A Buddhist funeral contains extensive last rites carried out according to sacrosanct rituals and traditions. The ceremonies 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 transformed and elevated life after death where it gets closer to Moksha.
Monks are invited to carry out the rites and rituals during a Buddhist funeral, that usually ends with cremation. After a person has died, the monks chant from the religious scriptures which are expected to liberate the soul’s positive energies. While the chanting continues, the deceased is made ready for the funeral and for visitors to pay last respects, so that there is no decomposition even if the final rites are delayed. The body is washed and put to rest in a casket along with incense sticks, candles, flowers and a photograph of the departed person.
When the last rites are delayed to allow distant relatives to arrive for paying their last respects to the deceased, monks visit the home everyday to read and recite from the Buddhist religious scripture Abhidharma.
On funeral day, monks go through the last rites and the chief monk voices his condolences to the family and utters words of encouragement to them along with tribute to the dead person recounting his life. Other rites like wrapping the casket with a white cloth during the religious invocation and Pansakula, a ritual of passing on blessings and virtues to the soul of the deceased are also performed.
Before the cremation, a family member or closest kin has to say something about the deceased person. A light meal for all the visitors is arranged 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 key ceremonies followed during a Buddhist funeral in many countries like China, Thailand, and Tibet by the followers of the faith.
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