Quach,+Daniel

Daniel Quach World History C (Gold) **__ The Beliefs of the After-Lives of __****__ Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism __** __Research Question__

Are the goals to reach the after-life different for each of the three discussed religions? (Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism)

__Introduction__

The goals of Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists to reach the after-life are closely related yet differ in many ways. The topics that will be focused on will be the similarities and differences between the three religions’ beliefs on the after-life and how their desires to reach it differ. Quotes from sacred texts, along with analysis of gathered information, will be shown to support the answers to the main, central question.

__Quotes__

o “…Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life…” o “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” -John 11:25,26-5:24 o “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body… And just as we have borne the likeness of earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” -I Corinthians 15:50 o “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” -II Corinthians 4:18 o “The spirit gives life the flesh is of no avail.” -John 6:63 o “…The body without the spirit is dead. …” -James 2:26 o “As long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord… and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” -II Corinthians 5:5-6 o “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” -Hebrews 4:13 o “God will give to each person according to what he has done.” -Romans 2:6 o “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” -II Corinthians 5:10
 * · __//Christianity (Holy Scripture – New Testament)//__:

o “Who in all his work sees God, he in truth goes unto God…” o “He is the never-created Creator of all: he knows all, … the creator of all time…. From him comes the transmigration of life and liberation: bondage in time and freedom Eternity.” o “The transmigration of life, takes place in one’s own mind. Let one therefore keep the mind pure, for what a man thinks that he becomes: this is a mystery of Eternity.” o “The Spirit, without moving, is swifter than the mind; the senses cannot reach him: He is ever beyond them. …” o “…the Spirit though one, takes new forms in all things that live. He is within all, and is also outside.” o “The Spirit that is in all beings is immortal in them all: for the death of what cannot die, cease thou to sorrow.” o “At the moment of death the sum of all the experiences of life on earth comes to the surface of the mind-for in the mind are stored all the impressions of past deeds and the dying man then becomes absorbed in these experiences.” o “First of all there will appear to you, swifter than lightning, the luminous splendor of the colorless light of Emptiness, and that will surround you on all sides. …Try to submerge yourself in that light, giving up all belief in a separate self, all attachment to your illusory ego.” o “…Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will for seven days appear to you in their benign and peaceful aspect. Their light will shine upon you, …Wonderful and delightful though they are, The Buddhas may nevertheless frighten you. Do not give in to your fright! Do not run away! Serenely contemplate the spectacle before you! Overcome your fear, and feel no desire! Realize that these are the rays of the grace of the Buddhas, who come to receive you into their Buddha-realms. Pray to them with intense faith and humility, …” o “But if you miss it, you will next be confronted with the angry deities, …threatening you and barring your passage …because you turned a deaf ear to the saving truths of religion. All these forms are strange to you, …they terrify you, …and yet it is you who have created them. Do not give in to your fright, …flee them not! They are but …the contents of your own mind… If at this point you should manage to understand that, …and you will find yourself in a paradise among the angels.” o “The judgment: You are now before Yama, King of the Dead. In vain will you try to...deny or conceal the evil deeds you have done. …the mirror in which Yama seems to read your past is your own memory, and also his judgment is your own. It is you yourself who pronounce your own judgment, …” __Interpretation and Analysis__
 * · __// Hinduism (Holy Scripture – Bhagavad-Gita) //__ :
 * · __// Buddhism (Holy Scripture – The Tibetan Book of the Dead) //__ :

The quotes displayed above states a number of things about the after-lives of Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. They tell how one must act before entering salvation, what happens when the soul departs from the living body, and what they will experience once they have reached their final destination. Although each religion formulates the goal of eternal salvation, they differ in many ways. Hinduism and Buddhism have multiple stages of journey through the after-life, which can lead to reincarnation.

Buddhists believe that once an individual dies, their soul goes through 3 stages called bardos (states of existence between death and rebirth) that lasts for exactly 49 days:

The first stage is called Chikai, the bardo of death. This can last from half a day to four days. This stage lets people realize that they have left their body and in this stage, everyone catches a glimpse of a clear, white light. People who are more spiritually developed may be able to see view this light for a longer period of time and can even go beyond it to a higher reality. The average person, however, goes into the secondary clear light.

The second stage is called Chonyid, the bardo of luminous mind. This is where the individual experience hallucinations from the karma (the sum of a person’s actions) he/she has generated in the past life. Again, unless the person is highly developed, they will experience the norm of this stage: they will feel that they are still in their body. To finally achieve Nirvana (the extinction of all craving; liberation), one must encounter phantoms of either angry or tranquil deities (personifications of human feelings; also described as visions of heaven, hell, and judgment) without fear or desire. Only the most spiritually evolved can skip these encounters and go to the Nirvana.

The third stage is called Sidpa, the bardo of reincarnation. Those who have not achieved final salvation will go here. The individual must live in the real world again, die, go through these stages again, and wait for their time for salvation.

Reincarnation is compared with lighting candles with the preceding candles’ flame. Although each candles’ flames are connected, they aren’t the same flame. Nirvana would be the extinguishment of the candles (when the fire runs out of fuel).

People do not possess eternal souls. Instead, people are consisted of a “bunch” of habits, memories, sensations, desires, and more. This makes one think that they are one stable self when they really aren’t. Release leads to the disposition of this “bunch,” which means nothing can be incarnated, and no creation of a physical body. This is the final step; the ultimate goal.

At some point in stages of bardos, the essence of karma of an individual gives them a desire to return to the world they have left. This also happens in near-death experiences where the person is given the choice to leave or stay in the physical world.

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Hindus believe that there are many different stages after death. Death is a pause of physical activity, which is necessary in order to recycle resources and energy, and gives the jiva (our bodies, which have the impurities of attachment, delusion, and laws of karma) an opportunity to reenergize itself. After all this has been done, it can continue its journey in life.

There are 5 factors that can alter the destination of a person’s soul:

The first one is the individual’s previous actions. Basically, if one has done bad things, he/she will proceed to lower worlds and suffer the consequences. If one has done good deeds, he/she will go to higher sun-filled worlds and enjoy the after-life.

The second one is the individual’s state of mind at the moment of death. Whatever the person was thinking prior to his death would greatly affect the soul’s direction. This is very important because if the thought were a desire, that individual would have a very good chance of achieving it. The thought of God would result in the journey to the highest world (This is one of the way a soul can reach the highest salvation. More will be mentioned later). Evil and negative thoughts would result in suffering in the lower worlds. The thought of family would result in that person being reborn into the same family.

The third one is the time of death. The situation in which the person died in is vital to where the individual would end up in.

The fourth one is the actions of the individual’s children. This only applies to the funeral rites, not what they do afterward. If the funeral rites are not performed correctly, the journey of the deceased body’s soul will be delayed.

The fifth and final one is the grace of God. God himself can alter where the soul goes to according to the deeds he/she has done.

There are heavens and hells in the Hindu faith, but are not used for permanence, but to bestow an attitude of wisdom and detachment. Souls who reach one of the heavens will enjoy the benefits but realize that it will not last long. On the other hand, souls who reach one of the darker worlds will experience a multiplied effect of the evil deeds/actions they did on earth. It is possible for the reincarnated bodies to forget what they have learned. This is why there can be many reincarnations. Each reincarnation is an opportunity to learn and overcome inconsistencies so that when the time is right the soul can be whole.

To achieve the highest salvation, Moksha, one must be liberated, or freed. If not liberated, the cycle of reincarnation goes on. In order to achieve salvation, one cannot have any likes or dislikes, preferences, prejudices, and attachment. If a human continuously generates karma, then they will keep reincarnating. This is because they are ignorant of the true nature of the self. However, if they stop grasping (I am…I want…that’s mine…etc.), karma stops generating. When there is no karma, there is no rebirth, and one is released. This salvation is called Jnana Marga, or the path of knowledge. Another form of ultimate salvation is to devote selfless love to a single god. This is called Bhakti Marga, which is the path of devotion.

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In Christianity, there are no beliefs about the “stages of life,” reincarnation, or multiple gods. There is only one central god, The Father. When an individual dies, their soul either goes to heaven, where they spend eternity with God, goes to hell, where they are punished forever for their misdeeds (also called the Second Death), or purgatory, where souls are purified before going to heaven. Some Christians believe that purgatory is the temporary version of hell. Others doubt that such a place even exists.

Sin is the main factor that affects a soul’s destination. Original sin is sin that every human is born with following the Fall of Man. The Fall of Man was where Adam and Eve, tempted from the snake that was the devil, ate from the Tree of Life, where they were instructed not to eat from by God. Thus, God punished them both, resulting in Original Sin for everyone.

A person who commits venial (forgivable) sin ends up in purgatory when they die. However, if confessed and given penance is finished, they can be saved. Multiple acts of venial sin cannot add up to mortal sin.

Mortal sin is a sin that condemns a person to hell. It is mortal because it completely breaks the relationship with God and the individual, leaving the soul dead. The person must confess the sin and be specific in order to have a chance of being saved. They must go through the Sacrament of Confession or have perfect contrition (remorse).

The Seven Deadly Sins are the most offensive vices. The sins are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. The acts of these have the same outcome as mortal sins, but are not considered to be in the same group. Respectively, the seven virtues are correspondents of the seven deadly sins: humility, kindness, temperance, chastity, patience, charity, and diligence.

__Final Thoughts__

Hinduism and Buddhism have too many loopholes that would allow individuals to act the wrong way multiple times. They display the ignorance of the fact that they already know about the after-life, when simply no one knows. Although all three of the discussed religions show different ways to reach the ultimate salvation, Hinduism and Buddhism exhibit an easier way of life leading to the after-life, where they claim that lessons will be learned and taught multiple times after multiple deaths. Christianity makes it plain that only in this lifetime will one be able to repent most of their sins and still show humility that they have the possibility of not being saved, even after they have done what they could do. Also, some humans are not bothered with the possibility of the after-life, even if they reside in a religious group. “Enjoy what there is now, repent later” would be their motto. Some would say that the after-life should not be argued upon, as there are no reliable sources confirming it. All of the actions a religious person must do to reach the heavenly after-life could be summarized into the saying: Be good. Study the outcomes of your actions and determine whether they are right or wrong, just or unjust. An idea for an after-life is very vital to the societies that exist in this modern world. It’s something to look forward to, something to live for, and something to fear. The mere idea of the after-life can act as a conscious for the religious spirit, body, and mind. We determine our eternal salvation.

__Sources__

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