Dear Prudence,

Death is an unknown. It doesn't matter what your beliefs, religion, rituals, visions or intuitions are. Death (and staying dead) is an unknown to everybody living now. Anybody that argues otherwise is not being truthful to themselves.

An unknown in itself wouldn't be a problem, we live with unknowns comfortably every day.

Why is death different?...ahh because we KNOW it WILL happen. we don't know when, we don't know how, we don't really know what will happen after.

what are the popular ways to deal with such an important unknown?
1) believe someone or something will take care of us forever just like our parents took care of us in life. (ie God)
2) transformation. by believing your life/spirit will never end, it will simply transform into another. (reincarnation)
3) by believing a part of you is carried on thru to your kids and future generations. (genetics)

so the common fear is being forgotten or becoming insignificant and lost in time. and on a larger scale, fear of our species being lost to time.

“the universal human yearning for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change” (Willa Cather).

why do we feel this? because we are egocentric. everything is about us. We even create gods and forces that cater to us.

I think if we could loose that ego and embrace or at least accept our insignificance in the largest picture of time and space, it would make us one step closer to significant.


[This message has been edited by kara-atama (edited 04-01-2005).]

[This message has been edited by kara-atama (edited 04-01-2005).]

There's no need to get closer to significant!
We know that after death there either is some kind of continuation, or there isn't; whichever it is, our guess won't do much to change that.
Either way, what we experiance as "I" (nenippal as a person) will most certainly discontinue, this is of infinite value to consider and is of enormous help in letting go of Ego and not taking things too seriously.

This is my own personal analysis, and kara-atama, I don't have a problem... you?

Too deep for me. ;-)

You summarized a central Buddhist teaching very well.

Sounds like a good teaching and a good way to think. Thanks for sharing that.

-Joe-

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nenipp:
This is my own personal analysis, and kara-atama, I don't have a problem... you? [/QUOTE]

a problem with what? I don't have a problem with your own personal analysis, but yeah, I guess I do have a problem with death so I try to avoid it.

Kara-atama,
Thank you for your comments. I do have a couple of questions.

Quote:
"what are the popular ways to deal with such an important unknown?"

In what ways and why is this unknown "Important" compared to any other unknown.

In your post you suggest

Quote:

what are the popular ways to deal with such an important unknown?
1) believe someone or something will take care of us forever just like our parents took care of us in life. (ie God)
2) transformation. by believing your life/spirit will never end, it will simply transform into another. (reincarnation)
3) by believing a part of you is carried on thru to your kids and future generations. (genetics)

Your post reffers to these as popular ways to deal with such an important unknown. In saying that are you proposing that they are either flawed or valid? Or is it a statement regarding how people deal with the unknown?

oldman

In what ways and why is this unknown Important compared to any other unknown.

simply because we know this is the unknown that we will never learn until death.


Your post reffers to these as popular ways to deal with such an important unknown. In saying that are you proposing that they are either flawed or valid? Or is it a statement regarding how people deal with the unknown?

It was a statement of popular ways people deal with death during life. which are all egocentric ways.

I was trying to say, that if we (as a species) remember where we fit into the bigger picture (the universe), it should humble us to be less egocentric.
Being less ego-centric, I suspect, will have benefits to our species in the long run (eons). Since our minds eye won't be clouded by the superimposed image of ourselves.

I should have added that I can't do any of these things (be not afraid of death, loosing the self, seeing the bigger picture)...I just thought it would be cool if I could...err...I mean if WE could. [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif[/IMG]


p.s.
kenposan - sorry too deep for you. (aren't you an eastern philosophy major? teasing)

kara-atama,
Thanks for the clarification.

oldman

kara-atama,

sorry if my question was unclear (which I can see now that it was)!
A problem with death was what I meant to ask about and thank you for answering!

As long as you are trying to avoid it, you will have a problem. The nature of reality is as it is, enjoy it!