Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Religiously Important Aspects Of Buddhist Funerals

By Andrei Tan

In a Buddhist funeral, the followers of the faith believe in carrying out detailed rites and rituals during the funeral proceedings. Buddhists believe that the soul attains freedom from the cycle of life and death from the deceased person's body during the funeral ceremonies and is allowed to reach a new level and move to a greater existence.

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 read sutras from scriptures to allow the good energies to be set free from the soul. In the meantime, the body is prepared and preserved so that even if the cremation happens after some days of the death, the body doesn't decompose. The body is washed and laid to rest in a casket along with fragrance sticks, candles, wreaths and a photograph of the deceased person.

The Abhidharma, a sacred Buddhist text is read daily by visiting Buddhist monks during the funeral period even when the cremation is delayed to accommodate the visitors from distant places.

On funeral day, Buddhist monks perform the final rites and the head monk expresses his condolences to the bereaved family and speaks words of consolation to them along with tribute to the dead person remembering his life. The Pansakula, a significant ritual which is believed to pass on blessings and positive energies to the soul of the departed is done during the last stage of chanting while a white shroud is being wrapped around the casket.

Before the cremation, a family member or the nearest kin has to say something about the deceased person. Following the cremation, a light feast is organized for the people assembled at the funeral.

A great number of people in China, Tibet, Thailand and some other Asian nations with a large Buddhist population follow the Buddhist funeral system with some variations according to the local customs.

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