Comparing the Concepts of the Afterlife of Buddhism and Christianity Research Paper

Comparing the Concepts of the Afterlife of Buddhism and Christianity - Research Paper Example This article stresses that just like in Christianity, there are variations in Buddhism on the views of what occurs after death. However, Buddhists universally believe in the cycle of death and rebirth and the existence of Nirvana. In Nirvana, there is no survival of the subjective experience or existence of the individual. The desire for identity and permanence according to the Supreme Buddha (Gautama Buddha) encompasses the suffering nature of the embodied life. For Buddhists, there is no permanent essence that lives after death. There is no soul. However, emotions, physical phenomena, sensory perceptions, consciousness and responses to sensory perceptions may exist though not in the form of the immortal soul. These elements, however, are dissolved upon the attainment of Nirvana. Theravada and Mahayana are the two major schools of Buddhism. These two schools demonstrate the difference in Buddhist views of the afterlife in the reincarnation. This paper makes a conclusion that different from the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the Mahayana school of thought professes the existence of a new land. The concept of the existence of the pure land describes the existence of material decorations in the Field of Buddha (Nirvana) of jewels. The latter approach conforms to the Heaven descriptions in the Christian faith. But, the soul is the form of the body.