Chinese Buddhist Death Death Perspective View Of The Study,

Chinese Buddhism, focusing on death, offers the richest theory of death in Chinese history of ideology. From the view of thanatology, the thesis study the concept of death in Chinese Buddhism with the method of history and logic and the thinking in natural science. The paper explores the following problems: the position of Buddhism death concept in the traditional culture; its ideological system; and its social influence.The main conclusions are: firstly, Buddhism concept of death inherits and develops Chinese traditional view of death. Confucian school characterizes in observing death for living, serving it for ethics, so its death concept is pragmatism. Basing on the rational rethinking, Taoist school binds the Confucian and the Buddhism. It equals life and death, and transcends death to the exploration of mind, so it leads to the natural death concept. Buddhism extends the vision on life and death to the extreme. It purposes in transcending death, containing the ethics and culture in the Confucian and the inner transcendence in the Taoist, so come out the transcendent view of death. Secondly, the knowledge of death constructs the basic of Buddhism. Buddhism believes death is painful, inevitable and anitaya (无常) , thus, it points out the necessity of transcendence. Investigating and analyzing death from a dynamic view of life, Buddhism puts forward "anatman" (无我) ,and denies death is ending. Thirdly, the concept helps alleviate the confusion of the process of dying, which can be easily found in the forward achievements of thanatology and it also proves the existence of after-life world with its fully played function of ethics. Fourthly, the system of the death-transcendence is the combination of theory and practice, of individual and ultimate concern. Fifthly, death in Buddhism is sunya(空) in essence, the disorganization of Five Skandhas(五蕴), and the standard of examining the state of life, the last chance to raise life. Last but not least, Buddhism death concept has profound and lasting influence, proved to be one of the inherent motivations of spreading Buddhism in China and its ChinanizationThe creative transformation of Buddhism death concept will reveal its modern meaning, and make it the important resource of thanatology, bioethics, psychical research (parapsychology) and other new-found subjects. It will also enlighten ethic hot spots , such as euthanasia, organ transplant. What's more, it could supply some references to the related subjects in China and East Asia, and make unique contribution to the academic world.