The article “Why Morality Makes Us Free,” by Martin Hägglund in the New York Times discusses how the heart of spiritual life stems from Buddhism since it recognizes that life is our purpose instead of nirvana or heaven. He goes on to discuss how salvation in Buddhism is simply to be able to have an end to life instead of eternity.

This article made me think about how religion in many people’s live is based off of being able to have a “better life” when they leave this Earth. It is fascinating for me to realize how people dedicate time, money, energy and resources into their religion in the daily lives that they are currently in, in order to achieve so other worldly place such as nirvana or heaven. From a personal perspective, recognizing my biases, it is puzzling to understand why people dedicate their lives to a future unknown. Yet, from a sociologist perspective it makes sense that one’s religious beliefs are to be respected in their entirety as most do deal with great faith.

I am curious as to how many people who follow Buddhism, thinks about their “life after death” or is it insignificant thought?

Here is the link to the article below.