Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
After life
zen_world
Veteran
How do you think your practice will help you after you die - whatever you practice zen, vajrayana, or even new age stuff etc?
For instance how your mindfulness practice will be useful when your brain cease to function?
Or do you think your practice is only useful in this lifetime to create good karma...
do you believe you will have some sort of control over what happens to you after you die (and before you move to your next body)?
Also curious if you take tibetan book of death literally (all the bardos)?
For instance how your mindfulness practice will be useful when your brain cease to function?
Or do you think your practice is only useful in this lifetime to create good karma...
do you believe you will have some sort of control over what happens to you after you die (and before you move to your next body)?
Also curious if you take tibetan book of death literally (all the bardos)?
0
Comments
It's said that with proper mindfulness at the time of death, one can reach Buddhahood. So the fruits of mindfulness will be useful after your brain ceases to function, and the "very subtle mind" separates from the body and goes on its way. That's what I understand, anyway.
Relax, be at ease.
therefore, what is the problem? what is the purpose of Buddhism?
Buddhism teaches ending suffering by ending ego
so if there is no ego to reincarnate, what does this have to do with Buddhism?
:scratch:
Pointless speculation just like the afterlife beliefs of all religions.
Practice Dhamma in the here and now, live and die peacefully without expectations.
...oh and the 'Tibetan Book of the Dead' wasn't taught by the Buddha by the way.
Yes it is not taught by Buddha but it doesn't make it wrong either. Many Buddhist scholars write summaries and commanteries about Tibetan book of death.
...but just stay in your own little world if you must ....and I wish you peace and happiness.
Bye.
Time to get on with offline life now.
.
And if you see the benefits then you are hypocrat. That's your projection...
I think it is natural for all of us to wonder about what happens when we cease to breathe. But I do not necessarily mix up those ponderings with my daily practice. I do what I do each day for the benefit of my mind and spirit and all living beings - not with any thoughts of whether or not it will get me to some "higher plane" when I croak! Lol.
Also, the Buddha taught of 'not-self', anatta. And it seems to me that being too concerned with where I go when I pass from this life is getting caught up in self, thinking about "my" soul and where "I" will go at the end. The Buddha taught that clinging to this notion of self causes suffering, so it seems to follow that being overly concerned with where that self goes after physical death could, in itself, cause suffering.
Just my 2 cents : )
Namaste'
Kwan Kev
And quite frankly, a religion is all about after death. If you want to live a happy life by following buddhist practice that's fair enough but then you see buddhism as philosophy rather than a religion. A religion is all about life after death.
Having said that, I have a big problem with dogma. If you say being here and now is enough and that's all there is and you cannot explain how that will help after death but instead assuming that it will be alright then you are trapped by the dogma. We should have a coherent view of how our practice will help us after the death process. If you can't give an answer to that you are doing what christians and muslims are doing. You are accepting something without thorough analysis and experiment.
According to tibetan book of death, we can reach enlightenment in bardos after death and before becoming again. So it is valid to spend some time to understand what I will be subject to in the bardo stages. Because understanding bardos after death can give me another chance to become enlightened if I cannot achieve in this body. Who knows maybe my practice is not enough. Maybe I need to practice dream yoga or maybe tantras. That's why I need some answers. But that's okay obviously you guys have no answer!
Technically speaking, Buddhism is not a religion as far as I understand it. Here is an interesting article about exactly that :
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/is-buddhism-a-religion_b_669740.html
Ironically enough, focusing on what happens after this life is much more associated with Christianity and Islam - simply think of the concepts of heaven and hell, or the fact that Islamic extremists who commit suicide bombings are often lured into it with the promise of riches in the next life.
In any case, we each seek the path that will take us where we want to go. All the Buddha did was offer some suggestions for freeing us from suffering and disciplining our minds. I wish you luck in finding the information you seek.
And you are right - if you are looking for answers outside of yourself, than you are looking in the wrong place - we (at least I) have none. By the same token, if you don't want to hear what people think, and want only to hear what you want to hear, then IMHO, perhaps it is best not to post questions in forums like this.
Namaste'
Kwan Kev
Don't make any assumptions. You do not know under what circumstances I ask this question. And let this case be another lesson because that's how we interact with all the people around us (I do too). We judge, manipulate, speculate, push our own agenda. To avoidd that only give straight answer to the question- if you like...
I never ask if discussing after life is meaningful or useful or not. I never said this question takes me away from my practice. I never said this question is making me a bad person. I never said this question is taking me away from dharma. These are all your assumptions. And they are all wrong!
I guess we'll find out if we have control over what happens when we die when we get there. But I lean toward "yes". Best to do the best you can with this precious lifetime you have. That will take care of bardo and rebirth issues.
But Zen_world, I think the practice you have with your OBE's is a type of preparation. The DL said that one can learn to separate the "very subtle mind" from the body at will, it doesn't necessarily only happen at death. So I think you can use those experiences to prepare for the ultimate separation. : )