Intro -- Understanding Death -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Understanding Death -- Return from the Dead -- Debates and Definitions -- Death and the Self -- Ritual and Transformation -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- 2 Primal Perspectives on Death -- Soul Theories of Primal Peoples -- The Destiny of Souls -- Afterlife among the Warao -- Rituals of Departure -- A Conversation on Understanding Death -- References and Further Reading -- 3 Death in the Ancient World -- Egypt -- Egyptian Soul Theory -- Transforming the Body -- Egyptian Afterlife -- The Story of Osiris -- Mesopotamia -- Gilgamesh and the Search for Immortality -- The Spirits of the Dead in Mesopotamian Culture -- Persia -- Zoroaster and the Evil of Death -- Salvation for All -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- 4 Jewish Perspectives on Death -- The Beginning of Death -- The Soul and Sheol -- Resurrection and the World to Come -- The Journey of the Soul -- Rituals of Departure -- A Conversation on Understanding Death -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- 5 Christian Perspectives on Death -- The Death of Jesus -- Developments in Christian Thought on the Soul -- Resurrection and Eternal Life -- Heaven and Hell -- Rituals of Departure -- A Conversation on Understanding Death -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- 6 Muslim Perspectives on Death -- The Names of God -- Ruh and Nafs -- The Trial of the Grave -- The Garden (Janna) and the Fire (Jahannam) -- Modern Islamic Views on Heaven and Hell -- Rituals of Departure -- A Conversation on Understanding Death -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- 7 Hindu Perspectives on Death -- Feeding the Ancestors -- The First Sacrifice -- Death, the Immortal -- The Inner Controller -- In the House of Death -- The Three Paths to Liberation -- Rituals of Departure.

A Conversation on Understanding Death -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- 8 Buddhist Perspectives on Death -- The Life and Death of the Buddha -- The Noble Truths -- Karma, Self, and the Wheel of Becoming -- Nirvana: The Deathless -- Rituals of Departure -- A Conversation on Understanding Death -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- 9 Daoist Perspectives on Death -- The Ancestors -- Soul Theories -- The Nameless Way -- Transformations of the Self -- The Search for Immortality -- Rituals of Departure -- A Conversation on Understanding Death -- Notes -- References and Further Reading -- Index.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2022. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.