana) of jewels. The latter approach conforms to the Heaven descriptions in the Christian faith. Reasons for the Existence of the Theological View of Afterlife Thomas Aquinas, a renowned philosopher, theologian and Catholic Priest explains that whoever believes in the existence of the soul during the physical life must also believe in its existence after death. The soul is the form of the body (Fahlbusch and Bromiley 674). Thomas describes humans as a matter form composite. The matter is the physical body that must be configured by the soul to exist. He thus holds the belief that matter can die, but the soul is not susceptible to death. The belief in the existence of God (supernatural being) is the very primary foundation of the theological view of the afterlife. Gods intention is to have His people join Him and rest with him after their earthly mission on earth. Both Christians and Buddhists believe in the existence of the supernatural being. They, therefore, form beliefs about the ultimate intention of termination of the human life, which translates to afterlife beliefs. References Brown, Dennis. A Students Guide to A2 Religious Studies for the AQA Specification. 2nd ed. London: Rhinegold, 2010. Print. Fahlbusch, Erwin, and Geoffrey William Bromiley. The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001. Print. Jeremiah, Ken. Christian Mummification. Jefferson: McFarland & Co., Publishers, 2012. Print. McClelland, Norman C. Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2010. Print. Moreman, Christopher M. Beyond The Threshold. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010. Print. Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse, and Mariko Namba Walter. Death and the Afterlife in Japanese Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawai Press, 2008. Print. Read More