What do folks here think about the afterlife?

[Rainy_Day]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm kind of curious - What do folks here think about the afterlife?

 

I'll go first: I personally believe that each human contains several souls. These several souls travel to different places upon death. I believe this, because virtually all ancient cultures (before the rise of organised religion) said so. Daoism also says so, as does Mongolian shamanism (which I became deeply impressed with after reading Sarangerel's explanation of it).

[Chang]

I do not spend too much time either thinking or worrying about any afterlife. The disciplines I follow are designed to reduce the amount of time I think about the past and the future so that I can simply be in the now.

 

Thoughts on life after death, heaven and dare I say hell are conjecture. Better to live and act whilst there is breathe in your body than to spend time thinking of what it will be like after your death.

[Rainy_Day]

I do not spend too much time either thinking or worrying about any afterlife. The disciplines I follow are designed to reduce the amount of time I think about the past and the future so that I can simply be in the now.

 

Thoughts on life after death, heaven and dare I say hell are conjecture. Better to live and act whilst there is breathe in your body than to spend time thinking of what it will be like after your death.

 

I agree that one should not spend too much time thinking about the past or the future. But the fact is that a person's choices in life are hugely influenced by what he believes about the nature of the world.

 

For instance, if Evangelical Christianity is true, then one should accept Jesus Christ as his personal saviour. If Theravada is true, then one should become a monk (since the human form is so precious, and we should strive for liberation within our lifetime). If Tibetan Buddhism is true, then it would pay enormous dividends to find a good phowa practitioner. If atheism is true, then it doesn't really matter what we do, (at least not until we create meaning for ourselves).

 

Personally, I believe that each person's actions produce effects, not only in this world but also in the unseen world. This has made a lasting influence upon me, because I would also believe that even if I don't see the fruits of my actions right away, their effects are stored somewhere in the universe. This gives me more freedom to do the right thing, because I wouldn't care as much if I lose out in the short term.

 

Furthermore, there are so many things in our daily lives which are dependent upon our particular beliefs about the unseen world. For instance, making offerings and praying to one's ancestors are preconditioned on the belief that one's ancestors are somewhere out there.

[Chang]

I agree that one should not spend too much time thinking about the past or the future. But the fact is that a person's choices in life are hugely influenced by what he believes about the nature of the world.

 

For instance, if Evangelical Christianity is true, then one should accept Jesus Christ as his personal saviour. If Theravada is true, then one should become a monk (since the human form is so precious, and we should strive for liberation within our lifetime). If Tibetan Buddhism is true, then it would pay enormous dividends to find a good phowa practitioner. If atheism is true, then it doesn't really matter what we do, (at least not until we create meaning for ourselves).

 

There are an awful lot of "if's" here Rainy_Day. The trouble is all of these differing faiths have sometimes wildly differing views on the nature of the world.

 

The reason I follow the Taoist path is that it gives me a practical path that provides concrete results. But I see myself as a practical Taoist rather than a religious one. I want verifiable results rather than relying on blind faith.

 

Personally, I believe that each person's actions produce effects, not only in this world but also in the unseen world.

 

This could well be true but the vast majority of the worlds population go through life thoughtless of the results of their actions in this world, never mind the unseen world. Hence the state we are getting ourselves into with climate change etc.

 

For this reason I endeavor to raise my level of consciousness in the now as it is here and now that we can make the most certain progress.

[Rainy_Day]

There are an awful lot of "if's" here Rainy_Day. The trouble is all of these differing faiths have sometimes wildly differing views on the nature of the world.

 

The reason I follow the Taoist path is that it gives me a practical path that provides concrete results. But I see myself as a practical Taoist rather than a religious one. I want verifiable results rather than relying on blind faith.

 

 

 

This could well be true but the vast majority of the worlds population go through life thoughtless of the results of their actions in this world, never mind the unseen world. Hence the state we are getting ourselves into with climate change etc.

 

For this reason I endeavor to raise my level of consciousness in the now as it is here and now that we can make the most certain progress.

 

I can respect that you want to follow a "practical path". This is actually one reason why I want to study Daoism, too, because with qigong and neidan, you can actually verify the results for yourself.

 

I guess I'm just of a more religious mentality. I'm okay with taking things on faith, even if I'm not ready to verify them as of yet. Plus, I'm interested in things like rituals and prayers, which must be explained with reference to the unseen world.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Rainy_Day

[Apech]

Rainy,

 

You are right about ancient cultures. The Egyptians had up to seven part aspects of the individual which separated at death. Most important were the body, the ka, the ba, and the shade. If they were not reintegrated after death then this resulted in the 'second death'.

 

I think that this is similar to hun and po etc.

 

I have learned over the years to trust the insights of the ancients .. but of course it is not something to dwell on really as ultimately there is only now.

 

A.

[Birch]

I think anything held up as an ideal or a dissuasion is intended to have its effect now.

What I notice is a difference between circular ideas of incarnation and reincarnation and linear ones. Or then there are multiverse ones. Or the roles of ancestors upon the living. Any of these might be the case. How they'd each be the case would require digging into multiple threads of influence because I don't think they all happen in the same way.

 

Clear as mud:-)

[三江源]

.

Edited October 23, 2015 by 三江源

[Protector]

If there's enough imaginative power to think up after-life, there must be enough for the pre-life

[dawei]

I'll go first: I personally believe that each human contains several souls. These several souls travel to different places upon death. I believe this, because virtually all ancient cultures (before the rise of organised religion) said so. Daoism also says so, as does Mongolian shamanism

I am very close to this way of thinking about it for the same reasons. But I don't really contrast it as 'practical' (philosophical) vs religious thinking. To me, it has nothing to do with whether it is religious or not; that is just compartmentalizing. It is more like a pot luck meal; it is made up of many ingredients.

 

This is what attracted me to Medical Qigong; it has not strictly TCM or energy work or healing or qigong or shengong or philosophical or religious or spiritual or alchemic or shamanistic... it is all wrapped together in a very cohesive and natural manner. This is the road less traveled but it actually makes the most sense for me and a natural fit for how I think/belief.

[Fu_dog]

The question for me is How does a belief in an afterlife affect my present life?

 

And if there is an afterlife, in what form does it take?

 

Yes, Christianity teaches one to live this temporary life totally focused on earning a positive eternity in afterlife. But for me I just can't buy into living for some future spiritual possibility. I must live in the now.

 

Don Juan Matus in Castenada's books had a conception of an afterlife in which one's spirit eventually diminished and blended with the cosmos. One's afterlife could be lengthened by right living but even then, eventually everyone's spirit evaporated. This belief seemed to bring an urgency to don Juan's life, and brought a greater value to living every day as well as one could live.

 

I have no idea of afterlife, if there is one and what form it would take, but I do buy into living each day to the fullest.

[idquest]

Rainy,

 

You are right about ancient cultures. The Egyptians had up to seven part aspects of the individual which separated at death. Most important were the body, the ka, the ba, and the shade. If they were not reintegrated after death then this resulted in the 'second death'.

 

I think that this is similar to hun and po etc.

 

I have learned over the years to trust the insights of the ancients .. but of course it is not something to dwell on really as ultimately there is only now.

 

A.

This idea of integration of different parts of a soul is really interesting for me. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any practicies of how to do that. Everybody just repeat the same idea of Hun and Po, 3+7, and stops there.

 

I also remember reading that ideas from Tibetan Book of Death are pretty close to the Egiptian analogous sources.

 

As for the Christian ideas that only faith in Jesus can save a person - that comes across pretty much like any scary tactics of a merchant trying to sell their mechandise. Ever watched commercials how a special soap would kill all nasty bloodthursty bacteria?

[konchog uma]

@cat: yes if reincarnation is a reality, this is most certainly the afterlife, and the prelife, and in that sense just another bardo.

 

i think that death is like a dream state where our soul's resonance shapes the experience it has and the journey onward.

[Gerard]

There is only one long journey sprinkled with countless mini-cycles of transformation (defined by karma and impermanence) towards the final stage: nirvana.

 

Once you experience this undeniable truth via your personal spiritual practice without parroting others words and reading about other practitioners' experiences then you'll understand the depth and wisdom behind Buddha's message.

 

[Small Fur]

[Nanashi]

we become food for worms

[TianhuaQigong]

[michael245]

You kids and your silly fairy tales.Can anyone show me some resources where it claims we have multiple souls,i'm curious myself about it?What are the resources in taoism?

[TianhuaQigong]

basically, one is from your family, one is from your land, one is from heaven.

there are seven more in your Visceral . that is from Tao Qigong.

Edited February 14, 2012 by TianhuaQigong

[JustARandomPanda]

Once you experience this undeniable truth via your personal spiritual practice without parroting others words and reading about other practitioners' experiences then you'll understand the depth and wisdom behind Buddha's message.

 

Over the past 2 days I've begun to wonder more and more about the above sentence.

 

I think maybe I am a Parrot dreaming I am a human being.

 

I keep Parroting back things I've read in books or things I've read on message boards in my posts. But as for my own personal realizations? I have none.

 

And if I can not even say what I think about THIS life...I can not really say what I think or know about anything before or after. If I said anything about it it would all be based on notions picked up from here, there, everywhere. Nothing from actual observation (assuming death can be observed).

[Mokona]

Dude! (Dudette),

 

You just need to practice and you'll have those direct experiences. Stay in observer mode so you don't get caught in them though.

 

It boils down to, practice every day, at least for alittle bit. :-)