Research challenges the materialistic understanding of death, according to which biological death represents the final end of existence and of all conscious activity.
If consciousness can function independently of the body during one’s lifetime, it could be able to do the same after death.
A number of cases have been reported in which a dying individual has a vision of a person about whose death he or she did not know.
For any culture which is primarily concerned with meaning, the study of death – the only certainty that life holds for us – must be central, for an understanding of death is the key to liberation in life.
The study of consciousness that can extend beyond the body is extremely important for the issue of survival, since it is this part of human personality that would be likely to survive death.
The motif of death plays an important role the human psyche in connection with archetypal and karmic material.
Consciousness after death demonstrates the possibility of consciousness operating independently of the body.
There is no fundamental difference between the preparation for death and the practice of dying, and spiritual practice leading to enlightenment.
A text of Tibetan Buddhism describes the time of death as a unique opportunity for spiritual liberation from the cycles of death and rebirth and a period that determines our next incarnation.
Whether or not we believe in survival of consciousness after death, reincarnation, and karma, it has very serious implications for our behavior.