whether there’s afterlife, the answer has never been the same. the atheists deny after life, believing that our life is no more than from the cradle to the grave. they may care about their illustrious names after death; they may feel attached to the affection of their offspring, but they never lay their hopes on their afterlife. they may also say that good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil, but they don’t really believe any retribution in their after life.

　　有沒有來世，眾說紛紜。無神論者，不相信來世。他們認為從生到死，僅此而已。他們可能在意身后的英名，他們可能留戀后代的親情，但他們不寄希望于來世。他們也會說善有善報，惡有惡報，但并不相信下輩子報應什么。

　　however, in the religious world or among the superstitious people, the belief in afterlife is very popular. they do not only believe in afterlife, but thousands of reincarnations as well. in the mysterious world, there are the paradise and the hell, the celestial beings and the gods, the buddha and the bodhisattvas.

　　在宗教領域、或在一些迷信的人群，來世之說比較盛行。不僅是來世，甚至會認為有千百次的輪回。在那未知而飄渺的世界，有天堂，有地獄，有神族，有仙界，有菩薩、有佛祖。

　　maybe they really believed it, or maybe they just wanted to make use of people’s veneration, the ancient emperors always declared that they were the real dragons, the sons of god, while the royal ministers claimed to be the reincarnations of various constellations. but can the stars reincarnate?

　　也許真的相信、也許是為了利用人們的敬畏心里，古代的帝王們總是宣稱自己是真龍天子，大臣們則標榜為天上的什么文曲星、武曲星或太白金星轉世。星星能轉世嗎?

　　many people burn incense and kowtow, do good deeds and strive for virtues, not just for the present, but mainly to let god see their sincerity so as to be reborn into a better afterlife, or to achieve the highest enlightenment after several lives of practice. they do believe in afterlife. but i can’t help asking: suppose there were no afterlife, would you still do good deeds and strive for virtues? and if god does not see what you are doing, would you still be so upright and selfless? if you work, not for serving the public and liberating the others, but just for a better afterlife of your own, isn’t it a little too selfish? comparing with this kind of believers, those who don’t believe in afterlife, but still keep doing good deeds, are the most sincere and honest philanthropists, because they do them not for themselves but for other.