Traditions And Customs Followed In A Buddhist Funeral
Posted By on January 23, 2010
Buddhist funeral rituals and traditional ceremonies are filled with religious importance for Buddhists. Devout Buddhists believe that the soul attains liberation from the cycle of life and death from the deceased’s mortal body during the funeral ceremonies and is allowed to find a new level and move to a higher plane of existence.
In a typical Buddhist funeral, the body of the departed is cremated and Buddhist monks in the presence of family members carry out the last rites. After a person has breathed his last, the monks chant from the religious verses which are believed to liberate the positive energies of the soul. To prevent any decay in case of a late cremation, the mortal remains are prepared cautiously while the chanting is going on. Once the body is washed, it is placed along with candles, flowers and incense in a casket along with a photograph of the dead person.
The Abhidharma, a sacred Buddhist scripture is read everyday by visiting monks during the funeral period even when the cremation is delayed to accommodate the visitors from far away places.
On the day of the funeral, monks go through the last rites and the chief monk expresses his condolences to the family and speaks words of encouragement to them along with tribute to the dead person remembering his life. The Pansakula, an important ritual which is expected to carry blessings and good energies to the departed’s soul is carried out during the final chanting while a white cloth is being wrapped around the casket.
Prior to cremation, a member of the family or the nearest kin is requested to make a short speech about the deceased person. A special meal for all the attendees is arranged after the Buddhist funeral rituals and the cremation is carried out.
A large number of people in China, Tibet, Thailand and some other Asian nations with a large Buddhist population follow the Buddhist funeral system with some slight alterations according to the local customs.
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