Buddhist Funerals – Significance And Customs
A Buddhist funeral contains elaborate last rites performed according to sacred rituals and traditions. The ceremonies carried out during the Buddhist funeral are believed to set the person's soul free from the shackles of life and enable it to find a new and better life thereafter where it comes closer to enlightenment.
The Buddhist funeral ceremonies which conclude with cremation in most cases, are carried out by monks with the aid of the family. The dormant positive energies are freed from the soul by the chanting of appropriate sutras by Buddhist monks who read from the religious books. Meanwhile, the body is prepared and embalmed so that even if the cremation takes place after few days of the death, the body doesn't decompose. Once the body is bathed, it is placed along with candles, bouquets and incense in a casket along with a photograph of the dead person.
The Abhidharma, a holy Buddhist scripture is read everyday by visiting Buddhist 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 perform the final rituals and their head monk gives a brief speech in tribute to the deceased person highlighting his achievements in life and comforting the aggrieved relatives that death is inevitable. During the last stage of religious chanting and service, the coffin is wrapped in white cloth and a rite of passing on blessings and positive energies to the soul of the deceased, referred to as 'Pansakula' is carried out.
Just before cremation, a member of the family or the nearest kin is requested to make a short speech about the deceased person. After the cremation, a light feast is organized for the people gathered at the funeral.
Some differences in the specific rituals may be found in different cultures, but these are the important rituals followed during a Buddhist funeral in many countries like Tibet, Thailand, and China by the followers of the faith.
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