ls experience through the process of dying: Denial (shock), Anger (Emotion), Bargaining, Depression (Preparatory), and Acceptance (Increased self-reliance). Understanding this process was important to Kubler-Ross, in order to alleviate anxiety and fear of death both in the dying and those left behind. While Kubler-RossÆ stage-process focused mainly on Western experiences and encompassed a Christian ethos, perceptions of death and dying vary significantly from one culture to the next.
While one or more or all of Kubler-RossÆ stages may be relevant to other cultures, many cultures view death in a manner that often negates the anxiety and fear experienced by many Westerners with respect to death and dying. In looking at other cultures, it becomes apparent that the view of the afterlife is often a significant factor in how people deal with death and dying. For example, in the Buddhist tradition in Asia, Buddhist Lama Priests preside over a three-day vigil of the dead body, while friends and relatives burn oil, offer sacrifices, and pray with the Lamas. Unlike the denial and anger experienced with Western death, Buddhists believe in holding such a vigil because of their belief that the deceased may return, ôThis vigil is very important for the Buddhists who believe that upon death the soul leaves the earthly body immediately but hovers around it for three days and that sometimes within this timeframe the soul may decide to reunite with the body causing an instance of miraculous resurrecti
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