Buddhism and the Afterlife
Buddhism began in the fourth and fifth centuries before Christ by Siddhartha Gautama. The teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, are the major beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism is a belief and religion based on an assortment of customs, principles, and practices. The name Buddha means the awakened one. Buddha’s teachings were of the termination of suffering, attaining nirvana, and absconding from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Buddhism has spread all across Asia and throughout the world, now with between two hundred thirty million and five hundred million followers. Buddhism is largely based around the belief of Karma. Karma is the “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or…show more content… This is done by having a calmness, happiness, and a positive outlook about your life and your life’s actions towards others. It is common for the passing Buddhist to wish to have a monk or nun to come and pray over them in the immediate time before death. The monk or nun assists the dying with being at peace and releasing their fears stemming from death. The monk, nuns, and/or spiritual friends of the dying Buddhist will read prayers and chants from the Buddhist Scriptures throughout the dying process. Chanting over the dying Buddhist is of great importance in Buddhist traditions as it is generally the final thing that the Buddhist receives. It is the belief that we can aide and provide relief to the passing Buddhist while aiding in the dying process. It is frowned upon for anyone to handle the deceased until three to eight hours after cessation of breathing in order to perform any arrangements. Buddhist have faith in believing that the deceased spirit may remain for a while and may be disturbed if the deceased is improperly handled. The deceased must be shown dignity and not be disrespected by any means so that the spirit may travel to higher states in a manner that is with peace. They feel as though disrupting the deceased may cause them to become furious or be put in disarray and end up being reincarnated within a lower state. In the Buddhist traditions, they believe that it takes the spirit forty…show more content… Thirty seven distinct stages of heaven exist in Buddhism. Within Heaven there is no more suffering.
The second state is known as human life. A human can live a human life repeatedly, whether in riches or poverty. The type of human life that you receive is a result of Karma and how we lived in our past lives.
The third state is Asura. These are the Demi-Gods. They do not live a happy existence as in the heavens, but rather are overcome with jealousy, because they are aware of the grander condition of the gods in heaven. They are always in competition with gods because they are displeased with their longings from the others.
The fourth state is that of the hungry ghost. Those whom belong in this state are those who are infatuated with their desire to find nutriment and quench their thirst. They are not able to encounter this so they remain unfulfilled and labored by this state.
The fifth state is animals. Humans who have committed sin or murder upon animals are reborn as animals. They are then having to live in fear of being hunted, worked, or being used as monsters for human enjoyment.
The sixth and lowest state is that of Hell. In this state we suffer an ongoing amount of pain. Those who envelop mass amounts of bad karma may reside hear for many, many