3.3.3 Buddhism: Rituals of Death & Mourning

General Beliefs About Death in Buddhism

• Karma and Rebirth: Buddhists believe that the karma accumulated during a person's life determines their next rebirth.
• Impermanence: Death is a reminder of the Buddha's teaching on impermanence (anicca), highlighting the transient nature of life.
• Cremation: Bodies are typically cremated, reflecting the example set by Gautama Buddha. Kamma is a principle that explains how the ethical impulses behind a person's actions lead in the direction of either suffering or happiness.

Buddhism speaks of 'skilful actions' and 'unskilful actions'.

Skilful actions: good, ethical actions or behaviour Unskilful actions: bad, unethical actions or behaviour Skilful actions lead to happiness and unskilful actions lead to suffering

Theravada Buddhism

• Geographical Practice: Predominantly practised in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.
• Monastic Involvement: Monks play a crucial role in death rites, the only life cycle event where they are significantly involved.
• Ritual Offerings: Cloth offerings, symbolising the rags worn by monks during the Buddha's time, are given to monks.
• Memorial Services: A week after death, a monk visits the deceased's home to deliver a sermon to family and friends.
• Rebirth Belief: Theravada Buddhists believe in immediate rebirth after death. Funerals often feature a shrine with the deceased's picture and an image of the Buddha, surrounded by candles, flowers, and incense.
• Charity for Karma: Relatives offer charity to monks or monasteries to gain positive karma for the deceased.
• Ceremonial Practices: Monks lead the funeral service, reciting mantras that remind mourners of impermanence. The deceased may be cremated or buried.
• Ongoing Ceremonies: Monks visit the relatives' home one week, three months, and one year after the death to conduct ceremonies, enhancing the deceased's positive karma.

Mahayana Buddhism

• Geographical Practice: Predominantly practised in China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, and Bhutan.
• Final Moments: Relatives whisper the Buddha's name into the dying person's ear so it is the last thing they hear.
• Funeral Timing: The body is usually cremated, and the funeral takes place a few days later to allow the first stage of rebirth to occur.
• Stages of Rebirth: The various stages of rebirth can take up to 49 days (or seven weeks).
• Japanese Traditions: In Japan, after cremation, relatives retrieve the bones from the ashes, placing them in a burial urn which is then interred in a family grave or temple.

Tibetan (Mahayana) Traditions

• The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Read to the dying or recently deceased to guide the soul through the transition between lives.
• Sky Burial: Due to the mountainous terrain and scarcity of firewood, bodies are often left on hills or mountains to be eaten by vultures, symbolising impermanence and generosity.
• Post-Sky Burial Practices: The remains are collected and burned, with prayers said and lamps offered every seven days.

Importance of Death in Buddhism

• Samsara: Death is integral to the cycle of samsara (birth, life, death, rebirth), allowing for the possibility of achieving enlightenment.
• Teaching on Impermanence: Death underscores the teaching that life is impermanent, encouraging acceptance and reducing suffering by not clinging to transient things.

Key Practices and Beliefs

• Theravada Beliefs: Immediate rebirth, importance of positive karma, and cremation practices.
• Mahayana Beliefs: Extended period for stages of rebirth, importance of chanting and rituals, and unique practices like sky burials in Tibet.
• Impermanence: Central to understanding and accepting death, reducing attachment and suffering.