What Happens When We Die?
The Present-Moment Wisdom of Zen
It’s an age-old question which almost certainly pre-dates humanity itself: “What happens after we die?”
Throughout human history, various religions have espoused the idea that we live on in some way after the death of our bodies. The concepts of heaven, hell, purgatory, transmigration of soul and reincarnation have all provided solace, hope and fear, perhaps in roughly equal measure.
But the actual details of what supposedly happens after we die have been a source of much argument and contention, not only between different religions, but even among the adherents within each religion, too.
Among the Judeo-Christian religions, there are strong beliefs in reward or punishment for our actions during our earthly life. Judeo-Christian beliefs about life after death vary between the Jewish and Christian traditions, but there are some common themes.
In Jewish tradition, the belief in life after death is not as central as it is in some other religious traditions, but it is still present. The concept of the afterlife in Judaism is known as Olam Ha-Ba, which translates to “the world to come.” Jews believe in the resurrection of the dead, but the specifics of what that entails are not well defined in traditional Jewish texts. Some Jews believe in a…
