What Happens When We Die?

Many people are concerned about existential questions. Maybe the metacrisis and the threats of climate change, global pandemics and nuclear wars are upsetting people. (No wonder. Me, too.)

In Buddhism generally, and in Zen specifically, there is NOT much emphasis on speculative questions about the existence of God, the meaning of life or the possibility of an afterlife. Regardless, these questions increasingly arise in my circles, both religious and secular.

Ryan Burge, an academic who studies religion and politics, recently wrote a post about the afterlife. As Burge writes, “In the full sample, 88% of folks said that they did believe that each being possesses both a soul and a physical body. I look at survey data all day, and here’s what I know: it’s hard to get 88% of Americans to agree on anything, really.”

What Happens When We Die?

Except for agnostics and atheists, at least three-quarters of the members of all other groups believe in a soul or a spirit. Even people who identify as “Nothing in particular” believe in a soul. Still, people have complicated and contradictory explanations about what exactly happens to the “soul” after death:

Does the soul cease to exist?

Does a personal god dispatch souls to a heaven, hell or purgatory, after assessing our behaviors or beliefs (or our conduct in combat or some other culturally-determined standard)?

If there are heavens, hells or purgatories, are they permanent or temporary destinations? Are there different levels of heavens, hells or purgatories for souls who are more or less deserving?

If there are heavens, are they on Earth (in Israel or Ethiopia or some other ancestral homeland) or elsewhere in the Universe? How would our bodies get there? How would our souls get there?

Does an impersonal Ultimate Reality reincarnate souls into a higher or lower form? If personal gods do NOT exist, and if we are supposed to learn life lessons, who decides if we learned them?

If we reincarnate, then do our souls have any say in which forms we inhabit next? What happens to our souls after we learn our life lessons? If we ever stop reincarnating, what happens to us?

Does an impersonal Ultimate Reality stir us into the cosmic soup, as I like to say, merging into the Great Mystery while losing any vestige of personhood?

If we lose any vestige of personhood, can we say that “we” live forever? Am “I” still me? Are “you” still you? If we lose any vestige of personhood, will we even care if “we” live forever?

Many people are concerned about existential questions.

Which God or Gods Should We Worship? Which Scriptures or Traditions Should We Follow?

Obviously, our choices about which God or gods to worship and which scriptures or traditions to follow will largely determine our beliefs about the afterlife.

As atheist Ricky Gervais quips, “There have been nearly 3,000 gods so far, but only yours actually exists. The others are silly, made-up nonsense. But not yours. Yours is real.” Elsewhere, he says, “Remember, Christians are atheists when it comes to nearly 3,000 other gods.”

Pascal’s Wager says that we should believe in the Christian God to hedge our bets. To Pascal, there is not much loss in believing, but considerable loss in NOT believing, if the Christian God exists. But Pascal prefers the Christian God over the 3,000 other gods, so Pascal is only hedging one of 3,000 possible bets. Which god is the “right” God?

Also, there are innumerable religious texts. The Internet Sacred Text Archive alone includes 1,700 books. Among Christians, there is NOT even any agreement on how many books are in the Bible. The Eastern Orthodox recognize 81 or more books. Catholics recognize 73 books. Protestants recognize 66 books. Which scripture is the “right” scripture?

There are as many as 10,000 religions in the world. (Further, there are as many as 45,000 denominations in Christianity alone, and each denomination believes that its version is the “right” one.) Which religion is the “right” religion?

Many people are concerned about existential questions. Some religions are grounded in belief more than practice. Often, those grounded in belief disagree, but those grounded in practice agree. Look no further than the Golden Rule, which virtually all religions embrace as a practice, regardless of what they prefer as beliefs.

If our religion is grounded in belief, imagine how lucky we have to be to choose to worship the right god, to follow the right religion and to read the right scripture, among the numerous options.