Lessons from the Buddha Part 4. Death

By Mark Holt

A few weeks ago we attended the funeral of my friend’s father (who was only 47). Before the body was cremated a monk stood over the coffin waving a ceremonial fan with a phrase on it which means go and don’t come back.

This phrase represents both folk Buddhism and philosophic Buddhism. Folk Buddhism relates to the people’s fear of the spirit causing trouble in the village. Most of the funeral ceremony involved cutting the ties of the spirit to this world (wife, home and village).

The second meaning is more philosophical. This perspective originates from the suffering that is so common to the history of Buddhist countries. Life is suffering. Death is a release from suffering but only if we are not reborn into the wheel of suffering again. This position is a logical outcome of life without hope and life without meaning. My friend’s way of expressing his grief for his father was to re-enter the monkhood for the day and to separate himself from the world.

John 3.16 stands in stark contrast to this kind of culture. That God should give His only son that we may have eternal life is not quite the same as go and don’t come back. But I wonder if our Christian emphasis on individual salvation makes us miss the big picture and the real difference that Jesus Christ makes in our lives.

I remember my own experience of finding God through Jesus Christ. Like many young people today I had no interest in eternal life or heaven. I was seeking some form of meaning to life here and now. Eternal life through Jesus was an added bonus but only after this life had meaning when I accepted Jesus.

Becoming a follower of Jesus is not about getting a ticket to heaven which we put in our back pocket and bring out later when we need it. Discipleship gives meaning to everything in our life such as our vocation, family, marital status, friendships and, temporarily, death. See you on the other side.