silver (01/14/83)
Some Eastern teachers explain that there are better and worse forms of suicide, ranging from the noble kind (to save lives, etc, which is very rare) to the most selfish kind (I'm just depressed so let's quit). They warn that suicide for selfish reasons is worse than noneffective for the soul is still bound to the Earth (often for hundreds of years) until it can work out the sanskaras (impressions) that were to be expended in life. This is where "ghosts" come from. The point of life, they say, is to grow beyond the physical and the low desires, and this is why suffering exists along with pleasure -- as a reminder. Think about it.