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| | | Book Name: The Dhammapada - The Way of the Buddha, Vol 7 | Previous Next | |
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that he has gone to heaven, that he has moved to the other world, that he has not died, only the body has fallen back to the earth but the soul, the soul is immortal.
Have you ever heard of anybody going to hell? Everybody goes to heaven. We are so afraid of death, we try to make it as beautiful as possible: we decorate it, we speak beautiful words about it, we try to avoid the fact.
But Buddha insists again and again... his whole life after his enlightenment for forty-two years continuously he was talking, morning, evening, day in, day out, year in, year out, about death. Why? Many people think that he is a pessimist -- he is not. He is neither optimist nor pessimist. He is a realist, he is very pragmatic. He means business, because he knows only one thing is left for you about which something can be done and should be done -- and that is death.
And remember: it is not a simple phenomenon that you die and go to heaven. It is a very complex phenomenon, more complex than life itself.
Mrs. O'Hara, a widow of some five years, went to visit a famous medium, thinking she might contact her late husband, Mike. The medium assured her that every effort would be made and that they would hold a seance that very evening. Several believers gathered around the table, and the medium ordered that the lights be dimmed and that everyone at the table join hands. A hush fell over the room, and the medium called the name Mike O'Hara over and over again.
Suddenly a strange calm seemed to permeate the room and a distant voice, faint at first but growing stronger and stronger, cried, "I am Mike O'Hara. Who is it who calls my spirit forth?"
The medium replied that it was indeed his own wife who called upon him, and that Mrs. O'Hara wished to speak to him. The spirit replied that he would speak to his wife.
"Mike," said Mrs. O'Hara, "are you alright?"
"Yes," he replied. "I am alright."
"Tell me, are you happy there?"
"Yes, I am happy here."
"Are you happier there than you were on earth with me?"
"Yes," replied the spirit, "I am much happier here than I was on earth with you."
Mrs. O'Hara seemed a bit
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