Abstract
The statement “death is the center and the origin of culture” may seem like a simple generalization that misses out on other aspects of culture. However, when we look at of loss of life, it is not indeed decreased to a rite of passage. We believe that drawing close to Buddhist cultures via their thoughts, imaginaries, and practices related to a death can assist us in recognizing critical records that attain beyond the area of loss of life and demise. Passing on gives a unique departure for expertise the family members between people, rituals specialists, monks, and different entities that are typically labeled as “the lifeless’; however, they can, in truth, include a mess of entities of various ontological statues. Death reaches out into diverse domains such as human beliefs, cults social circles and constitutes overall religious facts. Dying indeed is at the core of the Buddhist culture and has played a vital part in its spread and development on an ideological, ritual, and even social level.
Introduction
Buddhism is one of the most world prevalent religions. Its origin can be traced back between 563-483 B.C.E in India, with Siddhartha Gautama spreading across Asia, Europe, and the rest of the world in a millennium. Buddhist believers hold that human life circles between suffering and rebirth; however, if one can achieve a state of enlightenment, it is possible to escape this circle forever (Vuong et al., 2018). This religion does not acknowledge any deity or god; nevertheless, supernatural figures can help or hinder people on the path towards enlightenment.
Dying and death is a subject that evokes a disturbing and deep emotion among Buddhists. In the Buddhist doctrine, frame and thoughts are not considered separate because autonomously existing entities are not the idea of life. Everything is tangled and causally connected, and matters continuously convert and reform. Buddhist funeral rites are accomplished during the burial/cremation ceremony. Verses are chanted, and priests may be invited to conduct the ceremony with Buddhist funeral traditions. Again, it depends on the family’s needs. The burial or cremation rite also can furthermore, in reality, be executed through the own family.
Buddhism beliefs, customs, and rituals regarding a mature concept of death
It is most preferred that a dying Buddhist should be taken somewhere private to allow prayers to be privately conducted. The tradition holds that awareness is retained for some period after clinical death, preferably three days. How the body is treated is extremely significant so that the spirit can depart correctly. A compassionate, stable, and calm atmosphere is around the deceased before, during, and after death is maintained in all circumstances. Religion considers this critical in facilitating the spirit to leave the body as families and friends may want to sit by the person to pray, so enabling this peace is highly appreciated (Dorji & Lapierre, 2021).
Cleaning and touching the body
Laying and moving the body is delayed as long as possible. The minimum is at least three to four hours, allowing for mandatory prayers to be conducted. Buddhists affirm that the spirit should be authorized to leave gently via the crown of the head. Other traditions facilitate the soul’s departing by tapping the crown head in a particular way and an exact frame of mind. Clarity is first sought from a spiritual leader if the practice is necessary and deemed suitable; it should be done before moving the body and before any cleaning is conducted. A Buddhist or a spiritual leader can only carry out the procedure. Buddhist teachers usually request that the head of a Buddhist is not be touched during post clinical death process by the healthcare staff. Healthcare staff does not touch the head unless under the permission of a spiritual leader and the guidance given by another Buddhist or advisor.
The body is not to be washed unless it is vital to do so. Only essential cleaning is performed, including cleaning excretions such as blood or excrement. It is advisable to use as little touch as possible in any cleaning done. Postmortem requirements can only be carried out on compelling legal or medical grounds. A postmortem should be delayed in such scenarios until full awareness has left the body. Except directed otherwise by a spiritual leader, an autopsy has to be postponed for at least four hours and preferably for three and a half days (Dorji & Lapierre, 2021).
Cremation of the body
Friends and relatives pour water after over one hand of the departed in a bathing ceremony. The body is then placed in a casket and surrounded by wreaths, sticks of incense, and candles. When necessary, a photograph of the disease is placed, alongside colored lights hanging around the coffin. Since the demise of Buddha, many Buddhists have chosen cremation to free the soul from the body. They are confident that several stages of life called bardos occasionally endures after the body dies; incineration does not occur immediately. Sometimes, it is delayed in wait of distant relatives and friends to pay particular respects and honor to the dead.
For this reason, monks one or more times come to the house each day to chant. Food is given to the monks to increase the deceased importance. For the body of a famous or a rich person, the body is kept a year or more at the temple in a particular building. Waiting for that long before cremation of the body is a form of respect and hence allows duration for religious ceremonies that can benefit them in the afterlife. If this happens, seventh, fiftieth, and hundredth days are set aside to hold memorial services. In the presence of the body, the spirit benefits from the gifts presented, speeches given, and chanting is done for it. After cremation, the soul is cut off from our world.
At the time of cremation, a monk carries a white banner on a long pole and leads the procession to the place of cremation. Behind him should be older men carrying silver bowls with flowers. Next is a group of monks holding a broad ribbon that extends to the casket behind them. The casket with the body can be carried either in a funeral car with many relatives or people who feel that they are doing their last good deed for the deceased. During the ceremony at the cremation, monks sit facing the casket and lead the mourners in chanting and prayers. The body is laid on a brick structure, and family and friends throw lit candles, incense, and wood beneath the casket to start burning. After the body has burned, the ashes are collected and kept in an urn container. A funeral ceremony of a Buddhist is dignified. The ones left behind share the grief and learn to live a new life in the absence of their loved ones.
Mourning and Bereavement
While the tradition of other religions holds a single event after the demise of a loved one, it is common for Buddhists to have numerous services all over the bereavement period. After the body has been cremated, there is often some period of saying prayers throughout the day and night in most Buddhist traditions. For instance, the rule of Tibetan practices forty-nine days’ prayer rituals during which the spirit of the deceased moves through the afterlife and judgment made on the subject of rebirth. It is believed that rebirth happens 49 days after the death of a loved one, even though this period may vary between different traditions. For instance, some groups believe that the deceased karma determines how soon the reincarnation happens, which affects the bereavement period after cremation (Prude, 2019).
Buddhist funeral etiquette
Dressing in simple clothing is highly valued while attending the burial. Displaying affluence is considered inappropriate and disrespectful to the deceased. Unlike Christian funerals, Buddhist mourners don’t wear black. The traditional color wherein Buddhist funeral is white, though it may vary depending on traditions. While approaching the funeral service, the bereaved approach the altar and bow with their hands in prayer position, taking some time reflecting on the deceased before they sit. Monks commonly sit higher than others during the service, and it is expected for all mourners to stand from whenever monks rise from their seats. Occasionally during the funeral service, monks will be initiating regular chanting, and it is advised that you observe the ceremony in silence in case you are unfamiliar with the chants (Son & Nga, 2019).
Memorization of the deceased
O-bon is a Buddhist tradition that involves a season when the leaving, honor, celebrate and commemorate the spirit of families who demised. The celebration usually takes place in the months of summer, when shades of ancestors are thought to return and visit relatives and friends. Relatives, friends, and families visit the gravesite during remembrance, marked by cultural and religious heritage festivals, including dancing, feasting, and procession through cemeteries. During this festival, the Bon-Odori group dances, expressing joy for the departed soul as they perform in some old-style colorful kimonos. The dance is performed around a roped-off stage with lit lanterns overhead that symbolize beacons to the departed to come and join in the celebration.
Believe in the afterlife
Buddhist believe in reincarnation. Human existence is infinite; they are born and reborn an endless number of times until they achieve Nirvana. In Buddhism, the process of being reborn is linked with a misery called Samsara. They believe that a person’s lifestyle in the previous life influences reincarnation. If the deceased cultivated a positive Karma through his life, he reincarnates as someone who will enjoy pleasant and positive energy. Negative karma poses an opposite effect, and the belief of karma that what goes around comes around may not be as simple (Vuong et al., 2018). Reincarnation in Buddhism may not perpetuate humans. For instance, the religion believes that humans can only be reborn as animals or gods. They perceive reincarnation as humans as a unique and special opportunity to escape the samsara circle and reach Nirvana. Some, however, believe in two types of reincarnation. One is involuntary, a type of reincarnation resulting from someone’s karma, and voluntary. One may opt for rebirth to achieve some purpose or assignment they can only fulfill in life (Tanemura, 2019).
In conclusion, Buddhist death rituals may vary, but they generally don’t have a set-in-stone protocol for the funeral. Buddhist culture describes what they mean by a peaceful sendoff. Monks often oversee the sendoff ceremony with prayers and meditation that match traditional activities. Every culture has its tradition that revolves around death because it is unavoidable and a universal experience. Spiritual beliefs and religion help meet in terms with this reality. However, as the proof of the afterlife is established in Buddhism, they can give meaning to life itself. If dying rebirths directly and is tied to our actions in life, the lifestyle we have while we live matters.
References
Vuong, Q. H., Bui, Q. K., La, V. P., Vuong, T. T., Nguyen, V. H. T., Ho, M. T., … & Ho, M. T. (2018). Cultural additivity: behavioral insights from the interaction of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in folktales. Palgrave Communications, 4(1), 1-15.
Dorji, N., & Lapierre, S. (2021). Perception of death and preference for end-of-life care among Asian Buddhists living in Montreal, Canada. Death Studies, 1-13.
Prude, A. (2019). Death in Tibetan Buddhism. In Death and Dying (pp. 125-142). Springer, Cham.
Son, N. D., & Nga, G. B. (2019). Death and Dying: Belief, Fear, and Ritual in Vietnamese Culture. In Death Across Cultures (pp. 75-82). Springer, Cham.
Tanemura, R. (2019). The recipient of the Tantric Buddhist funeral. Tantric communities in context, 315.
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