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Dear Lal,
I am not sure whether this question should appear in this section or in the general section. If you think it is appropriate, please make the necessary changes.
I have come across youtube videos about people having near-death experiences in which they encountered Jesus and sometimes they went to the realm of ‘Hell’.
a) What is your opinion about such videos? As much as I have found much peace reading the materials in your website, yet I find myself wondering about these videos.
b) Lal, do you have unshakeable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha? If so, how does that faith become unshakeable?
With much thanks for your reply,
firewns -
The answer to the first question should become clear when you look at it the following way.
– What happens in an NDE? The mental body (gandhabba) comes out and it experiences the world without the burden of a physical body. It is the same person!
– So, whatever biases/wrong views that they had inside the physical body, they would still have them.
– Therefore, I understand the context of such videos.Of course, I have unshakeable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. Otherwise, I would not be spending essentially all of my time dedicated to this effort of sharing what I have gained.
– How does a child KNOW without a doubt that he has learned how to add and subtract, i.e., have faith in what he learned?
– They would know that because they will be able to use what they learned to solve any random problem. Once they find the solution, no one can deny that they had solved it correctly. Even if the teacher says the answer is wrong, he can SHOW the teacher that he is correct and the teacher is wrong.
– Once true understanding comes, it is unshakeable. In this case, of course, it is understanding the Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkhana. -
Thank you very much for your reply, Lal.
In the months and years after coming across the materials in your website, I have felt such a great burden lift from me. So much so that if other people were to tell me that I am wrong or just imagining it, it would be like telling me two plus two is not equal to four, just like the analogy you used.
Much of my mental agitation is gone, that I am sure would not have subsided through any other cause. For I have tried hard to quell the mental agitation through other means but failed. I am sure many other people who are in turmoil would be able to experience the same if they could put down their biases, cravings and unreasonable expectations about the world.
Please continue to keep up such excellent work for the benefit of countless sentient beings, who may be lost while searching for a way out of their mental anguish, and not know where to turn to for advice and guidance.
Firewns
P.S. You have also resolved my doubts about the context of the videos that I asked you about. For that I am very grateful. Thank you very much!
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Speaking of “hell”, you may want to check out this book, an interesting read:
Bercholz, Samuel
A Guided Tour of HellLal mentioned it briefly in:
In my native country, there are accounts of people who “dozed off” and “drifted” to “hell”. Their description of the experience is very vivid.
They also said that they now firmly believed in the law of kamma. Thus, such an experience can help people get on the mundane path.
Best,
Lang -
Lal said:
“Of course, I have unshakeable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. Otherwise, I would not be spending essentially all of my time dedicated to this effort of sharing what I have gained.”
Thank you very much for this comment since it clarifies for me something in my mind not too long ago, after I had a discussion on Dhamma with someone.
I was telling someone about the Buddha Dhamma I learned here, and he brought up something I had not thought of before. The argument was something like this (and I am using “he” in the sense of a gender-neutral pronoun below):
If what you are saying were true then people who had seen Dhamma would be distant and aloof toward life.
(1) Take the case of a sotapanna
He had seen the fruitlessness, and even dangers, of mundane life, and thus he would not spend extra effort to make the mundane world a better place.If he had a job then he would do the minimum to get by, and then contemplate Dhamma. He would not strive to be excellent at his job. Such a person would never be someone like a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs whose technology made the world a better place.
Socially, he would likely not be an activist, fighting for social justice — civil rights, gay rights, etc. Again, he would likely spend his time meditating toward the next magga phala.
(2) Take the case of a sakadagami
If he were seriously ill he may not even seek treatment since the sooner he dies as a human the sooner he is reborn a deva where he experiences no more illness. Furthermore, if a sakadagami family member dies he may even be happy about it.I now firmly believe that when someone becomes an ariya he has a strong wish to share what he’s gained with others. It’s what Lal is doing here. The purpose of this site is to help get people to the sotapanna stage; I remember reading this somewhere. And for that we are forever grateful.
Best,
Lang -
You are quite correct, Lang.
People have very weird ideas about Sotapannas, Anagamis, Arahants, etc.
– They are all human. But they live more peaceful lives than average humans burdened by numerous “mind-made stresses.” Other than that, most benefits are not realized in this life.
– Furthermore, they want to do as much as possible to help others.
– Most neighbors may not even know whether I am a Buddhist! -
In the first comment of this thread, firewns stated: “I have come across youtube videos about people having near-death experiences in which they encountered Jesus and sometimes they went to the realm of ‘Hell’.”
The new post of today “Three Types of “Bodies” – Poṭṭhapāda Sutta (DN 9)” may help clarify this issue.
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Many NDE researchers say, “Majority of the NDE cases are positive with descriptions of heaven and other worldly beings (angels) which suggest that the after life is peaceful and shouldn’t be feared.”
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I have a habit of summarizing stuff after going through much information. Didn’t mean to be derogatory but wanted to sum up how the Buddhist view on NDE differs from that of general public’s into that little post lol
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I thought it was funny! It seems to me that the average person is inclined to distract themselves with a constant stream of content and activity because they know that, in its absence, a gnawing sense of existential dread will emerge. This existential dread reveals that, fundamentally, they have no idea what is going on in life. Suffice it to say, that uncertainty is terrifying. As a result, the average person is very busy constructing and protecting their worldview and the beliefs that it is made up of. Honestly acknowledging to oneself that you don’t know what is happening in life requires a great deal of courage.
That is why, as far as I can tell, getting onto the path requires equal measures of open-mindedness and skepticism. Open-mindedness is essential because there may well be more to life than what meets the eye, and skepticism is necessary to begin appreciating the ways in which you may be deluding yourself.
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Yes, you summed it up well, Davidson. These two things are what set me on the path. If I hadn’t had a certain skepticism, I would never have adhered to the Buddha Dhamma. If I hadn’t had an open mind, I would never have tried to understand the basic concepts of the Dhamma.
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Yes. NDE experiences are interpreted in a very different way probably due to the following.
Even though we highly value our dense physical bodies, bearing them is stressful in addition to giving rise to body aches, injuries, etc. Even breathing takes an effort even though we are used to it.
- When the mental body (gandhabba) separates from the physical body, it is said to provide great relief. Furthermore, one can move without effort, even traveling far just by thinking!
- That leads many “NDE experiencers” to believe that they had gone to the “afterlife” for a brief time. Since most people believe in going to heaven after death, they believe they experienced a bit of “heavenly existence.”
- Of course, we know that gandhabba is human, just without a physical body.
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I agree with you guys. We have all been instinctively programmed to value our lives above anything else. No one wants to die. No one wants to stop existing. That fact that most religious people believe in an eternal afterlife teaches us about this very nature. It indeed requires a great deal of effort with a good balance of open-mindedness and skepticism to walk the Noble path and make progress.
I am glad I found this community where I can interact with wise folks. I hope you guys stay healthy and continue making valuable progress towards Nibbana!
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I just came across the following informative video. It is an account of an investigation by a cardiologist (Dr. Miachael Sabom) who interviewed many patients with NDE experiences.
Dr. Sabom has also written two books, “ “Light and Death,” on the subject.
- He says the first book is “more scientific,” and in the second, he probably tried to connect to concepts in Christianity.
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I am grateful for the work done by people like Dr. Michael Sabom in studying and legitimizing the phenomena of Near Death Experiences. But what I don’t understand is why some doctors in the west think Christianity can explain them. The most commonly occurring aspects of NDE don’t include people waking up and saying “Jesus is the savior” or anything like that. I have spoken to a few Christians about this phenomena and it felt like they want to believe it is just hallucination/dream because they believe only they should have “heavenly” or pleasant experiences after death.
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