A Buddhist funeral contains extensive last rites carried out according to sacred rituals and traditions. The rituals carried out during the Buddhist funeral are expected to set the person’s soul free from the shackles of life and let it find a new and better life thereafter where it comes closer to enlightenment.
Monks are invited to perform the ceremonies and rituals during a Buddhist funeral, which typically ends with cremation. When a person has died, Buddhist monks recite verses from scriptures to allow the good energies to be set free from the soul. To avoid any decay in case of delayed cremation, the deceased’s body is prepared carefully while the chanting is going on. After washing the body, it is placed in a coffin with candles, bouquets, fragrant incense sticks and a picture of the deceased person.
If the funeral is deferred by a few days for distant relatives to get a last look, the monks visit the deceased person’s home everyday and chant sutras from the Abhidharma, an important Buddhist book.
On the day of the funeral, monks go through the last rites and the head monk voices his condolences to the bereaved family and utters words of encouragement to them along with tribute to the dead person remembering his life. During the last stage of religious chanting and ceremony, the coffin is wrapped in white cloth and a rite of passing on blessings and positive energies to the soul of the deceased, known as ‘Pansakula’ is done.
Just before cremation, a member of the family or a near and dear one is requested to make a brief speech about the deceased. A special meal for all the attendees is organized after the Buddhist funeral rituals and the cremation is carried out.
Although some modifications in traditions can be seen, these are the broad ritualistic procedures followed during funeral ceremonies by followers in countries like Tibet, Thailand and China, where a huge number of Buddhists reside.
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