Reading outline · Afterlife & rebirth
What comes after death?
Judgment, continuity and future existence.
Resurrection and judgment are not equivalent to rebirth. Nor do references to a “next world” provide a complete account of Buddhist cosmology. These extracts show how conduct and future existence are connected in the selected translations. Explore the full chapters to see what is affirmed and what remains unstated.
In this reading
Quran · Islam
Small deeds and their disclosure at judgment.
Read passage · Quran →And whoso doeth good an atom's weight will see it then,
Bible · Christianity
Jesus addresses Martha in the Lazarus narrative.
Read passage · Bible →Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.
Dhammapada · Buddhism
Conduct and joy in this life and the next.
Read passage · Dhammapada →The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he is happy in both. He is happy when he thinks of the good he has done; he is still more happy when going on the good path.
What changes when we read them together?
Resurrection, judgment and rebirth are distinct categories. These selections are too small to serve as complete maps of the cosmologies of their traditions.
Words in these readings
- Judgment
- Read the Quranic reference to small deeds together with its surrounding surah.
- Resurrection
- John 11 places the statement in an exchange with Martha.
- This life and the next
- The Dhammapada extract connects conduct with joy in more than one horizon.
Sources & reading notes
These are selected passages, not a complete account of any tradition. Introductions and explanations are editorial writing. Quotations use the named translations; an ellipsis marks a shortened selection.
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