Content：
Knowledge of Buddhist funeral culture.
The full process and order of traditional Chinese funerals
Tibetan Buddhist Deathbed Precautions and Details of Funeral Services
Chinese Buddhist funeral ritual content and procedures
Knowledge of Buddhist funeral culture.
The most important concept of life and death in Buddhism is that people have souls, and the soul does not die, but can be reborn in the human world, which is reflected in the concept of karma and reincarnation. Buddhism believes that before any living individual can be liberated, he or she must follow the law of “three lives and two causes and effects”, and reincarnate in the “three lives” and “six paths”. There is no end to them. The “three lives” are the past life, the present life, and the future life. The six paths, also known as the six funerals, refer to the “karma” of all beings according to their good and bad deeds during their lifetime. In other words, all physical and mental activities have six kinds of reincarnation tendencies, namely hell, hungry ghosts, animals, asuras, humans and heaven. The highest state of Buddhism is “Nirvana”, which means to be free from the twelve karmas and to be liberated from the cycle of rebirth.
Plato once said, “The soul is indestructible, and the soul does not steal a single physical thing, because it does not actively collaborate with the physical body during its life, but avoids it and remains focused on itself, and keeps practicing, the true meaning of which is to practice dying openly, or it can also be called The practice of death.” Socrates also once said to his opponents, “Is the world in which you live beautiful, or is the world to which I am going beautiful? You can hardly tell the difference.” He believed in an eternal and beautiful world, and therefore did not fear death in the least. In believing in the immortality of the soul, Buddhism differs from Western philosophy in believing that the soul is transformable, and that its destination is determined by his performance of merit and good and evil in this life, transformed according to the six paths of reincarnation. Thus, the Buddhist culture of life and death guides people to practice goodness while they are alive, so that after death they can go to the world of bliss and attain nirvana.
The Buddhist classics are vast and profound, and the popular characters of Sun Wukong and Porky Pig come from the classic “Journey to the West”, the prototype of which was also taken from the story of Venerable Xuan Zang, a senior monk of the Tang Dynasty, who went to India to obtain scriptures. However, Buddhism also has many popular and superficial stories that embody Buddhist teachings through the legends of life and death.
Manjushri is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas and is in charge of the power of wisdom. A monk wanted to meet Manjushri, so he chose an auspicious day, set up a big food and drink banquet, and set up a tall seat in the first place to wait for Manjushri. When the banquet started, a dirty and ugly old man walked up to the high chair and sat on it like nobody’s business. The priest was very angry and immediately threw him out. After the old man was expelled, he sat down again and was expelled again, seven times in total. When the banquet was over, the priest went to the temple and burned incense and worshiped again, hoping to see Manjushri soon. As a result, that night the monk dreamed of a voice saying to him, “Why do you have eyes that do not know Manjushri? Today you have driven away Manjushri seven times. The way of Manjushri is to be equal-minded, so he is especially testing you to see if you can treat people with an equal mind; how can you see Manjushri if you are so snobbish?” This story emphasizes the Buddhist principle of “equality of all beings.” Only with such equality of mind can one realize the knowledge of goodness and further see that life and death are also equal. Even life and death can be seen with equality, not to mention poverty and snobbery!
In the Sutra of Miscellaneous Parables, there was once a sage who believed in Buddhism all his life, but later became seriously ill and died. His wife was so distraught that she could not help herself for a long time and often made offerings with many delicacies. When the sage saw this situation in heaven, he thought it was too foolish and felt deep compassion. So he took the form of a shepherd boy and went to the field to feed the cow. Suddenly the cow suddenly fell to the ground and died, and the shepherd boy cried out and still fed the cow grass, causing many people to gather around and laugh at him for being so stupid. Why be so sad? At that time, the wife and children of the sage also came to hear about it. The shepherd boy replied that he was not stupid, although the cow was dead, but at least he could still see the cow. However, the sage has long been dead, the bones have been buried in the ground, the wife still have to offer, and so sad, can the dead bones have knowledge? The sage’s wife and children were immediately enlightened and freed from mourning. This story reminds people that the right way to honor their ancestors is to get rid of depression and sadness, and to practice Buddhism and good deeds as soon as possible.
There is a story in the Sutra of Six Degrees of Enlightenment that when Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he was meditating once and suddenly a louse came into his clothes, and Buddha caught the louse, but with compassion, he did not crush it, but gently put it on the dead bone next to him. As a result, the louse ate on the dry bones for seven days, and after seven days, the louse also died. After many lifetimes, the Bodhisattva became a Buddha. Once he led his disciples to preach, but there was a heavy snowfall, and in the middle of it, there was no home at all. At that moment, suddenly he saw a compound where an elder was waiting for alms and offered enthusiastic alms to the Buddha and all his disciples. Near the end of the seventh day, the snow still had not stopped, and the Buddha insisted that he should leave. When he returned to the monastery, the disciples were perplexed. The Buddha then sent Ananda back to the original compound, only to find that even the servants were arrogant and unlike any other. Ananda asked the Buddha why this was so. The Buddha replied, “Because the lice had become elders, so they had done their best to repay the favor for seven days; after the seven days, they had finished repaying the favor, so they naturally did not have the same attitude. Only then did the disciples realize. This story shows the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation and cause and effect, reminding the world that they should be conscientious and love all living beings during their lifetime. Even for small beings, one should have compassion in order to plant good causes and bear good fruits.
Buddhism, as a “study of life and death”, attaches great importance to end-of-life care. Master Hanshan of the Ming Dynasty said, “From the ancient times, people became monks for the great event of life and death, that is, the Buddha came into the world, also for the enlightenment of this great event, not other than life and death, not other than the Buddha’s teachings, there is another life and death.” All secular people have different states of life and encounter different events in life, but only life and death are the same, all beings are equal and all have to go through this process. Buddhism attaches importance to end-of-life care, seeking to free the world from the pain and fear of facing death. The Tibetan Book of Life and Death contains a full explanation of the proper attitude for the dying. “Now that the dying bardo has descended upon me, I will renounce all climbing, desires and attachments, enter without dispersion into the clear awareness of the teachings, and shoot my consciousness into the void of this awareness, and when I leave this body of flesh and blood and union, I will know it as a transient phantom.” In other words, in the moment before death, the dying person should recognize himself or herself that the original body of flesh and blood is only a transient phantom. If he or she cannot do so, his or her family should have the responsibility to help him or her accomplish it in order to help him or her pass on to the world of bliss.
To this day, folk funeral rituals also bear the imprint of Buddhism on the doctrine of life and death. For example, the 7-7 fast is one of the Buddhist rituals for the blessing of the dead. That is, every seven days for a death anniversary, once, until the seventy-seven days and forty-nine days. This is related to the Buddhist doctrine that there are six paths of life, between death and life there is a “bardo” stage, in the nether world to seek life, to seven days for a period, seven seven days will be reborn one. Therefore, there is a “seven days of fasting” mourning custom, and with the traditional Chinese concept of the soul, it has been rapidly spread and implemented.
The full process and order of traditional Chinese funerals
The main colors of traditional Chinese funerals are yellow and white, which is why funerals are also known as white services, as opposed to red services. Depending on the beliefs of the deceased, the process of funeral service is often accompanied by Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity and other religious colors. Today, Zhongde Funeral Service would like to introduce the steps of traditional funeral and its sequence.
1、Small coffin
The body is purified, groomed and dressed in the birthday suit. This step should be done as soon as possible, usually immediately after the deceased is dead. This is because after a few hours, the stiffness of the limbs due to the death of muscle cells will affect the staff’s ability to dress the deceased.
2、Reporting the funeral
Officially notify friends and relatives at each location of the time and circumstances of the deceased’s death and funeral arrangements.
3、Running to the funeral
Friends and relatives come to the funeral with gifts, money, tributes, flowers, etc. from abroad.
4、Stopping
The body of the deceased is parked in the funeral hall, waiting for friends and relatives to come to the funeral. In ancient times, stopping the funeral helps to determine whether the deceased is really dead and not in a coma.
Temporary huts, rooms at home or special rooms in funeral parlors can be used as a shrine. The hearse is equipped with the statue of the deceased, offerings for the deceased, incense, candles, paper money, etc. Zhongde funeral service needs to remind that, in the case of temporary can not be officially buried the deceased, the coffin will be placed in the temple or funeral home and other places, waiting for future burial, can also be called stopping the spirit.
5、Wake
During the interment period, the descendants of the deceased are required to take turns to guard the deceased at the funeral hall and receive condolences from other relatives and friends. Throughout the funeral period, the deceased’s immediate family and close descendants, called mourning sons and daughters, are required to wear white coarse linen coats or clothes without sewn edges, with sisal or straw ropes around their waists and straw frogs on their feet, which are called mourning clothes.
6、Big coffin
In front of the family of the deceased, the body of the deceased is moved into a coffin with mattress, covered with a quilt, and nailed with nails to seal the coffin. There are 56 ethnic groups in China, each with a unique funeral culture, most areas of China practice cremation, some areas have earth burial and other forms of funeral.
7、Funeral and burial
The sealed coffin is sent to the cemetery for burial. The funeral officially begins after the mourning son breaks a tile basin, which is commonly known as “drop the basin”. Then, the mourning son will lead the procession with a band and distribute paper money along the way until the cemetery.
8、Burning seven
After the burial, relatives need to visit the cemetery every seven days and burn paper money, a total of seven times forty-nine days. There are similar activities such as calling the soul and burning paper money, called “doing seven”. The ceremony on the forty-ninth day is called “breaking the seventh day”, which is the end of the formal funeral part.
9、Mourning
The editor of Zhongde funeral service understands that according to the ancient Confucian tradition, the filial son needs to guard the perimeter of his parents’ tomb for three years, during which he avoids drinking and eating meat, entertainment, couples sharing a room, etc.
10、Plaque
Family members use incense and candle offerings to enshrine the tablet with the name of the deceased.
11、Tomb sweeping
Friends and relatives repair and clean the graves during Ching Ming Festival, spring and other festivals.
Tibetan Buddhist Deathbed Precautions and Details of Funeral Services
Nowadays, many people, even some Buddhists, do not do enough for the deceased. In Tibet, there is special attention to how to recite sutras for the dying, what Buddhist acts to do forty-nine days after death, how to dispose of the body and ashes of the deceased, and what Buddhist acts to do after the first anniversary of death …… in these matters. In fact, this is also an indispensable Buddhist act that has great benefits for the deceased.
When a person dies, it is like pulling a hair out of the ghee and leaving alone. At that time, money, status, and receiving are useless, only the righteous Dharma is most useful, but many people do not pay attention to benefit the deceased with the righteous Dharma. I saw some people who, after the death of a family member, were fine as soon as the body was disposed of, as if the family animal had died.
What’s more, instead of doing good deeds for the deceased, some people follow some folk customs to kill chickens and slaughter sheep for the deceased, which not only wastes property, but also creates a lot of bad karma. This is true for many Buddhists, not to mention non-believers.
It is indeed very sad after seeing and hearing these unlawful things. I hope that we will remove these bad habits in the future and try to improve the fate of the deceased, otherwise it is a pity that some people, although they came to earth and encountered the Dharma, did not receive the benefit of the Dharma at the most critical moment.
Differences between Buddhist end-of-life care and worldly end-of-life care
Although worldly end-of-life care is an act of kindness, from the height of Buddhism, these cares are only temporary and do not solve the problem in the end. It is only through the convenience of Buddhism that people can be temporarily removed from physical and mental suffering and actually be reborn in a pure land and attain the holy fruit of the world. Therefore, the Buddhist care for the dying is the most complete.
In the Tibetan Book of Life and Death, there is also an incident in which a man was hit by a car and died, and a passing monk immediately recited sutras for him to overtake him. The Buddhist sutras and mantras are beneficial to the deceased no matter whose mouth they come from, so monks and priests should take the initiative to recite sutras for the deceased in the future. We should make Dharma offerings for the deceased unconditionally, driven by great compassion.
How we should carry out end-of-life rescue
If some people really care about their deceased loved ones, they should make sure to arrange Buddhist services for them. Some people do not pay much attention to the Buddhist service for the deceased because they may think: My family member died peacefully and must have already passed to the blissful world, so there is no need to arrange many Buddhist services.
In fact, this kind of thinking is not right. Many great achievers do merit and virtue after they pass away, so why don’t your loved ones need it? Therefore, if some people really care about their dead loved ones, they must arrange Buddhist services for them.
Generally speaking, for the supernatural service of the deceased, basically, forty-nine days of Buddhist services should be arranged, or at least one or two seven-day services. In some places, there are very few monasteries, and even fewer monks in the monasteries. It is difficult to have the monks do the overtaking completely, but the family members can also recite the sutras, and his friends, relatives and children can recite the sutras, and as long as the arrangements are reasonable, the effect will be very good.
After a person dies, he or she must wait for the body to cool completely before moving the body or changing clothes, and it is best not to touch the deceased for twenty-four hours. The deceased should be placed in a clean place, and if the conditions are adequate, a house can be set aside for the body.
Until the body is disposed of, keep chanting in that house; after the body is disposed of, continue to chant in that house every day. I also want to remind you: the body is best covered with a cloth, I saw some corpses without any cover, others see the face of the deceased especially scared, this is not very good.
When reciting the sutra for the deceased, it is also important to set up the scene. The three Western saints, sutras and pagodas should be set up, and lamps should be offered to the deceased, usually seven lamps, or at least one lamp.
The bardo is often in terror, and during the darkness of the bardo, if you offer lamps to the deceased, it will bring him light and a sense of security, so it is very necessary to offer lamps.
In short, if you have the conditions, try to furnish the Buddha Hall and offerings; if not, you can also directly recite the sutra for the deceased (some people put three or four steamed buns at the feet of the deceased, saying that it is a bonding with sentient beings, but there is no such practice in Tibet. (This put or not you see for yourself).
In addition, before helping to recite, should communicate with the family of the deceased good. Because some of the deceased is a Buddhist, but their family members do not believe in Buddhism, in order to avoid some unnecessary trouble, beforehand to get a good relationship with them.
It is also important to keep the scene calm during the chanting, the family and friends of the deceased should not wail and cry, they should chant the sutra in a pleasant voice, which is the most beneficial to the deceased. It is more important than anything else for the deceased if there is goodness in the dharma.
When the mind is about to leave the body, it is also very susceptible to the influence of other karmas. If one cries or creates bad karma for the deceased, the deceased may be reborn in an evil funeral, and if one creates good karma for the deceased, the deceased may be reborn in a pure buddha’s land as a result. Therefore, we should help others to pray for the deceased, which not only helps the deceased to be free, but also has great merit for ourselves. The Lotus Sovereign’s Treasure says, “If one is persuaded to live in the Pure Land, even if one does not practice, one will also be born in the Pure Land.”
A single thought of good or evil at the end of life determines the rise or fall
The end of life is a very critical moment that has a decisive impact on the destination of the deceased. It is said in the “Jurchen of the Dharma Garden”: “If one has done good from birth and has an evil thought at the end of one’s life, one will be born in the evil path. If you have done good deeds in life, but have good thoughts at the end of your life, you will be born in heaven.”
Although one has done good deeds all one’s life, if one has evil thoughts at the end of one’s life, one will be reborn in the evil path after death; although one has done evil deeds all one’s life, if one has good thoughts at the end of one’s life, one can be reborn in the heavenly realm.
Here, I would like to emphasize a few more issues to you.
First, there should not be too much panic when death comes, otherwise it will hinder liberation. Some Handian priests say that one should meet death with a calm mind and should have six kinds of thoughts about death.
Death is like getting out of prison; one should have the thought of being liberated from prison.
Death is like rebirth. Death means reincarnation, just like living in one place and going to another place later.
Death is like graduation. After a student graduates from school, he or she will move on to other fields based on grades. Likewise, after a person dies, he or she will be reborn in a different place according to his or her good and bad merits and demerits.
Death is like moving, just like living in the south before and then moving to the north.
Death is like changing clothes. One used to wear black clothes, but later changed to a white one; likewise, one used to be this body, and after death one will change to another body.
Death is like metabolism. The human body has many cells, and if the old cells do not go, the new cells will not come. Similarly, without the death of the old life, there will be no new life.
With these six kinds of thinking can dispel the excessive terror of death, and can make oneself meet death with a calm mind. I think this kind of thinking is very good.
There are many good deathbed teachings in the Han Dynasty, such as Master Yin Guang’s enlightenment, which talks about the three main tips for deathbed.
⒈ good enlightenment comfort, so that the birth of correct faith.
⒈ good guidance and comfort, so as to give birth to correct faith. ⒉ everyone to shift chanting, to help pure thoughts.
⑶ Do not move and cry to prevent misunderstanding.
If you can follow these three practices, you will be able to eliminate your old karma, increase your pure cause, and be guided by Buddha to the West.” Master Shantou has also taught many important tips for the dying. Everyone should read more of the teachings of these great masters.
Second, if some people feel that their lives are coming to an end and their family members do not believe in Buddhism, I suggest that these people leave a will to their family members in advance and arrange their affairs in the will.
In this way, if the family members have love for them, they will handle the afterlife according to their wishes. Otherwise, if not arranged in advance, the family will cry and cry after death (even if they don’t want to cry they will ask some people to cry, nowadays some people in the south specialize in crying and mourning for others, and it is said that they charge one thousand dollars for one hour of crying), kill chickens and slaughter sheep, and then casually dispose of their bodies, which is meaningless and not only wastes money but also creates a lot of bad karma. The main thing is to hold on to the righteousness of the Dharma yourself.
I have seen the will of a practitioner, he said in his will: I have studied Buddhism all my life, benefited a lot, if you really for my good, I hope that according to my wishes to deal with the aftermath, help me to complete the following wishes.
⒈ when seriously ill, do not send me to the hospital, do not engage in any resuscitation, I need to quietly recite the Buddha’s birth West.
I need to be quietly reciting the Buddha’s name to the West. ⒉ Within twenty-four hours after I die, do not move my body, and do not cry and make noise next to me.
You can ask a Buddhist friend to help you sing the chanting at home.
Sing the chanting of the Buddha’s name every day for seven days after the death, and deal with the rest after the funeral.
If the weather is hot and there is an odor, you can burn incense to get rid of it.
Select a simple funeral service, no banquet, no killing, so as not to increase my sinful karma.
Borrowing is based on chanting the Buddha’s name and not pursuing forms. The specific instructions of Master Lian Chi and Master Yin Guang should be followed.
Within forty-nine days after death, relatives should eat vegetarian food, recite the Buddha’s teachings, and release the dead, etc. This merit should be returned to me, which is beneficial to both the living and the dead.
µ The property I leave behind may be used for good deeds such as printing sutras and releasing living beings.
The cremated remains must be cremated only after seven days, or at least one day and one night if it is hot. The ashes are scattered in the forest to make a connection with all beings.
I think this man’s arrangements for after death were very much like the law, especially he handled his inheritance very well. Nowadays, there are many things like this: before a person is dead, brothers, sisters or children start to fight over property, or even make a big fight.
You may have seen this kind of situation, but it is actually very bad. The dying person will be very sad to hear this, and even if he is already dead, his bardo has divine powers and will be very unhappy to see his relatives fighting over his property, or even using his property to create bad karma.
Third, we should pay attention to the forty-nine days of Buddhism, and we must try our best to arrange for the deceased.
Forty-nine days Buddha can recite the Buddha Sutra, the Vajra Sutra, the Earth Store Sutra or the holy name of Amitabha Buddha, which should be doable. In addition to reciting the sutra, within the forty-nine days, you should also try to do good deeds such as making light offerings and releasing the dead according to your financial resources.
The Jizo Sutra says: “If you can do good deeds for the deceased within seven days after the death of your body, you will be able to free all sentient beings from evil, be born in heaven and receive wonderful happiness, and your family members will benefit immensely.” This is a very clear statement. Therefore, the forty-nine days after death are very critical, and during this period you must do good deeds.
If you prepare well in all aspects during this period, you will be able to enter the ideal school.
Therefore, both monks and those in the family should pay attention to the forty-nine days of Buddhist service. For the dying person, it is important to explain to friends and relatives in advance how to perform the forty-nine days of Buddhist service for themselves, and it is not necessary to explain how to divide the inheritance, because they will divide it without talking about these. For the relatives and friends of the deceased, they should do their best to organize the 49 days of Buddhist services.
If you really can’t find someone to recite the sutras, you can also recite the sutras for the deceased yourself: in front of the deceased’s spirit tablet or photo, recite the classics such as Vajra Sutra, Amitabha Sutra, Purushottama Sutra, Earth Store Sutra, Dharma Flower Sutra, or recite the names and mantras of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, which will be of great benefit to the deceased.
In short, we need to use the Dharma to benefit those sentient beings who are at the time of death. Nowadays, many people do not do well in this area, not only do not do good deeds, but also create bad karma such as killing sentient beings, including some Buddhists. Some people are aware of Buddhist practices but are forced by tradition to do things the worldly way. I think this is wrong, and if the traditional practices are not in accordance with the righteousness of the law, these should be discarded.
Setting up of the hearth
I have seen the practice of setting up a spiritual hall for the deceased in China, and many people also put special emphasis on setting up a spiritual hall, to which I am of the opinion that from the point of view of Buddhism, it does not matter whether there is a spiritual hall or not, what is important is to set up a Buddhist hall for the deceased. In Tibet, it is very necessary to set aside a house or a tent for Buddhist services after a person’s death.
The spiritual hall in Handi is like this: in the middle is a black and white photo of the deceased, above is “sorrowful tribute to x x x x”, below is a large “Dien” word, on both sides is the life experience or achievements of the content of the elegy, and then on both sides of the wreath, the table for the candles On both sides are wreaths, candles, fruits, chicken legs, etc. At the entrance of the funeral hall, there is a “sign-in desk” and a “gift receiving desk”, which are responsible for receiving guests and gifts. Many places have such halls.
I am not totally against setting up a shrine, but I think it is better to change the rules of the shrine: it is meaningless to just hang a big statue of the deceased, it is better to hang another statue of Buddha on the top, which is meritorious; don’t put meat on the offering table, but offer vegetarian food; ask the friends and relatives who come to the shrine not to cry, but to chant the name of Amitabha Buddha or Guanyin mantra.
Of course, if one does not have the ability, some people may not be able to do it even if they want to do the funeral according to the Buddhist way, but if one has some ability, one should try to change the secular practice and do the funeral according to the Buddhist way.
Cremation
From the time the deceased is dead to the time the body is cremated, it takes some time in between and this is not a time to be rushed. It is said that when some funeral homes cremate the body, the staff often hear the sound of crying from the incinerator. I think this may be cremated too early, the deceased’s consciousness has not yet left the body, a contact with the fire, the person woke up again, the result of burning people alive.
The Buddhist community has different opinions on when to dispose of the body after death: some say eight hours after death, while others say twenty-four hours after death. I believe that, for insurance purposes, it is best to deal with the body three or four days after death. Although the ancients had the saying “there is still residual knowledge in three or seven days”, this is an extremely special case, and it may be inconvenient to deal with the body tens of days after death, which is not very realistic in modern society.
Dressing
In conclusion, it is important not to follow worldly views on matters of life and death. There is a saying among Han Chinese that “you should change your clothes early while your body is still warm”. This is totally wrong! You must wait until the body is cold before you change your clothes, otherwise the deceased will be troubled and fall into the evil path if you turn the body too early.
In this day and age, people are basically resuscitated when they are dying, and after some oxygen, fluids, and beatings, the dying person’s mind is so messed up that even the original practice realm cannot be used. Therefore, when a practitioner is dying, he should not be resuscitated in a hospital, but should meet death quietly at home.
Crying
There is also a saying in the Han Dynasty that “people must cry when they die, and if they don’t cry, the evil star will not recede”. So some people specially hire people to cry, and through the loudspeaker to cry out, but also to play some sad music. Originally some people who attended the funeral did not want to cry, but was deliberately created by the atmosphere infected, and finally followed the crying, tears also naturally flowed out. In fact, as I just said, such crying is not only meaningless, but also very harmful.
Killing
In addition, in many places in the Han Dynasty, there is a bad habit of killing people for sacrifice. In ancient times, when kings and ministers died, they had to kill people for burial or sacrifice, but nowadays, they kill other people for sacrifice. This is a very foolish act, and the transgressions are quite great.
It is written in the Sutra of the Parables that when the Buddha and Ananda came to a river, they first saw 500 hungry ghosts singing and chanting, and later they saw hundreds of people crying and passing by. Ananda asked the Buddha, “Why are the hungry ghosts singing? Why are the people crying?”
The Buddha told Ananda, “Although these hungry ghosts have fallen into the evil path because of their bad karma, now their families do good deeds for them and they will soon be liberated, so they sing happily. And those whose families do not do good deeds for them, but instead kill and sacrifice for them, will soon be forced by a great fire behind them, so they cry.”
The Earth Storey Sutra also says, “All living beings in Yama, on the day of their death, be careful not to kill and create bad karma, worship ghosts and gods, and seek sprites. What is the reason? If you kill or even worship, you will not have the slightest power to benefit the deceased, but you will create sinful karmas that will increase in severity.”
49 days of uninterrupted good deeds
Therefore, people should not kill and offer sacrifices to the deceased. If some people really love their deceased relatives and want to help them, then they should not create bad karma for them, but should do more good deeds for them, preferably every day without interruption for 49 days.
Of course, the so-called uninterrupted good deeds, does not mean that the day and night non-stop chanting and practice, as long as every day do good deeds, in the middle of tired can also rest for a while. During the rest time, you can turn on the chanting machine in front of the body or the memorial plaque.
Don’t make a fuss
It is also worth mentioning that there is no need to be extravagant when it comes to funerals. In some big cities, it costs tens of thousands of dollars to buy a good urn, and tens of thousands of dollars to buy a place in a cemetery. In fact, this money would be better spent on releasing the deceased, printing sutra flags, carving mani stones, and shaping Buddha statues, which would be beneficial to the deceased.
Otherwise, some people spend a lot of money and just put the ashes in a small box and then bury them in a cemetery and engrave the name of the deceased on the tombstone. Although this is a worldly tradition and we cannot deny it in general, there is no real benefit to the deceased.
Some people spend a lot of money for the deceased, just for the sake of their own face or to gain the false name of “filial son”, in fact, if there is no real benefit to the deceased, it is meaningless to do any kind of form.
Handling of bride price
We should not take the death of a person as an opportunity to get rich. Generally speaking, Tibetans do not dare to enjoy the income during the funeral period at all, and all these money are used to make merit for the deceased. This is because some deceased people are so stingy that their bardo keeps an eye on their family members to see what they do with the money given to them by others.
If the family members enjoy the money privately, the bardo of the deceased will take revenge on them. Therefore, Tibetans generally do not “embezzle” the money of the deceased.
Many people’s funeral practices in this day and age do not have any real meaning, but rather create a lot of bad karma, and sometimes it is really sad to see these practices. Of course, it is very difficult to fundamentally change these traditions, but I hope that the Daoists will do something within their means.
For your own funeral, leave a will in advance, do not let your family members kill and feast guests for you, and all your money should be spent on doing good deeds; for the funeral of friends and relatives, also follow the Dharma and try to do more good deeds for them.
In terms of doing good deeds for the deceased specifically, I have a few suggestions for you.
One is to hang the sutra flag. Generally three meters long is considered a sutra flag, if the economic conditions allow, at least a hundred sutra flags, so that the merit is very great. Sutra flags should be hung in a clean place. But some places are more difficult, not to mention the dead, even living people living in places are very tight, the big cities are full of people, but no matter what, try to find some suitable place to hang the sutra flag.
The second is to make offerings of lights. During the forty-nine days after a person’s death, the light offering cannot be interrupted day or night. I think even if the conditions are difficult, seven lamps a day should not be a problem, if you can provide more, of course, it would be better.
The third is to recite the scriptures. You can recite the “Rituals for Assisted Living” that we have compiled, or you can recite other classics. In Tibet, families with good conditions should usually ask a monk to recite the Great Tibetan Sutra for the deceased; for families with poor conditions, they should also recite a few important classics for the deceased. Chinese Buddhists should also pay attention to the recitation of the sutra, if you can not invite others to recite the sutra, you can also recite it yourself.
Fourth, we should pay attention to the timeliness. When doing good deeds for the deceased, the main thing should be done within forty-nine days after death, these seven seven days are the most important. The so-called seven days are not unfounded legends, for the bardo, seven days is a very critical time: every seven days after death, people have to feel the pain of death again, if you do good deeds during this period, you can create good karma for the deceased’s reincarnation.
Generally speaking, due to the common karma of all sentient beings, the Bardo has only seven or seventy-nine days, after which the person has to be reincarnated and reincarnated. This is just like the duration of detention which is generally fifteen days, after which the person will be released. Therefore, except for great practitioners who have not broken their breath or have just broken their breath and are released, for most sentient beings, they should be treated with forty-nine days, during which they should do more good deeds for the deceased.
In addition to the 49 days, remember to do good deeds on behalf of the deceased to benefit them on other anniversaries as well.
When our loved ones pass away, we should try our best to help them, but nowadays many people do not do enough in this regard. There are some monks in the college whose parents passed away, and they pay some money to ask the monks to recite the sutras, and from then on there is nothing more.
I think this is far from enough. In addition to asking the monks to recite the sutras, you should also recite the sutras for your deceased relatives regularly in the future. Some people go even further, not even doing any good deeds after the death of their parents, and their reason is: “My parents were practicing good deeds and will surely be liberated, so there is no need to do good deeds anymore.” I think this is an ill-informed idea. Even the great monks and masters have to perform the Buddhist service for 49 days after they pass away, so why don’t your parents need it?
Therefore, we should pay attention to doing good deeds for the deceased, especially offering lamps and reciting sutras for the deceased every day for forty-nine days after death, I think there is nothing that cannot be done. In addition to doing good deeds during the forty-nine days, we should also do good deeds on every anniversary thereafter.
My father died more than ten years ago, but my brother and sister go to my father’s grave every year to hang sutra flags and carve mani stones. Not everyone in Handi may have a graveyard, but it should be possible to do good deeds for the deceased on the anniversary of each year, such as chanting sutras, making lamp offerings, and releasing the dead.
Unfortunately, many people do not do these things. Maybe these deceased people created a lot of bad karma for you in life and have been suffering in the evil path after death, if you do good deeds for them, they will be liberated at the moment, so why don’t you do it? If you don’t do it, then you are really a person without conscience!
Chinese Buddhist funeral ritual content and procedures
I. Helping to recite.
Time: eight hours.
Personnel: should be divided into several shifts, more than two people per shift, shift help chanting (best to greet the deceased with chanting).
Instruments: wooden fish, chime (only wooden fish can also be) the sound of the instrument should be calm, avoid sharp or loud.
Attention.
Help chanting sound must be appropriate high and low, moderately fast and slow.
The deceased often chant the Buddha’s name, if not, then the four-word Buddha’s name is appropriate, so that the deceased easily follow the chanting, and persuade the deceased, we seek Buddha’s blessing for you, please let go of everything, with us to chant the Buddha.
The family members should not talk to the deceased with love or clinical tears to disturb the correct thoughts of the deceased.
Procedure.
Help chant for eight hours. Just chant the Buddha’s name (Namo Amitabha or Namo Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva).
Singing the incense chant (Lianchi Haihui chant).
Buddha says Amitabha Sutra.
Praise Buddha’s verse (Amitabha’s body in gold).
Chanting Buddha. (Namo Amitabha Buddha or Namo Kuan Shi Yin Bodhisattva)
Three conversions: The three conversions
It is to convert to Buddha, to the Dharma, to the teacher, and finally to return.
Embalming.
Time: 12 to 24 hours after the death of the deceased can be coffined.
Personnel: three to five priests.
Procedures.
Lotus pool praise (short time can be omitted).
Buddha said Amitabha Sutra (short time can be changed to the Heart Sutra).
Praise Buddha verse (Amitabha Buddha body gold).
Chanting Buddha (until the deceased is in the coffin and the lid is sealed, then collect the Buddha’s name).
Back to the direction.
Caution.
The life jacket of the deceased does not have to be new, as long as the deceased liked it during his lifetime.
After the coffin to place the spirit of the deceased and worship rice, (three dishes, a meal, a tea or a dish, a meal, a tea) flowers, fruit can be changed every day or several days for a change (fruit to four kinds, can not have linked fruit that is not auspicious).
Second, the seven seven Buddhist services.
The day of death is the first day, after counting seven days for the first seven (first ten days), after every seven days for a ten days, to seven ten days (seven seven seven) a total of forty-nine days. The first seven days and the seventh seven days are both seven days, and the interval between the second seven days and the sixth seven days is two days, totaling twenty-four days.
Contents of Buddhist services
One-day service: Earth Store Sutra, Vajra Treasure, Three Flavors Water Confession, Medicine Buddha Confession, (three to five people)
Half-day Buddhist service: 88 Buddhas Hongmen Treasure Confession, Vajra Sutra (number of three to five people)
Other Buddhist services: Liang Huang Bao Confession, Three Times Tying, Yoga Flame (including six monks or more)
Third, the farewell ceremony.
Time: After the family ceremony and before the public ceremony, the priests will recite the sutra.
Number of people: three or more people.
Procedure
The Lotus Pond Praise.
The three sayings of Amitabha Buddha in the West.
Heart Sutra, Mantra of the Afterlife, True Word of Change of Food.
Praising Buddha’s verse, reciting Buddha’s name (three turns around the casket when reciting Buddha’s name, collecting Buddha’s name when returning to the throne)
Mahayana abiding Three Jewels.
The main dharma practitioner opens the French language.
Returning to the Buddha.
4、Raising of the spirit.
Time: After the public ceremony, wait for the casket to be tied up.
Procedure
Raise the Buddha’s hymn. (Amitabha Buddha)
Venerable guide the casket to the hearse, wait for the casket to get into the car and then collect the Buddha’s trumpet.
Venerable Master gets into the car. (Venerable’s car in front of the hearse)
Go to crematorium or burial ground.
V. Cremation procedure.
The three chants of Qingliangdi Bodhisattva Mahasattva.
The three chants of the Western Guiding Amitabha Buddha.
Heart sutra, mantra for the afterlife, true words for changing food.
Praising Buddha’s verse and reciting Buddha. (Chanting until the casket is put into the crematorium and then the Buddha’s name is collected)
The main puja raises the cremation text.
Family members activate the cremation switch.
Return the prayers.
About two hours later to collect the ashes.
Six, Jinta an ashes procedures.
◎: geographer read (into the gold enclosure): ◎
Foo to day auspicious time good, heaven and earth open Cheong, into the gold everything great auspicious Cheong, into the complete generation of children in the first grade, into the first grade.
The first generation of children and grandchildren in the completion of the entry, into the good children and grandchildren from generation to generation to get fruit old.
Wealthy, wealthy, and prosperous. The first thing you need to do is to get into the house. The master’s family, along with the geographer’s song: “Enter! Fa-woo!
The three chants of Qingliangdi Bodhisattva Mahasattva.
Three chants of Amitabha Buddha in the West.
The Heart Sutra, the Mantra of the Afterlife, and the True Word of Transformation.
Three conversions, (Buddha, Dharma, teacher) the last to recite back to the text.
- Burial procedures.
A. Casket into the grave.
B. Scatter the grains enclosure (done by geographer).
C, worship after the earth Su Wen.
D. Point the main, with vermilion pen point tombstone, to new brush, should be open light (done by geographer).
Chanting procedure.
Qingliangdi Bodhisattva Mahasattva three chants.
Three chants of the Western Receiving Amitabha Buddha.
Heart Sutra, Past Life Mantra, Changing Food True Words.
Praise Buddha verse, chanting Buddha (three turns around the tomb, collecting Buddha’s name when returning to the place)
Return to the direction.
VIII. Procedures for placement.
After the cremation or burial, return home to enshrine the spirit (after the farewell ceremony, when sending to cremation or burial, some family members can be left to restore the home to its original state).
After returning, the mourning family members first change their mourning clothes.
The memorial tablet is placed on the left side of the ancestral tablet (facing the direction of the ancestral tablet) and an incense burner is set up.
Preparation: flowers and fruits, vegetables and clean water.
Chanting procedure.
The three chants of Rangdi Bodhisattva Mahasattva.
The three chants of Wang Wang Bodhisattva Mahasattva.
The Great Compassion Mantra, the Mantra for the Returning Life, and the True Word for Change of Food (when the Great Compassion Mantra is being chanted, the mourning man takes the monk to sprinkle cleanliness everywhere in his home, or sprinkle cleanliness after the chanting is finished).
The three conversions and the return of the prayers. The unused purified water can be washed down with a large bucket and sent to family members or neighbors for washing (for those whose family members live far away, they can send the six-character mantra to be cremated in water at home).
IX. For the New Year: The
Time: The day before the festival day.
Buddhist service: just recite the classics of super-offering.
X. Combined furnace.
Time: three years after the death of the deceased, existing ten days after the pair of years or after the pair of years to choose a holiday (such as Qingming Festival) held.
Procedure.
First, the name of the deceased into the ancestral tablets.
Grab a handful of ashes from the incense burner used by the deceased and put them into the incense burner used by the ancestors.
Incinerate the deceased’s tablet and take the incense burner and throw it away.
Prepare: incense, flowers and fruits, vegetable offering, red turtle, and hair kueh.
Chanting.
incense chanting
Vajra Sutra
Mantra for the next life, true words for changing food.
Three conversions, back to the direction.
Attachment: Matters to be done at the time of funeral and personnel arrangements
Things to do when someone is dying.
Don’t be anxious and nervous.
You should prepare an incense burner and place it at the end of your feet for worship.
A heater should be prepared, and sandalwood incense should be used for worship.
Cover it with a dharani.
You don’t need to worship at the end of your feet.
Second, a place should be prepared.
You should prepare a hawser (or a three treasures stand) for placing offerings.
You should buy an aluminum pill-shaped tea tray to place the incense burner and the gods’ tablets to prevent the incense from causing fire.
It is better not to burn the silver and money for the afterlife.
If the summer climate is very hot, you should prepare ice cubes.
Third, should contact all relatives, friends.
Fourth, the trustees go to ask the geographer to look at the coffin day and time first.
Before coffin.
Bathing the body. (No need to buy water to bathe the body, it should be simplified. Just use tap water).
Change clothes. (It is not necessary to wear several layers, but not to wear the old ritual style, which is too time-consuming and meaningless).
Do not do any resignation method.
At the time of coffin – six bowls of vegetarian dishes, one bowl of rice, fruits, etc. are enough, and should be as simple as possible.
Don’t use the common law and wish to sing any auspicious words.
The death certificate and funeral certificate should be processed.
Write a plaque of the Lord of God and a banner.
Do not use the maidservants and minions of Zhaosheng.
V. Select the date and burial place.
Select a date for burial.
Place of burial. - Chanting.
Eight hours after the death, ask someone to lead the soul to recite the sutra (commonly known as: open the soul road).
When chanting, only use a plate of fruit (do not stick to the four items).
Fruit, this is the fruit of the tree fruit of the four seasons, language away different, into the so-called four fruits.
Seven, print obituary (if necessary, then print).
Eight, the date of burial, it is best not to delay long, so as not to mourning family members, relatives and friends labor and injury.
Personnel arrangements.
To ask friends and relatives to help with the funeral, should be placed to share the deacon.
Please come to plan the funeral service.
When asking for helpers, try to simplify and save costs (do not waste usage).
Do not use meaningless items as much as possible.
Purchase coffins, headstones, and cemeteries (you should refer to the most economical, but not too rough).
Refer to the pairing (preferably limited to one team of Western music, other than as economical as possible) and the route and even the lineup. It depends on the environment of each mourning family. (No parade is the most appropriate).
The most important thing is to plan the cost and statistics (coffin, grave, all red envelope gift, chanting gift, style field, ding-tao orchestra fee, geographer’s fee, shisha fee, ceremonial society, bearer, carriage fee, etc.).
Chanting – should be done in a serious way, not too many instruments, not loud music, not only no solemnity and will disturb the neighboring right. Chanting should be clear, clear, clear, so the back of the field of musical instruments, if more is used to hinder the sound of chanting.
Burial ceremony order.
One, move the coffin.
Second, move the coffin.
Third, the family sacrifice.
Fourth, turn the West. (It is also appropriate to use free)
V. Public sacrifice VI. Seal the nail. (Exemption is also available) - Funeral
Order of family rituals
I. Filial son. (Filial grandchildren)
Second, filial daughter-in-law. - Daughter of filial piety.
Dutiful son-in-law.
V. Dutiful grandson.
Sixth, I dutiful granddaughter.
VII. Dutiful grandson-in-law.
VIII. kin.
Relatives.
X. Righteous brothers.
XI. Righteous sons.
Twelve, righteous grandson.
XIII. General.
Public service (farewell ceremony)
I. Opening speech.
Second, play mourning music.
The filial son offers incense.
D. Daughters of filial piety offer flowers.
V. Daughters-in-law offer fruits.
Chanting of scriptures. - Eulogy.
Eulogy.
9、Speech of thanks – introduction.
X. Incense burning.
XI. Completion of the ceremony.
Please arrange the personnel (the larger scene prevails).
I. General affairs: one person – the general director. To avoid duplication of work.
Second, liaison: one or two people.
Third, accounting, collection and export: one or two people.
Fourth, procurement: one person.
Equipment: one person in charge.
Sixth, the team: one person is responsible.
If there are many teams, we need to liaise with the front and back teams: one or two people.
If there are many teams, we must arrange the vehicle team number row.
If there are many processions, we need traffic organizers.
Filial dress (if the Buddhist should be changed to black cloth with a small piece of hemp).
A. Filial son and daughter-in-law: full hemp (righteous son and daughter-in-law clip red).
Second, filial eldest grandson: hemp sandwiched between the sky-colored cloth.
Three, filial daughter: hemp folder bag of cloth.
Fifth, the filial grandson and son-in-law: sackcloth sandwiched red.
Sixth, filial grandchildren and daughters: sky-colored cloth with red. - Filial nieces and nephews: the same as the baggy cloth shirt and hat.
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