Religiously Significant Aspects Of Buddhist Funerals

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Posted by Kathy Tan | Posted in Business | Posted on 14-02-2010

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A Buddhist funeral contains extensive last rites carried out according to sacrosanct rituals and traditions. The rituals performed during the Buddhist funeral are expected to liberate the deceased person\’s soul from the chains of life and enable it to find a transformed and elevated life after death where it comes closer to Moksha.

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. When a person has passed away, Buddhist monks read verses from holy books to liberate the good energies from the soul. In the meantime, the body is made ready and embalmed so that even if the cremation happens after few days of the death, the body doesn\’t decompose. The body is bathed and put to rest in a casket along with fragrance sticks, candles, flowers and a photo of the deceased person.

When the final rituals are deferred to allow far away relatives to come for the last glimpse of the deceased, invited monks visit the residence everyday to read and chant from the Buddhist religious book Abhidharma.

On the occasion of the funeral, monks perform the last rites and their chief delivers a short speech in tribute to the dead person highlighting his contributions in life and consoling the bereaved relatives that death is inevitable. Other rituals like wrapping the casket with a white cloth during the religious incantation and Pansakula, a ritual of delivering blessings and virtues to the departed soul are also carried out.

Just before the cremation, a close member of the family is requested to say a few words about the deceased person. The Buddhist funeral ceremonies end with a special meal for the attendees after the funeral.

A large number of people in China, Tibet, Thailand and a few 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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