Afterlife (Introduction)

by dhw, Monday, December 05, 2011, 20:26 (4737 days ago) @ xeno6696

MATT: Philosophies rarely inculcate tradition upon its adherents. The hardest part for me as a practicing Buddhist, is that I find no real meaning in the Japanese trappings of what I practice. [...] These things, in my opinion, get in the way of the meaning of the practice, and if I could have access to a different method of practice, I would. […] So... I both agree and disagree with "Buddhism as philosophy." Maybe the thread that I wish I practiced would be more philosophy, but I feel it is definitely more religious.

I know exactly what you mean, as I find myself squirming during any religious ceremony. But humans seem to need rituals, and I suppose they also need excuses to get together as a community (which is often beneficial to those concerned). You’re right, none of that belongs to philosophical tradition. On the other hand, religion by definition requires belief in some kind of divine power. I guess it doesn’t really matter, though. Buddhism is Buddhism. Or rather it’s different forms of Buddhism.

I’d like to tie our discussion in with the extraordinary experience of Dr Eben Alexander. Many thanks, David, for telling us about this. It’s a real eye-opener.

DAVID: When a neurosurgeon has an NDE, his materialism goes out the window:

http://www.skeptiko.com/154-neurosurgeon-dr-eben-alexander-near-death-experience/

I hope everyone will read it from start to finish, always keeping in mind that this man was an out-and-out materialist. Also keep in mind BBella’s account of her experiences, and add the following by the Sri Lankan Prof. Walpola Sri Rahula Thera (1907-1997), one of the great 20th-century Buddhist scholars(Theravada) : “A being is nothing but a combination of physical and mental forces or energies. What we call death is the total non-functioning of the physical body. Do all these forces and energies stop altogether with the non-functioning of the body? Buddhism says ‘No’. Will, volition, desire, thirst to exist, to continue, to become more and more, is a tremendous force that moves whole lives, whole existences. That even moves the whole world. This is the greatest energy in the world. According to Buddhism, this force does not stop with the non-functioning of the body, which is death, but it continues manifesting itself in another form, producing re-existence which is called rebirth.”

I’m not concerned with the question of whether modern Buddhists do or don’t believe literally in rebirth – obviously some do and some don’t – but with the belief in dualism, i.e. that the energy which drives our mental self (Alexander refers to it simply as consciousness) does NOT have its source in the materials of the brain, and survives physical death. Buddhists don’t believe in a god, and I don’t recall Alexander mentioning God either, though I may be wrong, but with or without deities, the belief in a separate mind/soul/spirit is so widespread, in so many ancient and modern cultures, that it really requires a very large set of blinkers to shut it out. The implications are huge!