Religiously Important Aspects Of Buddhist Funerals

By Joy Tan

A Buddhist funeral consists of elaborate last rites performed according to sacred customs and traditions. Buddhists believe that the soul attains liberation from the cycle of life and death from the deceased person's body during the funeral services and is allowed to reach a new level and move to a greater existence.

In a typical Buddhist funeral, the deceased's body is cremated and monks in the presence of the bereaved family carry out the funeral rites. The underlying positive energies are released from the soul by the chanting of the correct sutras by monks who read from the holy scriptures. To prevent any decomposition in case of a late cremation, the mortal remains are prepared carefully while the religious chanting is being performed. After bathing the body, it is placed in a coffin with candles, wreaths, fragrant incense sticks and a picture of the deceased person.

When the final rituals are deferred to allow distant relatives to arrive for paying their last respects to the deceased, monks visit the home daily to read and chant from the Buddhist religious book Abhidharma.

The Buddhist monks finish the final rites on the day of the funeral and the head priest gives a speech mentioning the good deeds and actions carried out by the deceased and comforting the grieving family members and relatives. Other rituals like wrapping a white cloth around the coffin during the religious incantation and Pansakula, a ritual of delivering virtues and blessings to the departed soul are also performed.

Just before the cremation, a close member of the family is asked to say a few words about the deceased person. A special meal for all the attendees is organized after the Buddhist funeral rituals and the cremation is done.

A large number of people in Thailand, Tibet, China and a few other Asian countries with a large Buddhist population follow the Buddhist funeral tradition with some slight alterations based on the local customs.

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