Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Religion None Provided10 None Provided10 What happens to a person's body and soul when they die? There are some religions that believe death is the final stop others believe that the soul carries on after death. Other religious beliefs hold that life is a continuous wheel of rebirth. There is also a train of thought that believes that reincarnation makes dying easier and therefore helps the dying. Currently using medical technology, we are living longer lives. We can now prolong life and put off death for a period of time. Islamic, Christian and Gnostic followers do not believe that reincarnation exists. This is a point of debate for many as these religions deny the existence of reincarnation while their scriptures reinforce the idea of rebirth and previous lives. The end of the western world's belief in reincarnation came when Emperor Justinian (AD 553) denounced the "monstrous restoration" of rebirth. Christians believe that they have two lives: Eastern religions firmly believe that reincarnation is a reality in life and death. Shiva, the god of creation and destruction, is symbol of the continuos cycle of death and rebirth. There is no assurance of being reborn as a human if the previous life has been lived in sin. SUTRATMA states that reincarnation is a luminous thread of immortality on which are strung our many lives, each worthy incarnation adding it's "pearl of great price". BHAGAVAD-GITA (2:20) states "He is not slain when the body is slain. " For Buddhists, the preparation for death and the consequential rebirth lies in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. CHIKHAI BARDO This is the first stage where there is supreme serenity between life stages. Death yields to "the radiance of thine own nature", the clear light. CHONYID BARDO The discarnate entity experiences sounds, lights and rays that awe, frighten and fatigue the flagging soul. If the person lived a good life then they see good hallucinations. A sinful life would lead to wrathful hallucinations. SIDPA BARDO The consciousness of the soul is cloaked in forgetfulness as the embryo grows to emerge form the womb as a reborn human (or whatever their previous life has determined). The Greeks referred to reincarnation as metempsychosis. Japanese warriors also believed in rebirth. They thought that if they were to die a valiant death they would be reborn into a higher plane. Each step close to death brings the next life a little closer. Bibliography: Word Count: 401
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