Buddhist funeral rituals and traditional ceremonies are filled with religious importance for Buddhists. The rituals performed during the Buddhist funeral are believed to set the person's soul free from the chains of life and let it find a new and better life thereafter where it comes closer to Moksha.
Monks are invited to perform the ceremonies and rituals during a Buddhist funeral, that usually ends with cremation. When a person has died, Buddhist monks recite sutras from holy books to allow the good energies to be set free from the soul. While the chanting is on, the deceased is made ready for the funeral service and for visitors to pay last respects, so that there is no decay even if the cremation is delayed. After bathing the body, it is placed in a casket with candles, wreaths, fragrant incense and a picture of the deceased person.
If the funeral is deferred by a few days for distant relatives to bid their final goodbyes, the monks go to the dead person's house daily and chant verses from the Abhidharma, an important Buddhist holy scripture.
On the day of the funeral, monks go through the final rites and the head monk voices his condolences to the bereaved family and speaks words of consolation to them along with homage to the deceased person recounting his life. Other rituals like wrapping a white cloth around the coffin during the religious invocation and Pansakula, a ritual of delivering virtues and blessings to the soul of the deceased are also performed.
Just before the cremation, a close member of the family is requested to say something about the departed individual. A light meal for all the attendees is organized after the Buddhist funeral rituals and the cremation is carried out.
Some alterations in the specific rituals may be found in different cultures, but these are the important ceremonies followed during a Buddhist funeral in many countries like Tibet, Thailand, and China by the followers of the faith.
Monks are invited to perform the ceremonies and rituals during a Buddhist funeral, that usually ends with cremation. When a person has died, Buddhist monks recite sutras from holy books to allow the good energies to be set free from the soul. While the chanting is on, the deceased is made ready for the funeral service and for visitors to pay last respects, so that there is no decay even if the cremation is delayed. After bathing the body, it is placed in a casket with candles, wreaths, fragrant incense and a picture of the deceased person.
If the funeral is deferred by a few days for distant relatives to bid their final goodbyes, the monks go to the dead person's house daily and chant verses from the Abhidharma, an important Buddhist holy scripture.
On the day of the funeral, monks go through the final rites and the head monk voices his condolences to the bereaved family and speaks words of consolation to them along with homage to the deceased person recounting his life. Other rituals like wrapping a white cloth around the coffin during the religious invocation and Pansakula, a ritual of delivering virtues and blessings to the soul of the deceased are also performed.
Just before the cremation, a close member of the family is requested to say something about the departed individual. A light meal for all the attendees is organized after the Buddhist funeral rituals and the cremation is carried out.
Some alterations in the specific rituals may be found in different cultures, but these are the important ceremonies followed during a Buddhist funeral in many countries like Tibet, Thailand, and China by the followers of the faith.
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