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A common feature of theistic religions (those that believe in a deity) is that there is an ultimate goal to life and that this is to be united (or reunited) with the divine.
For Judaism, Christianity, and Islam this is resurrection and Olam Ha Ba (the world to come), Heaven or Jannah respectively. For Hindus it is Moksha and for Sikhs it Mukti. But what if you don’t have a deity?
For Judaism, Christianity, and Islam this is resurrection and Olam Ha Ba (the world to come), Heaven or Jannah respectively. For Hindus it is Moksha and for Sikhs it Mukti. But what if you don’t have a deity?
Well for Buddhism, the atheistic philosophy that developed out of Hinduism, beliefs about life after are based upon the idea that life is a cycle (known as Samsara) that does not end at death, instead you are reborn in a new life. Although this might sound nice to us in the modern era, who live fulfilling lives that we do not want to end, for those who lived 2500 years ago life this was very worrying. Life was harsh, brutish and often short - they did not want to come back! The Buddha declared in the four noble truths that “all life is suffering” and that by trying to avoid the three poisons of ignorance, attachment and aversion, one could liberate one’s life and so achieve Nirvana.
This is to be done through practicing “the middle way” between asceticism (giving things up) and excess and following the Dharma (teachings) of the Buddha such as the five moral precepts and eight-fold path.
This is to be done through practicing “the middle way” between asceticism (giving things up) and excess and following the Dharma (teachings) of the Buddha such as the five moral precepts and eight-fold path.
But what happens when NIrvana is achieved? Well this depends on what type of Buddhism you follow! For Theravada Buddhists (the oldest form of Buddhism) the individual life is simply extinguished and the suffering of life coming to an end. For Mahayana Buddhists (the most common form of Buddhism) and Tibetan Buddhists the belief is that when someone achieves enlightenment they effectively have a choice - either to pass into Nirvana and be extinguished or to return to help teach and so enlighten others as a Bodhisattva; an enlightened being. The most famous example of which is the Dalai Lama.
 Life is "extinguished" and suffering ends... |  ... or one chooses to return and enlighten others. |
What is Nirvana like? Well that is of course more difficult to say - no one could return from there (it is not a place from which you could return), there can be no ghosts or seances to hear from those who have died and there can be no Near Death Experiences from which people return. The being that Buddhists go to for the final word is of course, The Buddha. He had this to say:
“the far shore, the subtle, the very difficult to see, the unaging, the stable, the undisintegrating, the unmanifest, the unproliferated, the peaceful, the deathless, the sublime, the auspicious, the secure, the destruction of craving, the wonderful, the amazing, the unailing, the unailing state, the unafflicted, dispassion, purity, freedom, the unadhesive, the island, the shelter, the asylum, the refuge...” (Samyutta Nikaya 43:14)
Are you satisfied by this description? Do you think that there must be more to life after death than being extinguished? or does this idea appeal to you?
“the far shore, the subtle, the very difficult to see, the unaging, the stable, the undisintegrating, the unmanifest, the unproliferated, the peaceful, the deathless, the sublime, the auspicious, the secure, the destruction of craving, the wonderful, the amazing, the unailing, the unailing state, the unafflicted, dispassion, purity, freedom, the unadhesive, the island, the shelter, the asylum, the refuge...” (Samyutta Nikaya 43:14)
Are you satisfied by this description? Do you think that there must be more to life after death than being extinguished? or does this idea appeal to you?
Addendum:
On 02/04/15 - as part of the BBC's A History of Ideas (which I have blogged about previously) - the philosopher Naomi Appleton explored the Four-Noble truths as part of a series of programmes on "how to live the good life". She speaks to a Buddhist nun who used to be a model, and investigates mindfulness and the path towards Nirvana.
On 02/04/15 - as part of the BBC's A History of Ideas (which I have blogged about previously) - the philosopher Naomi Appleton explored the Four-Noble truths as part of a series of programmes on "how to live the good life". She speaks to a Buddhist nun who used to be a model, and investigates mindfulness and the path towards Nirvana.
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