Learning How to Die Can Teach Us How to Live

All of the world's religions refer to death in some way. Everyone is somewhat familiar with stories about where we go or what happens to us after death. From an early age, we have all heard stories of heaven or hell or some other version of paradise. Many of us believed such stories, and a great number of us still do. When considering that such stories manage to persist in modern times, an age of science and logic, we can be sure that death is an issue to which humans attach great importance.

In a sense, the idea of an afterlife can be a great source of comfort to those whose death is imminent, as well as to their loved ones. Those who have led especially difficult lives can look forward to a more pleasant world, while those who have enjoyed happiness and abundance have the chance to experience more good fortune. To those left behind, the idea of an afterlife presents the chance to meet a loved one again.

We may not be conscious of it, but such hopes and expectations stay with us throughout our lives. If such an afterlife does exist, then there is no reason to avoid or fear death. Moreover, if we believe that another life awaits us, then we would believe that we are only separated from our loved ones temporarily before being reunited with them later on.

Preface



Chapter one

THE DEATH OF INDIAN HINDUS

Dying for Rebirth

Therefore, Death Is Hope

As You Sow, So Shall You Reap

Defying Death

The Right Way to Die



Chapter Two

DEATH AND REINCARNATION OF TIBETANS

Tibetans: Carrier of Wills

The Tibetan Pigeon

Tibetan Concept of Soul

Tibetan Death Culture

In Search of the Oasis of Death



Chapter Three

GUIDING PRAYERS:

SONGS THAT LIGHT THE PATH OF THE SOUL

Ethnic Hani: I Shall Return to the Ancestral Land, the Remote Hunihuna

The Yi: The Soul Rises Up to Heaven Riding on the Fire’s Blue Smoke

Death-Related Myths of the Yi

The Song That Lights the Pathway of the Soul, Guiding Prayers

Guiding Prayers Light Up the Path of the Living



Chapter Four

DEATH ACCORDING TO MONGOLIAN NOMADS

The Thought of Death Crosses My Mind for the First Time in Forty Years

Death Cradled in Mother Nature

Life and Death Willed by Heaven

Genghis Khan Goes to Heaven

Conclusion



Chapter Five

THE CHINESE AESTHETIC OF DEATH

Why Speak of Death?

Chinese View on Death and the Fulfillment of Every Desire

Immortal Soul and Rejuvenation

The View on Life and Death of Chinese Sages

The Philosophy of Life and Death of Chinese Literary Figures



Chapter Six

DEATH: THE BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE

What Is Death in Korean Culture?

Preparing for and Embracing Death

A Festive House in Mourning

Funerary Rites: The Beginning of a New Existence

Life Continues after Death

The Living Proof of the Dead’s Existence

Death Is Inseparable from Life

Death: A Natural Process of Life