{"id":2293,"date":"2020-03-23T13:41:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T03:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/?page_id=2293"},"modified":"2020-03-23T13:42:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T03:42:40","slug":"mind-beyond-death","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dying-and-death-reflections.com\/index.php\/mind-beyond-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Mind Beyond Death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mind Beyond Death<\/em>, the title of a book by Dzogchen\nPonlop, captures a valuable insight about life and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one ponders the mystery of life, the premise that the\nmind will continue after death<\/em><\/strong> can be a meaningful and insightful contemplation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related to this question, is the task of coming to understand\nthe nature of our mind<\/em><\/strong> today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) What is the mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) What are the characteristics of the mind? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

—ooo000ooo—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat happens after death is a central theme of all the\nworld\u2019s religions, rooted as they are in a mystical view of the individual.\nThis is not to say that the conclusion reached by these diverse religions is\nthe same, however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each culture interprets the after-death experience according\nto its own dominating images, and the mythology of its own religion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can take the story of the blind men and the elephant as a\nmetaphor for these cultural differences. Confronted by the enormous beast,\nseveral blind men touch him in different places and fall to arguing. \u201cThe\nelephant is like a tree,\u201d says the one who is holding a leg. \u201cNo, no, he\u2019s much\nmore like a wall!\u201d insists the one who is touching the elephant\u2019s side. \u201cA\nrope!\u201d says the one who is holding the trunk, and so the bickering continues,\nthough the blind men are touching the very same creature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it is with all mystical experience, including\ndescriptions of the afterlife. Every attempt to describe what happens after we\ndie\u2014the bardos <\/em>in the Tibetan texts, the mansions in the Kabbala, the\nheaven and hell of Christianity, the ground of being in Buddhism\u2014point to the\nsame thing: that is, a realm that the Soul enters after death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mystical texts frequently use the image of a finger pointing\nat the moon to describe our efforts to articulate metaphysical reality, the\nfinger representing the words and images we employ to make symbols for what is\nbeyond our grasp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this same way, though we cannot capture the after-death experience in language, we can point convincingly toward the fact that some form of afterlife does exist.\u201d (Dass, Ram. Still Here<\/em> (pp. 155-156). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

—ooo000ooo—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we near the end of our lives, to consider and reflect on the after-life for ourselves becomes of greater significance. This can involve taking the time to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) Read and study about the after-life as described in the\nworld\u2019s spiritual traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) Reflect on and analyse what one has read and studied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) Meditate on life\u2019s mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Areas to contemplate and ponder include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) What happens at death?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) Is there an after-life? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) What role does karma play — does how I live today affect my future existence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4) What about reincarnation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(5) What about the possibility of past lives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(6) If the mind indeed continues beyond death, what would\nthat mean in terms of our future existence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, such reflections also become a very personal\njourney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May these reflections be richly meaningful and insightful in\neach of our lives \u2013 so that we may enter the dying and death process with\ngreater clarity, confidence, hope, and abiding peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexander Peck \n\nMarch\n22, 2020\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mind Beyond Death, the title of a book by Dzogchen Ponlop, captures a valuable insight about life and death. 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