Dharma of the Dead ― Zombies, Mortality and Buddhist Philosophy

With the increased popularity of zombies in recent years, scholars have considered why the undead have so captured the public imagination. The author argues that the zombie can be viewed as an object of meditation on death, a memento mori that makes the fact of mortality more approachable from what has been described as America’s “death-denying culture.” The existential crisis in zombie apocalyptic fiction brings to the fore the problem of humanity’s search for meaning in an increasingly global and secular world. Zombies are analyzed in the context of Buddhist thought, in contrast with social and religious critiques from other works.

Christopher M. Moreman is professor and chair of the department of philosophy and religious studies at California State University, East Bay. He has published widely on topics relating to death, dying, and popular culture.