What if they’re really close and die before they’re fully justified? It is presently quite common belief that when people die, they immediately go to heaven to be with Jesus and their loved ones. Those destined for heaven go … God offers you the choice. However, it is possible to find people who interpret the mythic images literally as actual existing conditions. Find out how. I don’t think so. While there are some similarities in basic belief, there are important differences which should be understood. One day, the elderly monk teaching the course introduced the concept of samsara. I believe that you are judged right away and that if you are found worthy your soul will go to Heaven immediately. An aspect of Christian belief was that after bodily Resurrection and the Last Judgment, the evil people would be cast into a lake of fire for eternity. But there are a few prevailing theories about where dogs go when they die — and they have anecdotal evidence to back them up. Paul seemed certain that after he died he would be present with the Lord. Nevertheless, promises or threats of one or the other abound in popular preaching. So instead of worrying about the end of the story, just work on getting awakened now. At Obon time the souls of the beloved are believed to return from the other shore of enlightenment or the Pure Land to help in the labor of growing crops and harvesting by bringing rain and fertility. We don’t question this because we don’t see rodents much when they are alive – they are secretive and nocturnal. If you feel God drawing you to faith in Christ (John 6:44), come to the Savior. However the Greek view maintained belief in an eternal soul which, when the body was discarded, would live for eternity in an Elysian paradise. Birds don’t usually drop dead in mid-flight – they die in their nest or are caught and eaten, much like other small animals. The Souls Under The Altar. No words suffice to define it. Where do babied go to when they die then? It is obvious that the child can not “return to me” or to David because he … To be present with someone obviously means that they would have to be with them. It is free of karma. Despite the fact that the evils or sins which disbelieving people commit vary in their degree and kind, the punishment is uniform for unbelievers and all receive the same retribution. Every person, when they die go to a holding place created by God. Thus, "you" (Fred) don't go anywhere. In this essay we will compare the Christian approach to the afterlife with the Buddhist. II. It's the "source". Such a condition is also Nirvana, complete release from the bondage of karma. Initially the Buddha taught the principle of karma and transmigration, but unlike Indian religion, he rejected the concept of an eternal soul or essence in beings and things. When my answer is to shrug (because I actually think shrugging is the right response in this case), I am met with incredulity. The Buddhist parable of the poisoned arrow underlines the futility of metaphysical speculation. I suppose I could answer the question, but the truth is that I can’t. It is your call. Whatever evil one has committed, the punishment fits the crime. Christian tradition believes in both the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament, originally the Hebrew or Jewish Bible, there is no clear cut view of the afterlife. I was sitting on the floor surrounded by dozens of others—Tibetans and foreigners alike—trying to take it all in. In the myth there is a judgment by the deity Yama, the god of the dead, who determines one’s next birth during a period of forty-nine days. If the question is pressed (and it often is), then I tell the following story: A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away? Yes, but only temporarily, as they await the return of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life in the New Heavens and New Earth. Here in an optimum environment he can achieve Buddhahood and continue the effort to save beings. Does the world explode if there is no one left in it? In the Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta (MN 63), the Buddha is asked by a monk about the end of the universe and where buddhas go after they die. ), I was a young, idealistic backpacker hanging out in Dharamsala—the Dalai Lama’s home-in-exile in northern India. At the time, I didn’t know what to do with the experience. 6th C. BCE). But years later, I have come to love his reply. Sentient beings are composed of a group of elements which disperse upon death and take a new form of life, correlated to one’s karma. Apparently there is another level of existence even "higher" than Nirvana. In Buddhist teaching, the myths of reward and punishment are not taken literally. Buddhism also has a mythology of afterlife. A major concern of religious people everywhere is the question: Where do I go when I die? “Shall we continue with the lecture now?”. People everywhere are anxious about the afterlife because it is totally unknown. If a human or an animal die, if they have done good karma in their past lives go to a better place. This view is karma-driven and continues until one becomes enlightened or achieves Nirvana. Every year in my Eastern Religions class, the question is asked: “What happens when a buddha achieves Awakening? They don’t like to just leave us high and dry but they do have places to go and people to see. Because cosmic mechanics are not the point. Buddhists believe in rebirth. They go to Purgatory to work off their remaining debt until they are holy enough to be justified and can go to heaven. After telling this story and making the parallel to the Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta, my students inevitably ask me one more question: “Do you think the Buddha was dodging the question? However, Christian permeation of the Mediterranean Hellenistic-Graeco-Roman world led to changes in the conception of the afterlife. Trudy Harris Glimpses of Heaven Trudy Harris knows first-hand that there’s far more to death than merely ceasing to live. The counterpart to the realm of compassion in the heavens or Pure Land, are the hells where the evil persons arrive through their karma. God invites you to come to Him. “If we are all moving forward through samsara,” I asked when he called on me, “does this mean that we will all eventually achieve Awakening? When someone reaches Nirvana, where do they go when they die? He described all living beings as trapped in a cycle, going round and round, but ultimately moving forward toward Awakening. 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