Amber Hansen

Class: Monday & Wednesday

Time: 7:00-8:20
Date: 10/26/2014

Death Theme Writing Assignment

There were three friends that walked into a nice restaurant and sat at the bar. One was a
Tibetan Buddhist lama, another was a Roman Catholic bishop, and the other was epicurean with
no specific title. These three men started to drink a little wine and began a conversation. They
started to talk about life in general, then they opened up on the beliefs of each of these three
friends. The conversation then lead to the different views about what happens after death and
which preparations must be made before that time came.
One must enjoy life and not worry about the inevitable removal of sensation, stated the
epicurean. Those who spend their whole life worrying about an afterlife will surely be
disappointed.
Im sorry to say my dear friend but is simply not the case. The Roman Catholic
interjected. A being must accept God and Jesus in order to receive a favorable judgment in
purgatory. From there the spirit may move on to Heaven which would mean eternal paradise.
My dear friends you are arguing about minor details. Besides life is a cycle and after the
phase of death the soul is reformed into something different. Death is part of life in a sense,
stated the Tibetan Buddhist lama.
Death is not part of life. It is the end of life. So, you have a misunderstanding of the
expectations of the gods. They are immortal beings that do not care about trivial things about
mortal creatures. Besides if you live your life preparing for death than you will cannot enjoy life
to its fullest, pronounced the epicurean.
You cannot seriously believe that life just ends interjected the Tibetan Buddhist lama.

Amber Hansen
Class: Monday & Wednesday
Time: 7:00-8:20
Date: 10/26/2014

Precisely, we are but atomic particles that have no eternal existence, finished the
epicurean.
Then why is it that many people have memory of a past life, explain that to me,
answered the Tibetan Buddhist lama.
It is a partial memory of our time with God before his children were sent to be tested on
earth. The Roman Catholic stated in a clear firm tone.
The Tibetan Lama responded back with the answer, the only acceptable answer, that
would make any sense, is through the bardo cycles that our soul was reformed but not everything
was forgotten.
Clearly everyone has a specialty that they realize throughout their life. It has nothing to
do with a past life but, is simply human nature. The epicurean declared holding his cup of
wine to his lips.
Then, what is the point of life if we are not here to be tested? the Catholic exclaimed.
Everyone knows that people are here on earth to reach a state of Nirvana through the
reformation of our soul. Also, that if there is any part of a human being that needs to be retrained
to reach this balance they need to go through one of the five different worlds, depending on
which personality trait that needs correcting, replied the lama
If there is a personality trait that needs correcting, accepting Jesus that paid for all of our
sins, will allow you to get to Heaven. Life is not a cycle that can be reformed. There is only one
life, one chance, there is no reformation. It is a straight shot from the beginning of life to after
death, argued the Roman Catholic.

Amber Hansen
Class: Monday & Wednesday
Time: 7:00-8:20
Date: 10/26/2014

The both of you are misguided in your thoughts. The epicurean began to interrupt.
Life isnt about reaching a level of understanding or about proving that you are a good person.
It is about enjoying life to its fullest. Also, everyone has natural desires; we must not push them
away but indulge in them. They are not evil or bad, they are necessary for physical and mental
health.
Now hold on, are you saying that desires must be indulged in to live a healthy life? The
lama and Roman Catholic both interjected.
Precisely, reinstated the epicurean
I claim that this statement is false, declared the catholic. People are naturally
persuaded toward evil things and convince God that they have enough self-control to pay for
Adams transgressions or the original sin.
The both of you have erroneous points of view, started the Tibetan Buddhist lama.
First of all how are you going to better yourself by indulging in animal desires or any other
natural desire. Second of all, people are trying to better themselves and you are adding a sin
committed by one man that cannot even be proved. That seems a little too much for me, let alone
for someone who has not yet decided to educate themselves on the after math of this temporary
phase.
All three of these former friends argued during the course of the night, until the restaurant
closed and the bartender had to ask them to leave. These men were not fit for driving and so had
to share a taxi back to their own residences and during this ride is when they concluded their
argument.

Amber Hansen
Class: Monday & Wednesday
Time: 7:00-8:20
Date: 10/26/2014

Alright, interjected the Tibetan Buddhist lama, I understand that all three of us have
come from different perspectives and will never agree upon each others opinion. There needs to
be no more arguments. Let us please, depart as friends again so we may leave without anger or ill
feelings towards one another. Are we all in agreement?
The other two thought about what the Tibetan Buddhist lama had just said. After a few
moments, they nodded their heads in agreement. All of them were supposed to be about love and
forgiveness, not about quarrels and anger. They departed that night friends again and in a way
were closer now than they ever had been before.