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“One might wonder: "What good is Zen then, at least as a religion, if it cannot provide us with knowledge about what happens after we die?" But does anyone really know what happens after we die? Of course, one may believe in a Heaven and a Hell, or in rebirth as a human or other kind of being; or one may not believe in such things. But does anyone really know? One may desperately desire there to be an afterlife, and one may give this desperate desire a nice name like "hope" or "faith" rather than a naughty one like "craving" or "attachment." In any case, we have to admit that we don't really know what happens to us after death—or even if anything at all does happen to us. I think the harder and deeper question about death is this: Once we admit that no one really knows what happens, what comportment should we take toward death? Is there a wisdom in the face of death that is not a matter of knowledge about the afterlife?” — Bret W Davis

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One might wonder: "What good is Zen then, at least as a religion, if it cannot provide us with knowledge about what happens after we die?" But does anyone really know what happens after we die? Of course, one may believe in a Heaven and a Hell, or in rebirth as a human or other kind of being; or one may not believe in such things. But does anyone really know? One may desperately desire there to be an afterlife, and one may give this desperate desire a nice name like "hope" or "faith" rather than a naughty one like "craving" or "attachment." In any case, we have to admit that we don't really know what happens to us after death—or even if anything at all does happen to us. I think the harder and deeper question about death is this: Once we admit that no one really knows what happens, what comportment should we take toward death? Is there a wisdom in the face of death that is not a matter of knowledge about the afterlife?
— Bret W Davis