What is death? How can we respond to death? Why must we die? Where do we go from here? Do we go anywhere? Understanding Death offers a thorough introduction to the views and practices of various religions regarding death and life after death. Drawing on examples from Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Shamanic traditions, this student-oriented textbook explores how different conceptions of the "self" or soul inform the way humans interpret life and assign meaning to the phenomenon of death. Incorporating contributions from members of each faith, Understanding Death provides readers with a…mehr
What is death? How can we respond to death? Why must we die? Where do we go from here? Do we go anywhere? Understanding Death offers a thorough introduction to the views and practices of various religions regarding death and life after death. Drawing on examples from Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Shamanic traditions, this student-oriented textbook explores how different conceptions of the "self" or soul inform the way humans interpret life and assign meaning to the phenomenon of death. Incorporating contributions from members of each faith, Understanding Death provides readers with a comparative overview of how death is expressed and constructed in religious texts and canonical interpretations. Accessible chapters discuss how major religions address the nature of death itself while illustrating how history, philosophy, and ritual reflect what is important in understanding the meaning of death in that religion. Now in its second edition, Understanding Death is revised and updated throughout, featuring three entirely new chapters on Sikhism, Jainism, as well as changing attitudes and new technologies related to death and dying in the twenty-first century. Understanding Death: Ideas of Self and the Afterlife in Religions of the World, Second Edition, is an ideal textbook for undergraduate students and lecturers in Religious Studies programs, and an excellent resource for non-specialist readers interested in the subject.
Angela Sumegi is Associate Professor Emeritus of Religion at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. She studied traditional Tibetan approaches to scriptural study and meditation at Namdroling Nyingma monastery, India, and her past publications include Dreamworlds of Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism: The Third Place (2008).
Inhaltsangabe
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Understanding Death 1
Return from the Dead 4
Debates and Definitions 9
Death and the Self 14
Ritual and Transformation 19
Notes 22
References and Further Reading 22
2 Primal Perspectives on Death 25
Soul Theories of Primal Peoples 28
The Destiny of Souls 34
Afterlife among theWarao 35
Rituals of Departure 40
A Conversation on Understanding Death 44
References and Further Reading 46
3 Death in the Ancient World 49
Egypt 51
Egyptian Soul Theory 52
Transforming the Body 54
Egyptian Afterlife 56
The Story of Osiris 58
Mesopotamia 61
Gilgamesh and the Search for Immortality 63
The Spirits of the Dead in Mesopotamian Culture 64