Death

== Religious views ==
=== Buddhism ===
{{See also|Anussati#The ten recollections}}

In Buddhist doctrine and practice, death plays an important role. Awareness of death motivated [[Gautama Buddha|Prince Siddhartha]] to strive to find the [[amrta#Theravada Buddhism|"deathless"]] and finally attain [[enlightenment (Buddhism)|enlightenment]]. In Buddhist doctrine, death functions as a reminder of the value of [[Human beings in Buddhism|having been born as a human being]]. Being reborn as a human being is considered the only state in which one can attain enlightenment. Therefore, death helps remind oneself that one should not take life for granted. The belief in rebirth among Buddhists does not necessarily remove [[existential angst|death anxiety]] since all existence in the [[samsara (Buddhism)|cycle of rebirth]] is considered filled with [[dukkha|suffering]], and being reborn many times does not necessarily mean that one progresses.<ref name="Blum 2004">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Encyclopedia%20of%20Buddhism_2%20Vols_%20Buswell.pdf|last=Blum|first=Mark L.|editor1-last=Buswell|editor1-first=Robert E.|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Buddhism|volume=1|title=Death|date=2004|publisher=Macmillan Reference, [[Thomson Gale]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-02-865720-2|page=203|access-date=15 February 2018|archive-date=29 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629160542/http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Encyclopedia%20of%20Buddhism_2%20Vols_%20Buswell.pdf}}</ref>

Death is part of several key Buddhist tenets, such as the [[Four Noble Truths]] and [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent origination]].<ref name="Blum 2004" />

=== Christianity ===
{{See also|Soul in the Bible|Second death|Resurrection of the dead#Christianity}}
[[File:Paradiso Canto 31.jpg|thumb|In Dante's [[Paradiso (Dante)|Paradiso]], Dante is with Beatrice, staring at the highest heavens.]]

While there are different sects of Christianity with different branches of belief, the overarching ideology on death grows from the knowledge of the afterlife. After death, the individual will undergo a separation from mortality to immortality; their soul leaves the body entering a realm of spirits. Following this separation of body and spirit (death), [[resurrection]] will occur.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=September 1915|title=A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Alfred Plummer|journal=The Biblical World|volume=46|issue=3|page=192|doi=10.1086/475371|issn=0190-3578}}</ref> Representing the same transformation [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]] embodied after his body was placed in the tomb for three days, each person's body will be resurrected, reuniting the spirit and body in a perfect form. This process allows the individual's soul to withstand death and transform into life after death.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Resurrection – Resurrection of Christ |doi=10.1163/2468-483x_smuo_com_003831 |encyclopedia=Sacramentum Mundi Online}}</ref>

===Hinduism===
{{See also|Reincarnation#Hinduism|Naraka (Hinduism)|Yama (Hinduism)}}
[[File:Reincarnation_AS.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Illustration depicting Hindu beliefs about [[reincarnation]]]]
<!-- Due to the multitude of interpretations of religious scriptures, they are almost never used to directly substantiate a claim. Secondary sources must be used, with neutrality in mind. See [[WP:RSPSCRIPTURE]]. -->

In [[Hindu texts]], death is described as the individual eternal spiritual ''[[Jiva|jiva-atma]]'' (soul or conscious self) exiting the current temporary material body. The soul exits this body when the body can no longer sustain the conscious self (life), which may be due to mental or physical reasons or, more accurately, the inability to act on one's ''[[Kama#In Hinduism|kama]]'' (material desires).<ref>{{Cite book |last=The Hindu Kama Shastra Society |url=https://archive.org/stream/kamasutraofvatsy00vatsuoft#page/8/mode/2up |title=The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana |publisher=University of Toronto Archives |year=1925 |pages=8–11, 172 }}</ref> During conception, the soul enters a compatible new body based on the remaining merits and demerits of one's ''[[Karma#In Hinduism|karma]]'' (good/bad material activities based on ''[[Dharma#Hinduism|dharma]]'') and the state of one's mind (impressions or last thoughts) at the time of death.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yadav |first=Richa |title=Hinduism and Tribal Religions |chapter=Rebirth (Hinduism) |date=March 24, 2018 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_316-1#:~:text=According%20to%20Hinduism%2C%20a%20soul,through%20many%20births%20and%20deaths. |series=Encyclopedia of Indian Religions |pages=1–4 |doi=10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_316-1 |isbn=978-94-024-1036-5 |via=Springer Live |access-date=16 February 2023 |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216214123/https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_316-1#:~:text=According%20to%20Hinduism%2C%20a%20soul,through%20many%20births%20and%20deaths. |url-status=live }}</ref>

Usually, the process of [[Reincarnation#Hinduism|reincarnation]] makes one forget all memories of one's previous life. Because nothing really dies and the temporary material body is always changing, both in this life and the next, death means forgetfulness of one's previous experiences.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Arvind |date=March 1996 |title=THE ISSUE OF MEMORY AS A PRAMĀṆA AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR THE CONFIRMATION OF REINCARNATION IN HINDUISM |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |publisher=Springer |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=21–36 |doi=10.1007/BF00219274 |jstor=23447913 |s2cid=170767668}}</ref>

===Islam===
{{See also|Islamic view of death}}

The Islamic view is that death is the separation of the soul from the body as well as the beginning of the afterlife.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Jane Idleman |chapter=From Death to Resurrection: Classical Islam |date=2002-12-12 |title=The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection |pages=31–62 |publisher=Oxford University PressNew York |last2=Haddad |first2=Yvonne Yazbeck |doi=10.1093/0195156498.003.0002 |isbn=0-19-515649-8}}</ref> The afterlife, or ''[[akhirah]],'' is one of the six main beliefs in Islam. Rather than seeing death as the end of life, Muslims consider death as a continuation of life in another form.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Puchalski |first1=Christina M. |last2=O'Donnell |first2=Edward |date=July 2005 |title=Religious and spiritual beliefs in end of life care: how major religions view death and dying |journal=Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=114–121 |doi=10.1053/j.trap.2005.06.003 |issn=1084-208X}}</ref> In Islam, life on earth right now is a short, temporary life and a testing period for every soul. True life begins with the Day of Judgement when all people will be divided into two groups. The righteous believers will be welcomed to ''[[Jannah|janna]]'' (heaven), and the disbelievers and evildoers will be punished in ''[[jahannam]]'' (hellfire).<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Qurʼan: an encyclopedia |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |editor=Oliver Leaman |isbn=0-203-17644-8 |location=London |oclc=68963889}}</ref>

Muslims believe death to be wholly natural and predetermined by God. Only God knows the exact time of a person's death.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tayeb |first1=Mohamad A. |last2=Al-Zamel |first2=Ersan |last3=Fareed |first3=Muhammed M. |last4=Abouellail |first4=Hesham A. |date=May 2010 |title=A "good death": perspectives of Muslim patients and health care providers |journal=Annals of Saudi Medicine |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=215–221 |doi=10.4103/0256-4947.62836 |pmid=20427938 |pmc=2886872 |issn=0256-4947 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Quran|The Quran]] emphasizes that death is inevitable, no matter how much people try to escape death, it will reach everyone. ([[Qaf (surah)|Q50:16]]) Life on earth is the one and only chance for people to prepare themselves for the life to come and choose to either believe or not believe in God, and death is the end of that learning opportunity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campo |first=Juan Eduardo |title=Encyclopedia of Islam |date=2009 |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-5454-1 |location=New York |oclc=191882169}}</ref>

=== Judaism ===
{{see also|Bereavement in Judaism}}

There are a [[Jewish eschatology#World to come|variety of beliefs about the afterlife within Judaism]], but none of them contradict the preference for life over death. This is partially because death puts a cessation to the possibility of fulfilling any [[Mitzvah|commandments]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raphael |first=Simcha Paull |url=https://www.neshamah.net/images/jewish-views-of-the-afterlife.pdf |title=Jewish Views of the Afterlife |date=May 2021 |access-date=17 February 2023 |archive-date=11 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230611160727/https://neshamah.net/images/jewish-views-of-the-afterlife.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>