Although I do not deny life after death, I also do not have any evidence for it. I do not know what awaits me after death. Perhaps only oblivion awaits me.
Where was I before my parents were born? Where were the atoms of my body before my parents were born? What did I perceive, feel, or think before my parents were born? What memories did I form before my parents were born?
…in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no memory and no consciousness;no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body and no mind;no shape, no sound, no smell, no taste, no feeling and no thought;
Oblivion before birth is an utter lack of having a body. It is an utter lack of perceiving, feeling, thinking, moving, and remembering. Any words I use to describe oblivion before birth are empty because they do not refer to any experiences or any memories in my mind. Any words I use to describe oblivion only reflect what my imagination invents to “fill in” the void of oblivion.
Out of oblivion, I was thrown into existence.
- I was thrown into existence without my consent.
- I was thrown into existence with neverending needs for food, drink, shelter, and help from others.
- I was thrown into an existence full of pleasure and pain, happiness and suffering, compassion and aggression, cooperation and conflict, creative imagination and destructive imagination, insights and mysteries.
- I was thrown into an existence of enormous plurality, with many ways to understand and live in the world.
- I was thrown into an existence that continually and inevitably changes.
- I was thrown into an existence where death is inescapable.
The conditions of human existence continually challenge me—as they challenge other people, sometimes in much more difficult ways compared to me.
After death, the atoms and molecules of my body will be reabsorbed by the world around me. I do not know exactly how the atoms and molecules of my body will be reabsorbed. There are too many possibilities. However, I know that it will eventually happen. The world around me will eventually reabsorb all the atoms and molecules of my body.
Sling me under the sea.
Pack me down in the salt and wet.
No farmer’s plow shall touch my bones.
No Hamlet hold my jaws and speak
How jokes are gone and empty is my mouth
Long, green-eyed scavengers shall pick my eyes,
Purple fish play hide-and-seek,
And I shall be song of thunder, crash of sea,
Down on the floors of salt and wet.Sling me… under the sea.Return to Oblivion After Death
Suppose death returns me to the same oblivion as before my birth. I will not experience pleasure or happiness, but I also will not experience pain or suffering. I will not get to engage in my favorite activities, but I also will not toil at work or struggle through difficult and upsetting situations. I will not get to interact with the world, but I also will not have a mind capable of missing those interactions.
Perhaps fearing death is like leaving home and dreading to return. I left oblivion when I was born. I return to oblivion when I die.
- Oblivion is neither empty nor full.
- Oblivion is neither restful nor busy.
- Oblivion is neither peaceful nor chaotic.
- Oblivion is neither lonely nor shared.
- Oblivion is neither suffering nor happiness.
Whatever quality of oblivion I might fear, oblivion is not that. Whatever quality of oblivion I might desire, oblivion is not that. I neither fear oblivion nor seek oblivion. Oblivion will come again for me in its own time and manner.
References
- Red Pine (2004). The Heart Sutra: The Womb of Buddhas. Washington, D.C.: Shoemaker & Hoard. Quote taken from pages 8-9.
- Carl Sandburg (1920). Bones. Originally appeared in Others for 1919; An Anthology of the New Verse compiled by Nicholas Brown.