Death In American Culture

A culture with a particularly unique view on death is India with their philosophical belief system of Vedanta. Academics Suriyaprakash and Geetha explain that those who subscribe to Vedanta travel through life trying to reach the ultimate stage of enlightenment called “Brahman” where an individual becomes whole which often happens after physical death (335). To reach this you must be able to conquer the fear of death, which is related to obtaining complete stillness of the mind. In order to do so you must realize that death is essential, only affecting the physical body which can be aided with yoga (Suriyaprakash and Geetha 339). When death occurs the soul of a person (Atma) sheds from the physical body and rebirths itself, merging with Brahman …show more content…
In tibetan culture death is understood from their dominant religion of Tantric Buddism. This type of Buddism emphasized the principle of Karma (to be good to others and you will be rewarded) and the concept of reincarnation (Ding 18). Reincarnation refers to an individual being transformed into a different being after death which includes animals, nature and humans. Additionally, death is viewed as simply a changed form of life working in an infinite continuum and those who worry about death will suffer in the afterlife (Ding 22-23). In order to be reincarnated, the Tibetan people dispose of the deceased in a natural way such as in fire, within the earth, inside a tree or in the wild (Ding 26). The way in which they dispose of the bodies is said to facilitate reincarnation. Thinking holistically, this burial process can also be indicative of the lack of resources Tibetan people have as most do not have the means to perform elaborate …show more content…
This belief holds the importance of social positions and relationships in order to rest peacefully and that reincarnation happens immediately after death and does not continue (Ding 28). Confucianism beliefs are described as more empirical with an emphasis on luxury and material items (Ding 28). This is more closely associated with the Han dynasty era of China where individuals had many resources and were more elaborate in every aspect of life. Although geographically close, these two cultures differ in their beliefs of death dramatically. These differences can be attributed to wealth situated in each area, as the Han value more materialistic items at death due to their culture having traditionally more resources whereas the Tibetan people have not and therefore value the natural space around