Assignment: Religion

Part 1

The Great Liberation Film is a 1994 film about Tibetan practices in relation to death and life. The film documents Lama Pema and his 13-year old novice, Thubten Tsering who attend various ceremonies following the death of a young family man in Ladakh. The film captures their conversation about life and death as the master explains to his student the various that a dead person passes through. The master chants The Book of the Dead to give guidance to the spirit which remains in the body for the first few days after death. The documentary follows the ritual after the cremation of the body with the continued reading of the book to guide the spirit through the projections of gods and demons that are holed up in his mind as he seeks rebirth. 

The film offered several lessons into the Tibetan practices on a dying person. After examining the dying person, the master acknowledges that indeed the person is dying and embarks to make him comfortable in this phase. The master tells the person that he is dying and should recognize his own nature and not to be afraid. After the person dies and his spirit hangs around, the master encourages them not to long for the earth’s desires but to move forward.

An interesting concept I gained from the film was from the comment that “all kinds of existence are one bardo or another, moving from one uncertainty to another.” The master acknowledges that life is the bardo of existence where persons aim at creating something longlasting but death is a barrier. Moreover, he advises that in death, a person’s bardo is out of control and so one must remain calm. 

The idea of illuminations that exist in the afterworld also featured widely in the film. The reading by the master guides the dead person through these lights. One might perhaps ask why the dead person should be guided if he was religious. However, the master answers this by noting the forms of the deities that the dead person will encounter when dead which are the very wisdom in his and mind. The dead, however, must let go of their self-centeredness lest the deities turn their wrath on him. It thus follows that indeed the dead person must be guided. Afterward, the film offers an explanation that these wrathful deities stem from the person himself and are all on his head and can therefore not run from them.

With cremation becoming a common practice around the world, the film offered reasoning for the practice in the Tibetan culture. The Tibetans practice cremation which normally takes place on the eighth day after death. This is done so that the dead might not cling to his former body and so that his family members may release him from the bonds of their attachment to him. 

The concept of rebirth was the most confusing part of the film. After guiding the dead, he or she is supposed to find a resting place if even a cave where they get to be reborn into an animal. This is confusing because when the animals they do not recall their past. Moreover, one may question on who will perform the ritual when the animal’s time to die comes. From watching the film, I can relate to the narrator’s comment at the end film that coming to life is not something to be celebrated jut as death is not something to be mourned.

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Part 2

Question 1.

Both Buddhism and Hinduism differ and agree on several elements. Hinduism has the idea of a one, all-pervasive supreme being (immanent and transcendent) and holds that the human being is not confined to the body or the mind. Buddhism, on the other hand, holds that the human person is his or her spiritual and material existence. Both religions agree on the idea of reincarnation and rebirth. 

During death, Buddhism performs a ritual aimed at assisting the dying perform find solace in the afterworld. Tibetan Buddhism stresses the “lion’s pose” which is the posture in which Gautama Buddha died (Rosen, 2008). The posture is characterized by a person lying on the right side with the head facing north. Even after death, Buddhism performs a ritual to guide the dead in the afterworld. In healthcare, Tibetans are unlikely to request pain medication during dying and pain management may be ethically indifferent. Little pain medication may be okay as long as it does interfere with the mind. One may, therefore, conclude that the idea of removing life support is acceptable. They, however, oppose euthanasia. 

Hinduism performs rites of passage or sacraments from life to death. The last rite is usually cremation. Like Buddhists, Hindus believe in the idea of reincarnation which means they handle death quite well. The idea of reincarnation holds that the soul may experience several deaths as they move towards more spiritual growth. At the end-of-life situations, Hindus may perceive suffering to be positive. However, such cases may be difficult for care providers to handle. Allowing Hindu priest visits to help the family in decision making could help. Cohen, S. (2019) noted that a dying person may want to have a small statue nearby. The author also notes that the family members may want to perform purifying practices such as placing a sacred basil leaf on the tongue of the dying patient or give him drops of water from the Ganges River.

Question 2

Yes, both Buddhism and jnana marga Hinduism, are forms of atheism. Buddha himself overruled the idea of a divine creator. The idea of God is seen as a disruption for those seeking enlightenment. Although, Buddhism does not argue that gods do exist it paints them as irrelevant and a barrier to enlightenment. That is, no amount of prayer or devotion to a god can bring Buddhist to enlightenment. This is further interpreted by O’Brien (2020) who argued God is unnecessary in Buddhism as the religion is practical and its philosophy emphasizes practical results over belief and faith. In Buddhism, gods are part of the worlds of desire or form and therefore limited.

Similarly, atheism is evident in jnana marga Hinduism. The religion emphasizes on non-attachment to worldly possessions, ascetic practices as well as non-violence towards fellow humans. Jnana marga religion does not recognize a divine creator but rather an eternal soul or jiva that can be reborn. According to the religion, the universal is everlasting and many gods exist, who like humans must be reborn. The gods, however, do not play any role in spiritual enlightenment and liberation. Humans must discover their own route to enlightenment though they are guided by wise human masters.

References

Cohen, S. (2019, April 3). The ancient connections between atheism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Quartz India. https://qz.com/india/1585631/the-ancient-connections-between-atheism-buddhism-and-hinduism/

McLean, B. (1994). YouTube [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5A2erZXJx8

O’Brien, B. (2020, February 11). Are Buddhists Also Atheists? Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/atheism-and-devotion-in-buddhism-449718

Rosen, S. (2008). Ultimate Journey: Death and Dying in the World’s Major Religions: Death and Dying in the World’s Major Religions. ABC-CLIO.