[Buddha-l] Emptiness and not being able to imagine dying [confused]

[Jackhat1 at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/24/2010 4:52:03 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
lemmett at talk21.com writes:
 
Can anyone recommend a book on emptiness or the two truths in east  asian 
Buddhism?Also I am a little confused about Chih-I's classifications of  the 
two truths from Swanson's book. In what sense can the emptiness of  illusory 
existence be a conventional truth?
==
To answer I would think I need to know what you think Buddhist's use of  
emptiness means.


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My other concern and reason for writing to the list is about  annihilation. 
If there's no awareness at all at the moment of death but  there is the 
moment before, how can I conceptualize the latter becoming the  former: I have 
to have the idea of permanently losing awareness and I can't  see how that's 
to happen without someone being aware of that - in which case  it is 
persists in some form.
Thinking of it as a stream of elements  that are replaced by new ones: if 
the last dharma is replaced then that's no  annihilation, if not where does 
it go? It don't think can be quite like a  fire burning out because a fire 
doesn't have self cognition.
===
According to the teachings, there is no someone, no self, no I that  
persists.
=====
Is this just entirely non Buddhist?
Or can what I've said be related  to e.g. 'annihilation' in Buddhism or the 
Tathagata's silence on what happens  to him at death? Do all Buddhists 
think that the aggregates *completely* burn  away at death and that there can be 
no experience if that's the case? If so in  what way might the Tathagata 
not not exist at death?
===

The tathagata's silence was due to his view that discussions about it  were 
not helpful.
 
jack