Afterlife

Death is something that people have always struggled to come to terms with.  Just about every culture out there has their own myth and beliefs about what lays on the other side.   There are just as many different afterlife stories’ as there are different cultures. Some people take solace in their religious beliefs on death while others feel like death is the end of the road.  The two I find most interesting is the Buddhist beliefs and the Egyptian beliefs.

In Buddhism death is viewed differently than other religions.  It is not a bad or even a scary thing.  In Buddhism when one dies there soul is judged based on their karma or their personal actions.  Then the soul is put into a new body and the quality of life they will have in their next life will depend on the quality of person they were in their past life.  This means that even animals can become human and vice versa.

After doing my research for presentation this week I now want to talk about the Egyptian afterlife. Originally the pharos where the only ones that got an afterlife.  They were mummified and preserved so that their souls could come back in at night and recharge.  During the day the souls would go the underworld ruled by Osiris.  Every morning they would raise with Ra the sun god and go with him on his journey before entering the underworld.  Latter it was changed that everyone could have an afterlife.  Their souls would have to be pure to achieve it though.

To me both these topics are important.  Being Buddhist I would care great deal about their afterlife.  Reincarnation is something I have thought a great deal about and find it fascinating.  Also I have always had a fascination with ancient Egyptian culture.  So much so I have the eye of Ra tattooed on my body.