Proceedings of the 15th International Academic Conference, Rome

BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE ON DEATH: IMPLICATIONS FOR NON-PROFIT MARKETING IN GRIEF SUPPORT AND TERMINAL ILLNESS

KOUSHIKI CHOUDHURY

Abstract:

This study explores the concept of death with an ethnographic study of a worldwide Buddhist organization. Buddhism deals with the elementary questions of life and death in a manner that can alleviate the fear of death and the resultant anxiety; it illuminates the eternity of life. The ebb and flow of birth and death are perceived as the inherent workings of life that is eternal, timeless. The implications of the Buddhist view of death for creating value in the case of nonprofit organizations and hospices providing care, counseling, and emotional support to people facing terminal or irreversible illness as well as for end-of-life care and grief and bereavement support organizations are discussed.

Keywords: death; nonprofit organization;consciousness

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2015.015.045

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