Buddhism Beliefs: Death & Mourning

Question 1

How do Buddhist Beliefs About Death Affect Funerals?

Answer 1

• When a Buddhist dies, their kammic energy leaves their body and is reborn in a new one
• Death therefore is not seen as an end, only a transition
• Although Buddhists will naturally grieve the loss of people they loved, they also keep in mind what the Buddha taught about impermanence being a natural part of life

Question 2

Theravadan Funerals

Answer 2

• In Theravada communities, very little money is usually spent on a funeral
• Instead the family and friends may donate to a worthy cause and transfer the merit to the deceased
• Rituals that transfer merit to the deceased may be performed by family members or other mourners
• they might offer cloth to make new robes to a senior monk of a nearby monastery on behalf of the deceased person
• A shrine may display a portrait of the deceased person
• Monks often attend a funeral of a lay person They may give a sermon and perform Buddhist rites before the casket is sealed
  -The deceased may be cremated or buried, although cremation is traditional and more common.

Question 3

Tibetan Funeral

Answer 3

• One traditional funeral practice is sky burial in which the body is left in a high place as a gift to the vultures
• This tradition developed for practical reasons: because the country was short of firewood and often too frozen for grave-digging
• Revered Teachers are always cremated, Their remains are placed in a Stupa to become a site of worship

Question 4

Pure Land Funerals

Answer 4

• In Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, the coffin may be placed with the head pointing west
• People at the funeral chant the name of Amitabha Buddha as they process around the coffin
• It is common in a Japanese funeral for relations to gather after the cremation and pick out the bones from the ashes using chopsticks
• Like funerals in Tibet, the remains may be kept for 49 days and prayers offered every seventh day