This is one of the most interesting questions that we tend not to think about very much. Yet our answer profoundly informs how we live. In the U.S., we have a culture of silence around dying and death. It's a great taboo that fills most of us with anxiety about life's end without any way to reduce that anxiety. We all know we are going to die, yet we don't talk about it. The entire subject has become a mysterious and ominous kind of black hole in our consciousness, and we learn not to go there.
I think it would be really healthy for us to break through this taboo and normalize our conversation about death. It would free us to examine our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about death, both individually and collectively. Perhaps it would change how we feel about war and violence. By embracing the reality of death, we might be able to perceive a greater value and a deeper meaning of life.
When I raise this question with people, the most common answer begins with the phrase "I was raised... and I believe...." Many people have never challenged the belief system they were taught as children. Others question and affirm it, while still others find it a starting point from which their beliefs evolve as they explore the issue over the course of their lives. I fall into this latter category.
When I began to explore the reality of death more deeply, I found that I was less afraid of death itself than I was of dying. I was anxious about not knowing when and how I would die. It terrified me when I thought of it. It was as though we all walk around with a huge question mark over our heads, not knowing how much time we have left. Here today, maybe gone tomorrow. At first, I thought that God had a mean streak or a bad day when inventing death. I thought it was wrong and that we should live forever. But when I thought about that, I wondered what forever would be like -- an endless story, a giant run-on sentence with no ending punctuation. Would there be no aging of the body or maturing of our minds in an endless now? Would we be stuck in a perpetual state of changeless being? The more I thought about the mixed blessings of being an infant, a child, a teen, a 20-year-old, a 40-year-old, and now a person in my 60s, the more I valued the exquisite design of this progression of maturation. I wouldn't want to live endlessly in one frozen form without the punctuation of time passing. The more I thought this way, the more normal and appropriate death seemed.
When I delved further into the question of what happens when we die, I looked first at what I had been taught as a child. Just as many children learn to be good to get great presents from Santa, I was taught to be good in the way I lived my life so that I could earn eternal life with God. I had no idea what that meant other than that I shouldn't be "bad." It was a great inducement for conformity to the rules. As I matured, my ideas about life, death, God and eternity evolved. I found myself to be eclectic in gathering bits and pieces of wisdom from around the world that resonated with the truth that existed inside of me. Where did that truth come from? I do not know. I just know that I have always recognized what is true for me by a process of reflection and inner resonance.
When I think about what happens to us when we die, I realize that I cannot address the matter without simultaneously looking at the purpose and meaning of life. Life and death seem to be woven together in an endless process of one birthing the other.
Based on my current understanding of things, I believe that we are all souls having human experiences for the purpose of coming to know our divine nature in human form -- our oneness through and with God. As such, I believe that what we commonly refer to as death is simply the death of this body and personality, the dropping of a human form by our real self -- the soul. As far as I can tell, we really do see a bright light and loved ones on the other side of this death as we journey forward in our process of awakening. I believe that we do re-embody again and again as we strengthen our awareness of our own divinity. So, while I am saddened by the loss of connection to loved ones that occurs at death, I am comforted by my belief that this is one in a series of lives.
I know that many people do not share my particular beliefs. That is fine with me. Personally, I find it quite fascinating that "the truth" resonates differently in each of us. What do you believe happens when we die?
Have you explored your truth? What do you think, and how do you feel about the fact that we all die? That you will die? That everyone you know will die? Are you at peace with this reality? If not, what is your experience, and why do you think that is so? If you are at peace, what has enabled you to view death that way? What do you think happens when we die? How do your beliefs about death inform how you live your life? I look forward to your views and comments.
Deepak Chopra: Modern Medicine and the Paradox of How We Die
God created us humans to worship him, he put us in earth for this purpose.
he made earth leavable for us (water, oxygen, food, enviroment, etc,..,), he created the universe,sun, and other planets for our use.
he sent thousands of prophits to guide us to the right path, like Noah, Ibraham, Moses and Jesus
who ever follow the right pass go to heaven, and who ever deviate go to hell !
So this life is a series of tests, being sick or healthy, married or divorsed, success and failures, rich or poor, success is measured by being in total submission to God, and to thank him for the good and accepting the bad.
Now, we come to death, when we die, we see the angels and there appearance is an indication of where we heading, HEAVEN OR HELL !
When we die, our soul go to another zone, not a physical form, but just a soul staying in that zone
untill the day of judgment.
In the day of judgement, all of us, will be questioned by God, and then either we go to heaven or hell.
I have read of the common experiences shared by those who've had Near Death Experiences and like what they have to say. There is a light, there was no pain, there were welcoming arms. I often wonder why some choose to linger in that state of limbo, afraid to walk toward the Light. Perhaps they have unresolved issues here on this plane.
I consider that beyond Death, there is this joining with the Divine, a feeling of love unknown to man while in the physical state. Unconditional, pure love.
I consider we fear the unknown, the transition to "after life" because we value life so much. Dependent on our life state, some see "death" as a welcome relief, some see it as "no-no, life is too valued". I really like knowing that after an NDE, or when faced with death, some change their lives and live like there's no tomorrow. Dance more, care less, love more, pick more daisies and embrace the sunshine and rain showers.
If we knew our time was up in ten months, would we give up or live large?
The inescapable law of kamma guarantees that each and every one of our actions — whether it be of body, speech, or mind — has consequences in line with the skillfulness or unskillfulness of that action. We can often witness this process first-hand in our own lives, even if the effects may not be immediately apparent. But the Buddha also taught that our actions have effects that extend far beyond our present life, determining the quality of rebirth we can expect after death: act in wholesome, skillful ways and you are destined for a favorable rebirth; act in unwholesome, unskillful ways and an unpleasant rebirth awaits. Thus we coast for aeons through samsara, propelled from one birth to the next by the quality of our choices and our actions.
The suttas describe thirty-one distinct "planes" or "realms" of existence into which beings can be reborn during this long wandering through samsara. These range from the extraordinarily dark, grim, and painful hell realms all the way up to the most sublime, refined, and exquisitely blissful heaven realms. Existence in every realm is impermanent; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell. Beings are born into a particular realm according to both their past kamma and their kamma at the moment of death. When the kammic force that propelled them to that realm is finally exhausted, they pass away, taking rebirth once again elsewhere according to their kamma. And so the wearisome cycle continues.
As a Buddhist, we should understand the essence of the Buddha's wisdom and teachings, which is to do good and abstain from committing evil deeds. Abstaining from evil means that we have to keep our precepts. Hence we should not take meat. When we are sick, old or near death, we would go to the doctor, we would practice and do anything possible to extend our lifespan. However, when we take meat, we are killing sentient beings that are healthy. How great is our compassion and loving kindness if we treat sentient beings in such a manner? We should abstain from killing because it generates immense negative karma. Instead, we should develop loving kindness and compassion towards all sentient beings.
By doing so, our practice of the six-syllable mantra would be able to benefit ourselves and others, and also aid in the flourishing of the Dharma. There are some people who say that their doctor has advised them against becoming vegetarians, as they would suffer from malnutrition. This is a sign that the determination of these people is not strong enough. For if one has strong determination, one would avoid doing evil deeds at all cost and under any circumstances. Hence in our daily lives, we should stop committing the negative deed of eating meat.
~ His Eminence Druwang Konchok Norbu Rinpoche
100 Million Six-Syllable Mantra Retreat
On the other hand I always wonder whether, if humans have an after-life, then what about all creatures who die, say ants and fish and every living thing you can think of? What about them?
On another note, what about those who survive loved ones? My friend Marian went through Divorce Downsizing Dating and Death. I welcome your thoughts, advice, comments on her story at http://bit.ly/hpEEMK
While I too know we are souls having a human experience, I recently lost my husband of 14 years to cancer after a short nine months of working at coming to peace with death. I still haven't mastered the inner peace part. Still grieving and wishing I had done some things differently, but alas, in my lucid moments I absolutely know that Spirit directs my show and always points me toward my highest good. If that is so, then my husband's life and death must have been for his (and therefore my) highest good also. I have written about his illness and his passing, my grieving and my celebrating his life in several articles for Huff Post. If your readers care to take a look, they will find these articles by searching for my name, Carol Jones, in the Living section. Our full story can also be found at http://www.kennethhjones.wordpress.com. And may we all come to peace with, talk about, plan for, and love the process of leaving this world once we are done.
Perhaps in memories we become poetry,
a snippet of verse, an alliteration,
a company of verbs and nouns
marching us through into a Saturday night time.
In the crying eye, a warmth rising to God,
a twist baffling the lips of a flame;
charring the workings of a moth’s wing,
setting a shard of ash alight against the moon.
In the frolic of dust and dusk,
drafting across the backroom ceiling
an ember smudge of a thumbprint settles on the wood beam.
On the windowpane the shriveled skin of a leaflet peers,
its ballet of crumbles riding gravity to the earth.
Asleep in the ash
a lifetime alight for a moment in a rally of stars,
we are perhaps no more than a crevice next to the sea,
a fracture in the skin of a cliff
into which the playing child gazes
and upon finding nothing, in the wet darkness,
moves on into light to study the miracle of a sea star.