接納死亡是生命解脫與進化的要件：東西方修行大師對生死的慧見

Acceptance of Death is Necessary for Spiritual Liberation and Evolution: Insights from Spiritual Masters of the East and West

本文論述奧修及西方修行大師對生死問題的慧見，指出人們因不了解死亡的真實相而心存恐懼和抗拒，結果不但此生不能放下對生命的執著，在臨終時也不能保持清明覺知的意識，以致死後必須再度經歷輪迴之苦，錯失了永遠解脫生死的機會。因此奧修極力強調應在有生之年認真修行，練習放下對生命及所愛事物的貪戀執著以及對死亡的焦慮和恐懼，欣然擁抱死神的來臨，才能超脫輪迴的枷鎖而安住於永恆安樂之聖境。結語部分提到奧修生死觀與佛教淨土法門有相似之處，期盼本文能為淨土宗的信仰提供更寬廣的思想視野及現代學理的詮釋角度，藉以釐清許多人對該法門的誤解，以實現生命的終極關懷。

This article discusses the insights into life and death from Osho and Western spiritual masters. As Osho points out, people harbor fear and resistance to death due to their ignorance about the truth of it, and as a consequence they fail not only to free themselves of attachments to life, but also to maintain a clear awareness on deathbed. The net result is that they miss the opportunity of eternal liberation from the endless cycle of life and death, having to repeat the predicament of constant reincarnation. Therefore, Osho emphatically advocates that we all need to engage in assiduous spiritual practice during this life time, learning to let go of craving and attachments to life and all possessions associated with it, and to be freed of the anxiety and fear towards death. Only when we are willing to embrace death with a happy mindset can we transcend the fetters of reincarnation and dwell peacefully in the sacred realm of eternal bliss.
In the concluding section, it is found that there exists a similarity between Osho's philosophy of life and death and the Buddhist Pure Land practice. This paper hopes to provide the Pure Land faith with a broader horizon as well as interpretative perspectives of modern thanatology, so as to clarify many people's misunderstandings in it, and to address the issue of "ultimate concerns" for human life.