Is there only one version of the afterlife? Or are there different versions of the afterlife? (quote, believe)

[tigerbalm1985]

Is there only one version of the afterlife? Or are there different versions of the afterlife? depending on which religion you are born into?

[PeterVe]

In the religion, I was born, it is believed that people after life will either go to hell or heaven as most of the religion proclaims. Those who are strong conviction stay in the human world as we call it ghost or wandering souls.
So I don't think there is not much things about afterlife in most of the religion.

[Continuum]

Different religions has different version of the afterlife.
Within each religion, there are also different version of the afterlife.

In the case of Buddhist, the various schools has different versions of the afterlife and some Buddhist just do not accept the existence of any afterlife.

1. Within the Theravada school, there are some who belief in rebirth through various stages and others who do not agree with rebirths.
2. In TB, there is the Bardo.
3. In some Pure Land sect, all one need is just believe in the Buddha and one will end up is some sort of heaven [temporarily not like the Abrahamic heaven].
4. There are many other versions of the after life.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Best is Tibetan and Egyptian book of the dead

[bulmabriefs144]

Originally Posted by tigerbalm1985

Is there only one version of the afterlife? Or are there different versions of the afterlife? depending on which religion you are born into?

I believe the latter.

Hindus believe in reincarnation, Buddhists in rebirth, Christians in an afterlife. The only way this can be true, is if the state of existence after death is something created by the mind.

[PeterVe]

Originally Posted by Continuum

In TB, there is the Bardo.

Is Bardo some kind of heaven?
I heard that there are various stages of bardo in Tibetan Buddhism.

[LuminousTruth]

In one theistic denomination (Geco Genki?) of anti-establishment groups from Japan, there are many after-lifes divided into 6 groups: Learning (Human), Fighting (Angel/Demon), Basking (Gods), Living (Animal), Clinging (Ghost), and Suffering (Naraka,Hell,Hades,etc).

I am of the sure opinion that these can be taken literally and experienced/perceived/imagined, or metaphorically and understood. Sentient beings can move between these "worlds/states of mind" at will.

All the 6 paths are the paths of Samsara, the cycle of misery; paths of at least partial ignorance, paths containing and festering some sort of pain or another and leading to at least partial loss. Still, there should be no needless aversion to pain or loss.

The path of the Buddha is the path of Understanding (Consciousness), the cycle is thus subdued yet not avoided, as there are many in all these different "realms" that need to be helped to help themselves help others help each other.. that need to save others by saving themselves by allowing themselves to be saved by saving each other.

[TRANSPONDER]

There is a heaven in Buddhism. It is the place where gods live (Buddhism does not deny gods) and also those who have gained enough merit to be reborn as gods, effectively. This is not afterlife as we think of it, but it amounts to the same thing. You die and find yourself in heaven..if you have donated enough gold plates to the Shwedagon.

This is not the final objective and Buddhist dogma holds that the gods themselves helped Buddha in his realization so that he could go to heaven and preach the Dhamma to them. The logical problem there is similar to the one in Christianity about who is responsible for sending people to hell.

One might think that a rebirth in heaven is rather more desirable than extinction (which is the aim of Buddhism) and I gather that a better rebirth is what the generality of Buddhist are after...Nirvana can wait. But the point about the eternal life dilemma is that it is hard to imagine what one could do even reborn as a god that would not tend to pall after the first billion years. Thus the gods themselves, who do not die, but I gather can be reborn if they wish..though this aspect on the incarnated god -king seems to have escaped Buddhist doctrine. It is more about boosting the authority of rulers than gods wanting to have a crack at Nirvana) are supposed to be able to meditate their way to oblivion.

Atheism of course offers oblivion without any effort on our part, though I have to admit that a thousand years as a god -king in the Tavatimsa heaven sounds appealing...

[TRANSPONDER]

P.s...Buddhist art was rather what took me into Buddhism in the first place, and it is what I have taken out of it.

a couple of nice pics of Buddha preaching to the gods and sliding elegantly down a ladder afterwards on the return to earth.

[bulmabriefs144]

Ah yes, the Six Paths of the Desire Realm.

C'mon Arequipa, you know you want to...

The key to understanding the Desire Realm is that it doesn't only refer to the afterlife. It actually refers to the illusion we call "reality". When we believe in this world is if it is real, we are actually only operating on the Animal level of consciousness. This is not enough to free us, by default. Ironically, you have to believe in this stuff, in order to attain a high enough consciousness to be free of it. We have to be aware of the "reality" of our situation, and be able to free ourselves.