Life After Death

Life After Death

Although there are many differences in the ways Eastern and Western religions are practiced, there are also similarities. While many Christians and Catholics believe in one God in three persons; the Father, Jesus the son, and the Holy Spirit, and Judaism recognizes only one God as creator of all that is, Hinduism supports the belief that God is not separate, but part of all that is, and while Buddhism does not advocate belief in a "god" it does suggest that there is more to life than the present one that is being lived, and a way to achieve true happiness, if not in this life, then perhaps in the next. Whether it is referred to as Totality – one with God, Nirvana, The Promised Land, or The Kingdom of God, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity all share the belief that there is another dimension of life after death.

Buddhism evolved from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Gotama), a prince born to wealth and privilege. Over time Gautama, who grew bored with his sheltered existence, ventured out into the world only to discover, sickness, pain, and poverty among the other inhabitants of the world just beyond his palace door. Gautama, in an attempt to find some middle ground between a life of self indulgence and that of extreme poverty, developed "the middle way" as a way to achieve enlightenment, or the realization that life could lead him to eternal realities far more significant and beyond those that immediately surrounded him. The Buddhist teaching is that life's journey can bring enlightenment to that realization if lived properly. Buddhists believe in reincarnation after death and that one must go through cycles of birth, life, and death many times. If a person releases their attachment to desire and the self, they can attain Nirvana.