Why Do People Fear Death? What is the End of Life?

My impression of death came at around three or four years old, when my neighbor's grandmother passed away. I remember that one morning, my mom woke me up from bed and dressed me. She told me seriously that the grandmother had passed away.

At that time, I didn't know what death was. I just realized that death meant that this person would no longer be in life.

This was my first encounter with death, without any feeling. As I grew older, I forgot about it.

Later, when I was ten years old, my grandfather passed away. On the day of his funeral, relatives went to the coffin to view the deceased.

I went to see him. I saw my grandfather with a yellow face and his mouth slightly open. Lying in the dark coffin, he was motionless.

At that time, facing my grandfather's coffin, I felt a strange sadness. The thought was, would he lie in the coffin, tightly wrapped, and suffer? Would he be buried in the ground and rot, and would he feel pain?

I realized then that everyone has to die.

This is a destiny that everyone has to face from the beginning of their life. Unlike other things, it cannot be chosen.

So small children worry about death.

Later, as I grew up, I faced more and more deaths, especially the death of older relatives. Gradually, I accepted this reality. More accurately, I became numb.

When we face the death of others, we are unconsciously learning the process of death. In this process, we become more clearly aware that this process is something that everyone has to endure.

Facing death, besides the helpless sadness of ordinary people, in the vast historical long river, in the past, there was Qin Shi Huang searching for elixirs, in order to achieve immortality; nowadays, scientists use freezing technology to preserve the body in order to one day revive it.

The fear of death may have existed since humans began to have thoughts.

So what are we afraid of when we fear death?

We are afraid of the unknown.

There is an old saying: 'Better to die than live.' That is, no matter how difficult or unsatisfactory life is, as long as there is a glimmer of life, most people will do everything possible to survive.

This instinct for survival comes from the fear of the unknown after death.

In ancient myths, the Westerners fabricated the heaven and paradise, and the East fabricated the gods and devils. The biggest reason was to find a destination for everyone after death.

Why do some people choose to believe? Because it makes them believe that after death, they have a definite place.

Ultimately, people are afraid of where they will go after death.

In mythology, there is the meaning of Mengpo soup and the theory of reincarnation. These are largely to alleviate people's fear.

That is, if there is a person or thing that can prove where a person goes after death, then most people's fear of death will be reduced a lot.

We are afraid of annihilation

Now, through physical science, it has been confirmed that after death, the body will decompose through bacteria and eventually dissipate into atoms in all corners of the world. And spirit disappears with the separation of the body.

A person, from birth, all the points and lines that occur in this world will eventually disappear. Just like a computer system is reset, there is no trace left.

Yesterday a person was still vibrant, today he has disappeared from the world.

Those joys and sorrows are like dreams. When you wake up, there is nothing left.

This pain of annihilation is another reason for people's fear of death. We are afraid of disappearing.

We fear oblivion

David Eggman said in 'The Checklist of Life',

A person's life is to die three times.

The first time is when your heartbeat stops and your breath disappears, you are declared dead in a biological sense; the second time, when you are buried, people wearing black clothes attend your funeral, they announce that you no longer exist in this society and you leave quietly; the third time is when the last person in the world who remembers you forgets you, and you are truly dead. The entire universe will no longer be connected with you.

Human beings live in this vast universe, we not only have individual beings from birth, but no one can fully understand the thoughts of another person. Humans are lonely in relation to the universe, and lonely in relation to all humanity. And lonely people need to approach others to seek comfort.

We need to be loved, we need to be remembered. These beautiful experiences are the priceless treasures and important spiritual pillars of everyone.

But all this may be taken away by death.

When we think that one day, no one will remember us, the fear we face is the most important reason for people's fear of death.

Death is destiny, and it is also the question that everyone has to learn how to face throughout their lives. The fear of death makes people think more deeply about why they are alive. This is also the reason why human civilization is so brilliant and prosperous.

What is called dust to dust, earth to earth, death is a way back, and rebirth is a hope.