Friday 8 January 2010

Buddhist Funerals - Significance And Traditions

By Kathy Tan

In a Buddhist funeral, the followers of the religion believe in carrying out detailed rites and rituals during the funeral service. Buddhists believe that the soul attains freedom from the worldly cycle of life and death from the deceased person's body during the funeral services and is able to find a new level and move towards a greater existence.

Buddhist monks are invited to carry out the rites and rituals during a Buddhist funeral, which typically ends with cremation. When a person has died, Buddhist monks recite sutras from holy books to allow the good energies to be set free from the soul. To prevent any decomposition in case of delayed cremation, the mortal remains are prepared cautiously while the religious chanting is being performed. The body is bathed and put to rest in a coffin along with incense sticks, candles, flowers and a photo of the departed person.

If the funeral is deferred by some days for distant relatives to bid their final goodbyes, the monks visit the deceased person's house daily and recite sutras from the Abhidharma, an important Buddhist holy scripture.

On the occasion of the funeral, Buddhist monks perform the final rituals and their head monk delivers a short speech in tribute to the dead person focusing on his achievements in life and comforting the bereaved family that death is inevitable. Other rites like wrapping a white cloth around the coffin during the religious invocation and Pansakula, a ritual of delivering virtues and blessings to the soul of the deceased are also performed.

Just before the cremation, a close family member is asked to say something about the departed individual. A special meal for all the visitors is organized after the Buddhist funeral ceremony and the cremation is carried out.

Although some modifications in traditions can be seen, these are the general ritualistic procedures carried out during funeral service by followers in countries like Tibet, Thailand and China, where a large number of Buddhists live.

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