Describe a traditional Buddhist funeral ceremony (4)

Buddhists see funerals as a transition from this life to the next, and that death is all part of samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth to which life is bound). In Theravada buddhism, the family gives cloth to the monks/nuns (bhikkus/bhikkunis) to make new robes, and they hold merit-making sessions for the deceased after 3 months and 1 year. In Mahayana buddhism (in Tibet), the deceased is surrounded by wreathes and as they die the name of the buddha is whispered to them. After 49 days of verse reading, a sky burial (where the corpse is cut up and fed to vultures for good kamma) may take place.

JK
Answered by Jack K. Religious Studies tutor

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