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California State University Sacramento Research on the Afterlife Within Buddhism and Hinduism

Yuh-Boh Feng, May 13, 2015

By Jonathan FengPublished 6 years ago 14 min read
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Introduction

Although most people do not realize it consciously, we now live in a world where new information is published continually in journals, articles, books, websites, and even on television at a weekly basis. According to the international Publishers Association’s (IPA) Annual Report, the United States published over three hundred thousand new titles and re-editions. Interestingly, topics that cover Asian or eastern religions and philosophy also fit within this explosion of informational publications including Sikhism, Zen, Shintoism, Confucianism and multitudes more. This can be especially observed in courses that are taught in universities, colleges and other teaching establishments in the western world. As said by author and lecturer in philosophy at the University of the West of England, Ray Billington,

“This must be viewed as a thoroughly healthy situation. In the global village that we have now become, in which east and west increasingly recognize and explore their interdependence commercially and socially, it will no longer do to be in ignorance of each other’s basic beliefs.”

Nowadays, students of various cultures, ideas, and even religious beliefs study and are taught together. In this environment, the pursuit of education and awareness of eastern religions may lead to the breakdown of prejudice and may ultimately overcome ignorance.

In the section, we explore the most influential Asian religions that are practiced all around the world. These include Hinduism and Buddhism; although they are not as prevalent in the realm of politics, historically, these religions have provided much safety, support, and even education for thousands of lower class groups of people in southeast Asia. Much like the Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism share similar teachings and yet, have strikingly unique ideas that separate them from each other. Though to be more specific, this paper will aim to study the afterlife of each religion.

Buddhism

Much of what is believed in Buddhism concerning the afterlife is heavily influenced by Hindu doctrines of reincarnation and karma. Although there are a few varieties of beliefs, the general idea is that the individual is to continue the cycle of life and death until Nirvana, or enlightenment has been achieved. Nirvana translating to “blowing out” or “extinction,” is a state of transcendence in which the mind is free of egotism or individual identity and humanly desires such as pain, hunger, desire and so on. The journey of life is usually depicted by a candle in which the flames represent the earthly desires of the individual. When the individual passes on, the flame of the candle is spread to another candle, “blown out” and the individual is free from the illusion of self and no longer subject to reincarnation. However, one characteristic of Buddhism is the fact that there is no soul. If that is the case, what exactly is being reborn? According to Buddhist views, many elements or phenomena that makes up a human being’s sense of self is carried on after death.

Another major factor in the continuous cycle of life and death is the notion of karma which is another major fundamental theory of Buddhism. It is also known as the law of moral causation. According to Geshe Kelsang, “Every action we perform leaves an imprint, or potential, on our very subtle mind, and each karmic potential eventually gives rise to its own effect… Positive or virtuous actions sow the seeds of future happiness, and negative or non-virtuous actions sow the seeds of future suffering.” In other words, how we act will decide whether we suffer or experience happiness. From what many people have seen and experienced in this world, it can be seen that some are born with amazing talents and are blessed with a generally higher quality of life while there are others who are poor and/or subject to much suffering. According to Buddhism, such inequalities occur not only from the environment or heredity, but from karma as well. Karma is the result from any intentional action whether it is physical, mental or verbal. Any virtuous activities will result in good karma and likewise, any actions with malicious intent will result in bad karma. This is what defines the Buddhist law of morality. At the end of our life, both bad and good karma's are weighted and determine how our lives will be like in the next life. To sum up, who we are now is the result of who we were, however who we are now does not necessarily represent who we completely are. Although karma is classified to many groupings and sub-groups as well, the four main classifications of karma are reproductive karma, supportive karma, obstructive karma, and destructive karma. Reproductive karma is karma that determines what the person will be in future births. The amount of happiness the individual experiences throughout his/her life is the consequence of reproductive karma. Assisting the reproductive karma is the supportive karma. In this case, the role of supportive karma is to help give happiness or pain to the individual depending on the morality of the reproductive karma. Obstructive karma is a force that goes against the reproductive karma of the individual. For example, an individual with good reproductive karma will face obstacles in his life, preventing him to truly enjoy the karma of his good actions. Finally, destructive karma acts as an opposing force from past deeds to completely nullify the reproductive karma. That being said, destructive karma can either assist in helping the individual or bring upon a terrible consequence, making it a neutral force by nature. It is important to note that these classifications of karma's so not completely control our lives. They are also subject to influence from external forces like personality and various circumstances.

However, with various denominations comes with various differences in belief of afterlife. In the Pali tradition that practices Theravada Buddhism, only the Karma is carried on to the next life. This version of reincarnation is instantaneous and a new embodiment is born at death. Another belief that is prominent in Theravada practice is the realm of an intermediary state in which depending on which tradition, the intermediary state acts like a conduit to either rebirth or nirvana depending on the individual’s karma. In the tradition of Tibet, “One who gained enough spiritual insight and practice in life will become aware of the primordial luminosity at the moment of death…[and] will not go into the intermediary state but actualize nirvana.” In the case, the individual may avoid rebirth and receive a chance to reach nirvana through visions in which the person’s reaction to the visions will determine the outcome of the individual. In Mahayana, the concept of the afterlife is an existence of a heaven-like area that is free from suffering in general. The purpose is to give the dead a rebirth that is easier to reach nirvana. It is described as a place, “decorated with jewels and precious metals and lined with banana and palm trees. Cool refreshing ponds and lotus flowers abound and wild birds sing the praises of the Buddha three times a day.” In the branch of Zen Buddhism, the concept of the afterlife is nonexistent. From the Zen point of view, questions about God or the afterlife are impossible to answer due to the limited knowledge of man. This is not saying that they completely reject the idea of a metaphysical realm, but because Zen is unable to confirm the afterlife, it is better to live in the moment. It is important to note that there are more denominations of Buddhism that exist in the world and that within those denominations exists many more denominations. The most important overarching idea is the ideal end state of the individual is the termination of the self. Only by resisting earthly desires can the individual reach nirvana.

Hinduism

Hinduism as of today is the third largest organized religion in the world. Originating about four to five thousand years ago in northern India, Hinduism believes in the concept of Brahman, or a one supreme spirit or absolute reality. Hinduism is based around five principles, Parmeshwar (God); Prarthana (prayer); Punarjanma (rebirth); Purusthartha (action); and Prani (compassion for living things), all of which are necessary to reach a state of absolute truth, ultimately returning the soul or Atman to Brahman. Some moral values that are prevalent in its teachings include nonviolence, truthfulness, friendship, compassion, purity, and generosity. The idea of karma is also predominant in Hindu teachings; also known as the law of cause and effect in which each individual creates his or her own destiny based on their thoughts and actions. All life is seen as sacred and is to be reserved and that no one religion is the only way to enlightenment and thus deserved to be tolerated and respected. Similar to most religions it, “offers a comprehensive world view in which everything has its place and where all individual parts contribute to a meaningful total picture. All astronomical, geographical, historical, cultural information that was available at a given time is overarched by a philosophy that anchored its ethics, its anthropology, and its sociopolitical laws ultimately in a creator and ruler of the universe.”

To understand the intertwining ideas of suffering, death and reincarnation, one must know the four concepts of Karma, Dharma, Maya, and Atman. Karma, as stated before, asserts that the deeds and behavior of an individual’s past lives and current life will determine the fate of the individual’s current life and future lives. Simply, for those who perform good deeds or had performed good deeds will be rewarded by karma. Likewise, karma punishes those who do not fulfill the obligations of dharma. Dharma is a principle that demonstrates the ideal and virtuous behavior of fulfilling various duties corresponding to each individual. For example, it is, “the duty of parents to care for their children is based on the belief that God has entrusted the parents with the care of their children. It is mentioned that it is the reciprocal duty of children to honor parents as it is believed that the parents are acting as God’s earthly representatives.”

The Maya is the illusion of one’s perception of what is considered valuable and real which disturbs the progress of the individual. This can include the desire for money and fame and overall personal attachment of earthly desire and material goods. Finally, the Atman is the idea in which the soul is perceived not as a separate entity on its own, but as a member or part of a greater community or universe. Hindu belief follows the teaching that actions need to coincide with the scriptures that underlines the concept of Karma and Dharma. One does not need to convert in order to become Hindu, in fact, anyone, regardless of religious beliefs, can be considered as Hindu as long as they follow the principles of the Vedic scriptures and live according to each of their personal dharma.

In Hinduism, reincarnation of souls has a long and convoluted history. To the Hindus, death is not the end of an individual’s life, but the end of a rebirth. Driven by the law of karma, souls embody themselves in a continuous chain of successions. The ultimate objective for many Hindu traditions is to reach the state of final release, or moksa. However, what is it they are trying to release from? In Hindu traditions, it is believed that all living things (with the exception of plants) are constrained in a wheel of life and death; this concept, called Samsara, is one of the fundamental beliefs of Hinduism. The reason in which most living organisms continue through endless cycles of reincarnation is the notion of avidya which translates directly into ignorance, more specifically, ignorance of true self and the embracement of the individual’s ego. This kind of idea usually does not complement western thought and thus, it is observed that, “Belief in reincarnation virtually excludes individuality in the western sense, for each person is but a manifestation of the life within him, which will be reborn, after his apparent death, in another form.”

Interestingly enough, although reincarnation may be a distinctive trait of Hinduism and much of Asiatic religions, there is another characteristic of Hindu tradition that may sound familiar to most. Within the cycles of Samsara, there is a location where punishment takes place for the most impure acts, Niraka, or hell. Unlike much of the Abrahamic religions, hell is a definite possible destination after death, though not because of wrong belief in faith, but more so of evil deeds. Fortunately, those who end up in Niraka are not destined to stay for eternity for one function of hell is the purification of the human soul. According to one textual tradition, after moral impurities are purified through time in hell, the soul is reincarnated once again, though starting as an animal, then human. Other views that can be found in the Mahabharata, states that after punishment, the individual is born again in Heaven, svarga. Again, like hell, residence in heaven is only temporary as one’s goal is to reach the state of detachment of ego and return to the source of all living things physical and non-physical, the Brahman. In fact, as the Mahabharata states, “all the heavens of the gods are hells compared to the place of Brahman.

Conclusion

I would like to stress again like I had in the previous paper that similarly with the Abrahamic religions, Buddhism and Hinduism are heavily interconnected with each other. Each religion or controversially, philosophies, have borrowed teachings or are influenced by each other in some shape or form. I would imagine that as history has shown countless times in each tradition that it will continue to change and may even give birth to new ideologies and beliefs. Buddhism and Hinduism believe the concept of a singular nominal force that has created everything in the universe and strive to reach an ideal state of balance with all. It is imperative to go along with the flow of nature and not create any actions that would otherwise disrupt the harmony in the cosmos. Regardless of any other denominations of each, similar virtues of love, compassions, humility, and respect are all clearly prominent within their teachings. There is not necessarily a system of conversion in each religion in each religion and thus, possible for any individual to be a Buddhist or Hindu. Each of these religio-philisophical systems has the same goal, but with different approaches; it is much like water, different forms, but identical in composition nevertheless.

Bibliography

Billington,Ray.Understanding Eastern Philosophy.London,GBR:Routledge,1997.ProQuest ebrary. Web. 28 April 2015.

Bötrül. Distinguishing the Views and Philosophies: Illuminating Emptiness in a Twentieth-century Tibetan Buddhist Classic. Albany: NY, USA: State University of New York Press, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 28 April 2015.

Brooks, Nicky. “Overview of Religions.” Clinical Cornerstone 6.1 (2004):7-16. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://deathandreligion.plamienok.sk/files/105-Overview_of_Religions.pdf>.

Gray, Jason D. “Buddhist Views of the Afterlife | Immortality Project.” Immortality Project. Immortality Project, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.

Gupta, Rashmi(2011) ‘Death Beliefs and Practices from an Asian Indian American Hindu Perspective’, Death Studies, 35: 3, 244-266. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

Gyatso, Kelsang. Transform Your Life: A Blissful Journey. London: Tharpa Publications, 2001. Print.

Jacobsen, Knut A. “Three Functions of Hell in the Hindu Traditions.” Numen 56.2/3, THE USES OF HELL(2009): 385-400. JSTOR. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

KLostermaier, Klaus. A Survey of Hinduism. 3rd ed. Albany, NY: State U of New York, 1994. Google Books. SUNY Press, 10 Mar. 2015.

Neumaier-Dargyay, Eva K., “Buddhism.” In Coward, Harold (ed.), 1997, Life after Death in World Religions, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.10 Mar. 2015.

Suzuki, Daisetz Teaitaro. “Monumenta Nipponica.” Zen Buddhism 1.1 (1938): 48-57. JSTOR. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2382444>.

Footnotes

Walter, Tony. “Reincarnation, Modernity and Identity.” Sociology 35.1 (2001): 21-38. JSTOR. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

Billington Ray.Understanding Eastern Philosophy. London, GBR:Routledge, 1997. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 28 April 2015.

Gray, Jason D. “Buddhist Views of the Afterlife | Immortality Project.” Immortality Project. Immortality Project, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.

Gyatso, Kelsang. Transform Your Life: A Blissful Journey. London: Tharpa Publications, 2001. Print.

Bötrül. Distinguishing the Views and Philosophies: Illuminating Emptiness in a Twentieth-century Tibetan Buddhist Classic. Albany: NY, USA: State University of New York Press, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 28 April 2015.

Neumaier-Dargyay, Eva K., “Buddhism.” In Coward, Harold (ed.), 1997, Life after Death in World Religions, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.10 Mar. 2015.

Gray, Jason D. “Buddhist Views of the Afterlife | Immortality Project.” Immortality Project. Immortality Project, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.

Gray, Jason D. “Buddhist Views of the Afterlife | Immortality Project.” Immortality Project. Immortality Project, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.

Suzuki, Daisetz Teaitaro. “Monumenta Nipponica.” Zen Buddhism 1.1 (1938): 48-57. JSTOR. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2382444>.

Brooks, Nicky. “Overview of Religions.” Clinical Cornerstone 6.1 (2004):7-16. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://deathandreligion.plamienok.sk/files/105-Overview_of_Religions.pdf>.

KLostermaier, Klaus. A Survey of Hinduism. 3rd ed. Albany, NY: State U of New York, 1994. Google Books. SUNY Press, 10 Mar. 2015.

Gupta, Rashmi(2011) ‘Death Beliefs and Practices from an Asian Indian American Hindu Perspective’, Death Studies, 35: 3, 244-266. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

Walter, Tony. “Reincarnation, Modernity and Identity.” Sociology 35.1 (2001): 21-38. JSTOR. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

Jacobsen, Knut A. “Three Functions of Hell in the Hindu Traditions.” Numen 56.2/3, THE USES OF HELL(2009): 385-400. JSTOR. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

Jacobsen, Knut A. “Three Functions of Hell in the Hindu Traditions.” Numen 56.2/3, THE USES OF HELL(2009): 385-400. JSTOR. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

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