Traditions And Customs Followed In A Buddhist Funeral
Buddhist funeral rites and rituals are replete with religious significance for Buddhists. Devout Buddhists believe that the soul attains liberation from the worldly cycle of life and death from the deceased person’s body during the funeral ceremonies and is allowed to find a new level and move to a higher plane of existence.
The Buddhist funeral services which end with cremation in most cases, are done by monks with the aid of the bereaved family. The dormant positive energies are released from the soul by the chanting of the correct sutras by monks who read from the religious books. While the chanting continues, the deceased is made ready for the funeral service and for visitors to pay last respects, so that there is no decay even if the final rites are delayed. Once the body is washed, it is put along with candles, flowers and incense in a casket along with a picture of the dead person.
If the funeral is delayed by some days for distant relatives to get a last look, the monks go to the dead person’s residence everyday and chant verses from the Abhidharma, an important Buddhist book.
On the occasion of the funeral, Buddhist monks perform the final rituals and their chief gives a brief speech in tribute to the deceased person focusing on his achievements in life and comforting the aggrieved relatives that death is destiny. During the final religious chanting and ceremony, the casket is wrapped in white cloth and a rite of conveying blessings and good energies to the soul of the deceased, referred to as ‘Pansakula’ is carried out.
Before the cremation takes place, a close member of the family is asked to say something about the deceased person. A special meal for all the attendees is arranged after the Buddhist funeral rituals and the cremation is carried out.
Although some variations in rituals can be seen, these are the general ritualistic procedures followed during funeral ceremonies by followers in Thailand, Tibet, China and many other countries, where a huge number of Buddhists reside.
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