R3SPECT FUNERALS

It has been acknowledged throughout Asia that Buddhists are specialists in death. Buddhist doctrine emphasizes change, thus the absence of an enduring identity and the natural process of death. The desire for our own permanence contributes to our existential anxiety, suffering and misery. Buddhist philosophy believes that this fear of death has to be conquered through the profound understanding and acceptance that death is perpetually occurring, even in this very moment, from moment to moment. One prominent aspect of the Buddhist view is the absence of a soul and hence, there is no permanence after death.

 

Similar to Hinduism, Buddhism too endorses the principles of karma and reincarnation. There are divergent beliefs regarding the period between death and reincarnation among different schools of Buddhism. The Theravada Buddhism of Southeast Asia has its position in that the dead are reborn immediately after death while the Buddhism of Tibet and China believes that reincarnation can take up to forty-nine days after death. In accordance to one’s karma in the present life, one can be reincarnated as “gods” (deva), warlike “anti-gods” jealous of the gods, non-humans such as insects, animals, plants, hungry ghosts, humans or reborn in the abominable hells of Buddhism.

 

In Buddhism, the dead continue to be part of the living community, and are not restricted to exist only in and as memories. It is possible for one to be reincarnated close to their living descendants and maintain some form of relationship with the living though they are not the same entity anymore. This means that even if one is reincarnated in close relationship to their bereaved, the Buddhist doctrine states that this relationship no longer carries the same meaning and identity prior to the death. As mentioned in the book Buddhist Funeral Cultures of Southeast Asia and China, “the dead may be all around us, but they are no longer our dead.”. This may explain why some Buddhists often feel the presence of their dead ancestors even after forty-nine days.

 

However, reincarnation can be avoided, by achieving Nirvana during the intermediate state, referring to the period after death but prior to reincarnation. Nirvana literally means “extinction” and refers to the abandonment of one’s cares, desires, woes and individual identities in the previous life. It is the absolute cessation and dissolution of the self.