Sociological View Of Death

Hinduism describes life as becoming death. Life is what jiva suffers through, death marks the end of their existence in that jiva. In addition to jiva, moksha shapes how people feel about life becoming death because their life goal, release from samsara, makes it so life is only something to get through as fast as possible while fulfilling duty. This perspective gives no real advice on how to live daily in a country that does not assign duties like the caste system, and therefore, cannot adapt to the contemporary structure of Western society. While the goal of moksha makes death appear favorable, it hinges on religious conditions that may not fit into contemporary perspectives. This fluid description of life becoming death is a stark difference

They are patterns that occur for everyone, and people regard them differently because they are too attached to life. “Life is a stage of time and death is a stage of time. We do not suppose that winter becomes spring, or say that spring becomes summer” (Genjokoan, 136). Most Westerners consider death to be the ending of life, but in Buddhism, it is described as another stage for the person because “the effects of a person’s life can live on” (APC, 49). In this sense, the person still exists. Death does not mean they perish. The deceased enter a different period of existence which includes memories, life lessons taught to others, pictures, possessions, and karmic repercussions that ripple out from the person. The idea of life as a stage can help grievers shift their perspective about the death of a loved one. Instead of thinking of them as permanently gone, they can think of them as still existing through their karmic repercussions and lessons taught. According to this belief, death is not a dreadful end of life, it is simply another phase of

“Losing the pleasant causes grief. Dwelling on the unpleasant also causes grief. Do not cling to the pleasant. Let it pass, So that the separation will not diminish you” (Dhammapada, 59, verse 2-3). This verse develops the idea of nonattachment. When a loved one dies, this passage says that it is normal to grieve, but dwelling on the loss of a loved one only causes more grief. By letting go of that attachment, and not clinging to the pleasantness of that person living, the person can accept the new phase of death and not allow their sorrow to control them or diminish them. Again, Buddhism offers advice that people can capitalize on by utilizing their mind, requiring no faith in exterior