The Heart Sutra uses exactly the same terms. The day of your so-called death is truly a day of continuation. Birth and death cannot really touch us. What we call body may not be just body. But in the deeper Buddhist picture, the same thing is manifest sometimes as body and sometimes as mind.
Religions are traditions.
And traditions are like trees. They must grow. We must take care of our religious tradition to prevent it from creating obstacles for our genuine growth. We have to renew our traditions so that they can embody the true teaching and practice to fit the real needs of the younger generation. Therefore our religious tradition should be able to offer opportunities for us to meet these needs.