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Explain The 5 Stages Of Grief And Loss Essay
Explain The 5 Stages Of Grief And Loss Essay
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“Ritual gives concrete and dramatic expression of beliefs within social and cultural settings,” (Goldberg, Blundell, & Jordan, Investigating Religion, 2009, p. 45). The Buddhist death ritual is intimately connected to Buddhism’s core religious beliefs. A combination of the ritual’s features (structure, actions, scripture and symbol) demonstrate and fulfil the rituals purpose and reflect Buddhism’s core beliefs, thus satisfying the needs of Buddhist participants.
Buddhism follows the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, and is therefore an ancient religion as Gautama was born in 563BCE and achieved Bodhi (enlightenment) in 525BCE. Following enlightenment Gautama was titled the Buddha. Following the Buddha’s death in 483BCE, the Sangha (religious
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Van Gannep’s three stage process is an apposite analysis of the Buddhist death ritual. The Buddhist death ritual progresses from separation, to transition and concludes with incorporation to achieve its purpose. The ritual assist’s the deceased in achieving Nirvana or a positive …show more content…
In the Buddhist death ritual the separation rite occurs before the deceased has passed. A Buddhist sits with the dying person in their final days and recites the Buddha’s teachings, meditates and talks to the person’s ‘matter’. This matter is not physical, but a bundle of energies which are an element of the Khandhas. Conversation and meditation reflects the sixth and seventh dimensions of the Eightfold Path: Right Effort and Right Mindfulness. Right Effort describes a Buddhist’s effort to prevent negative thoughts, whereas Right Mindfulness is the expansion of mindfulness, such as awareness of emotions, motives and actions. These states “remove the desire and hatred which lead to harmful actions” (Eckel, Understanding Buddhism: Origins, beliefs, practices, holy texts, sacred places, 2010, p. 59). Meditation is essential to the ritual’s purpose as mental and moral retribution dictates the process of death and rebirth. Separation rites have an intimate connection with the Khandhas and the Eightfold
Tibetan views on death are focused on nirvana and spiritual perfection. These practices are spiritually meaningful for both the living survivors and the dead. Works Cited 1 Geoff Childs Tibetan Diary From Birth to Death and Beyond in the Himalayan Valley of Nepal (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004) 41. 2 Ibid., 54. 3Ibid., 54.
The five Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto have some similarities when it comes to the their beliefs on death. Hinduism and Buddhism both believe in karma and reincarnation, while Daoism and Shintoism revolve their beliefs around nature. Confucianism chooses not to focus on things we do not know, so their beliefs on death are limited. In deciphering the different beliefs on death associated with each religion, it is important to understand the different belief systems and their origins. While some religions merged the views of the other religions, some came from the views of an originating founder. Each religion has their own view on life after death and whether or not their followers should be concerned
Deaths were a form of social event, when families and loved ones would gather around the bed of the dying, offering emotional support and comfort. Myth, religion, and tradition would combine to give the event deeper meaning and ease the transition for all involved. The one who was dying was confident in knowing what lay behind the veil of death, thanks to religious faith or tradition. His or her community held fast to the sense of community, drawing strength from social ties and beliefs. (“Taboos and Social Stigma - Rituals, Body, Life, History, Time, Person, Human, Traditional Views of Death Give Way to New Perceptions" 1)
This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory.
In Hagakure, a great emphasis is placed on the samurai ideology surrounding death. The samurai should live his life as though his body has already passed, and through this “he gains freedom in the Way”. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling”. This detachment is of fundamental importance to the samurai, and this relationship with death is influenced heavily by Buddhism. Zen Buddhism influenced the samurai by lending him his unique respect for life and death.
The samurai were a warrior class that gained immense power during feudal Japan. They held high status positions in society and exemplified the power of the shoguns. Samurai often faced death on the cruel battlefield of medieval Japan. However, most interesting about the samurai is their conception of death. The samurai not only faced death much more frequently than the average man but they also had a practice of hara-kiri or seppuku, in which they took their own life. In this paper, I will look at the notions surrounding death for a samurai. I will begin by first by discussing the origins and rise of both the samurai class and Zen Buddhism in Japan. Thereupon, I will look at the samurai philosophy of bushido and in specific the notion of seppuku. My main interest will be to delve deeper into the samurai practice of ritual suicide and how Zen Buddhism may have affected the samurai ideology. Finally, I will look into if these cultural constructs emphasized in medieval Japan, can still be made relevant to Japanese suicide during World War II.
Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, which began in India. The origin of Buddhism is traced back to the experience of single man, Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. Born around 563 B.C.E., legend follows that Siddhartha was the son of a prince in a kingdom near the border of what is now India and Nepal. As such, he was sheltered from the world and lived a life of luxury and comfort. (Molloy 124) However, at age 29 Siddhartha left the royal grounds and witnessed the suffering of ordinary life for the first time. What he saw deeply affected him and caused him to question everything in his materialistic life. Siddhartha made the decision to give up his possessions and embark on a search for enlightenment, an event known as the Great Going Forth. (Molloy 125)
Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.
Each and every culture follows a certain set of distinct practices that are distinct and specific to each individual culture. The common Western perception of Japan's ambiguous practices stems from the extreme difference in views correlated with the widespread lack of knowledge concerning the ancient culture steeped in tradition. Japan's widely Buddhist population is known for their calm acceptance of death as a part of life. One particular, perplexing cultural practice is the tradition of writing jisei, or "death poetry" when on the verge of death. A thorough understanding of Japanese Death Poems provides an explicitly accurate depiction of the Japanese attitude towards death and the Zen Buddhist philosophy that helped form this attitude.
When preparing for death Buddhist generally agree a person’s state of mind while dying is of great importance. While dying the person can be surrounded by friends, family and monks who recite Buddhists scriptures and mantras to help the person achieve a peaceful state of mind. Buddhism asserts that all being live beyond the various fluctuations of this life. Death is merely a passage to rebirth in another realm such as the human world, a pure land or the flowering of the ultimate nature of the mind.
Death in Different Religions Death has a great impact on people's lives in such a way that they learn to value life, or even live it to the fullest. But what happens to us after we die? Many religions have answered this question for us, according to their faiths. Buddhism is a religion where Buddhists believe in the concept of death and reincarnation or rebirth.
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.
Hinduism is unlike many other religions in that it does not have a single founder or text, but is more like an umbrella in ways of life. In death and life for the Hindu, “The ultimate goal of the soul is liberation from the wheel of rebirth, through reabsorption into our identity with the Oversoul (Brahma)-- the essence of the universe, immaterial, uncreated, limitless, and timeless” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, p. 134).
The stages of death are known to be a process of mourning that is experienced by individuals from all phases of life. This mourning ensues from an individual’s own death or the death of a loved one. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross dedicated much of her career to studying this dying process and in turn created the five stages of death. The five stages are; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These stages may not occur in sequence and sometimes may intersect with one another (Axelrod, 2006). The reality of death many times causes a feeling of denial; this is known as the first stage. In this stage, people have many emotions and have a tendency to hide from reality. This reaction is momentary, but should not be rushed. The patient or loved one needs time to adjust to the awaiting death. This adjustment helps bring them through to the next stage; anger. Anger is a common feeling and many times routes from a feeling of not being ready. This emotion may be directed toward God, strangers, friends, family or even healthcare professionals (Purcell, 2006). In some cases, it can be targeted...
Goss, Robert. "Tibetan Buddhism and the Resolution of Grief: The Bardo-Thodol for the Dying and the Grieveing." Death Studies 21.4 (1997): 377-395. Web. 24 February 2014.