Buddhism And Grief

At some point in our lives, we all come to realize that death is a part of life. Cultural diversity provides a wide variety of lifestyles and traditions for each of the unique groups of people in our world. Within these different cultures, the rituals associated with death and burial can also be uniquely diverse. Many consider ritualistic traditions that differ from their own to be somewhat strange and often perceive them as unnatural. A prime example would be the burial rituals of the Native American people.

Religion is a set of beliefs towards life where it helps describe the truth, purpose, lessons and outlook on life and also beliefs toward a higher authority or creator depending on the beliefs. Aboriginal spirituality is the set of beliefs of spiritual traditions and teachings which is passed down orally through the generations and centuries of believers. Buddhism is the set of beliefs of ending personal suffering and discovering happiness in life to achieve the state of nirvana which ends the cycle of reincarnation. Through Aboriginal Spirituality and Buddhism, there are similar themes in beliefs between these religions such as beliefs upon spirits, the circle of balance and afterlife; in which these ideas demonstrate and distinguish the relation between Aboriginal Spirituality and Buddhism.

People would be buried in the ground, in water, put in a hanging coffin or cremated. Chinese burial practices had two main components: tombs and their contents, and ceremonies to honor the dead, performed in temples and offering halls by their relatives. The rites observed at his funeral were elaborate versions of those common throughout China. Ancestors were considered an important influence on one’s life, and their continued existence in the afterlife a certainty, prayers were offered both to those who had gone before and to the principle of divine harmony to aid the dead person in transition from this world to the

Death rituals are an important part of concluding a person’s life in nearly all faiths, so the person can be remembered in a special way as he/she parts the world from his/her family and friends. This report will explore death rituals in both Catholic and Islamic faiths. The writer will discuss the belief of the death ritual through celebration, belonging, symbols, purification and the transition into a new existence. As the report continues, theorists of Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner and Terence Lovat will applied throughout the report which all will be related to the hypotheses’ accuracy.

Different cultures, countries, religions, and community with various behaviors and rituals that guides their belief and action when a loved one pass away. Religious and spiritual belief, type of life after death, superstitious beliefs after death and beliefs towards the meaning of life are all based on tradition and death ritual.

The temples, pyramids, tombs, and religious artifacts left behind all tell us that the Ancient Egyptians believed in the resurrection of the dead. Their belief in immortality was the fundamental driving force behind their religion. “The formulae which were declared to have been recited during the performance of ceremonies were written down and copied for scores of generations, and every pious, well-to-do Egyptian made arrangements that what had been done and said on behalf of Osiris should be done and said for him outside and inside his tomb after his death.” (Liturgy of Funeral Offerings, pg.2) This illustrates just how important the ceremony and the process was to the Egyptians. Their belief in the afterlife and the importance of the ceremonial steps taken to get them there caused them great concern with their own funerals. Today, everyone has an idea of what they would like to do for their own funeral as well. We may follow in the same patterns as our family heritage has done for generations with either a traditional funeral or cremation, or we may have a newer alternative in mind for our self. Even though we may not be preparing for an afterlife, we still have an

Today the Chinese population still follows these traditions with a few small exceptions of modern times. All elders are given respect in the Chinese society, those living or deceased. There is a question that still remains in this culture on how to prepare a funeral of unmarried adults and children. No respect is given to a person who died as a bachelor or bachelorette, or if they did not have children. They are not considered an elder and do not have children that prepare the funeral for them. Children are also shown no respect because they do not have anyone to prepare their death ritual. They are left at their funeral home and the family members preform these burials in silence. The children in Chinese families prepare funerals for elders. It is considered proper for the children of the deceased to go into debt in order to pay respect for the older people at the funeral. The body of the dead must be washed with care, dusted with talcum powder, and dressed in the nicest clothes from the personal wardrobe before being placed in the casket for burial. All of the other clothing that belongs to the deceased elder must be burned. The deceased is never dressed in red because it is believed that it will turn the corpse into a ghost. The body is placed on a yellow cloth with the face covered, and then the body is covered with a blue cloth. All statues of deities are covered with red paper and all mirrors are removed from site in the home when preparing the home for the death ritual. The mirror is removed so that no one sees the coffin in the mirror. If someone sees the coffin in the mirror, it is believed that you will have a death within your own family soon. A white cloth is hung in the doorway and a gong is placed outside the door of the home of the deceased. If the person who is deceased is a male, it is placed on the left side; if female, it is placed

Plato says “Sleep comes after being awake and being awake comes after sleep. Likewise just as death comes from life so must death return to life again.”(Tolstoy) Plato is explaining that life is like a rotating wheel with only two parts. You will live and then you will die but then there has to be something after that which is life again and the circle restarts, and this process never stops. Plato says “They have stayed for certain appointed periods, some longer, some shorter, they are sent forth again into the generation of living things.” “The inhabitants of the upper realms live there longer than those of the lower realms and without the pains, but they are only more like the Immortals, not actually immortal themselves. When they have to fall down, they are forced to fall back again and are assigned to an appropriate status, depending on their nature and according to their deeds” (hellenismo). It may take years for a person to be reincarnated. And who or what you are reincarnated into depends on the nature of the spirit and what you need to do in your next life. Plato says it’s not by chance you get a certain body or born into a certain family it’s for a reason... “ Famous philosophers socrates and pythagoras also believe what plato believed. They believe reincarnation is real. In Hinduism, it is believed that an enduring soul survives after death, spends a variable amount of time in another realm, and then becomes associated with a new body.”. “Hinduism includes the concept of karma, the idea that the conditions into which one is born are determined by one's conduct in various previous lives”. Buddhists believe also that once some has dies they reincarnate but they believe that who you reincarnate to is based on your karma except for the Dalai Lama. They believe that the Dalai Lama doesn’t get karma because of their “devotion to complete compassion for all sentient beings”

Death has always been and will be a topic that just a few want to talk, but since time immemorial man has worshiped their dead, and this is reflected in the various rituals and forms of burial. The anguish of death has been considered the deepest anguish of man. Death is the inevitable companion of life, is the final stage. It can occur at any age, suddenly or after a long illness. Despite knowing that someday we will have to die the death of a loved one is a terrible fact, very difficult to accept, that affects everyone around the deceased person. When the link with the deceased breaks, the suffering is so great, that they put into question the fundamentals of being, of human existence and our deepest beliefs, affecting significantly the basic family and social relationships.

Buddhism began in the fourth and fifth centuries before Christ by Siddhartha Gautama. The teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, are the major beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism is a belief and religion based on an assortment of customs, principles, and practices. The name Buddha means the awakened one. Buddha’s teachings were of the termination of suffering, attaining nirvana, and absconding from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Buddhism has spread all across Asia and throughout the world, now with between two hundred thirty million and five hundred million followers. Buddhism is largely based around the belief of Karma. Karma is the “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation” (Dictionary.com) or “the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person’s deeds in the previous incarnation.” (Dictionary.com) In simpler words, how you live your life now determines how you will come back when your current soul expires. Buddhists live their lives in hopes of achieving to be placed in the highest state known as Heaven. The after-life stems from Karma and leads into Rebirth. Rebirth is a course of action where humans proceed within multiple lifetimes in one or more of the six states of after-life. Each lifetime begins with birth and ends with death. Buddhists believe that we should not fear death because

Buddhists do believe in rebirth implies that when they die, they will be reborn, back to life again. The purpose is to break out the phase of death and rebirth and achieve nirvana (heaven) or a state of ideal peace. There are many diverse types of Buddhism and many different ways of dealing with death. It is believed that a dying person may seek a monk or nuns in their scrupulous Buddhist tradition to assist them make the transition from life to death as peaceful as possible. Buddhists believe that a person’s state of mind as they die is very important as it can assist them to find a happy state of rebirth when they pass away. Before and at the moment of death and for duration of time after the death, the monk, nun or spiritual friends

Mankind’s history of burial practices and funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. There is no specific way to planning a funeral. Every civilization and culture has provided for their dead in different ways. Religion and personal beliefs play an important role in the burial practices and funeral customs of a given culture or civilization. Furthermore, each civilization and cultured ever studied have three things in common: some type of funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies; A sacred place for the dead; and memorialization of the dead. As far back as the time of Christ, burials have been noted to take place. In time burial and funeral customs have become very distinct, interesting and

During the burial, mourners will throw earth or shredded flowers on the coffin and the priest will break a ceramic pot (to signify the end of life) and pours virgin oil on the coffin.

Life after death is a concept that has been around for many centuries. Many philosophers came to the idea that there had to be something after our life ends. For some, they believe in the afterlife. Another concept is that of reincarnation. Reincarnation is the believe that once the physical body dies, the soul is then reborn as a different being. Some religious teachings are actually said to have skewed some of the details about reincarnation.

There are many religions that have different beliefs about dying. Buddhist?s do not believe in life after death meaning heaven. Buddhist?s believe that when one dies he is reborn again and this continues until the person reaches Nirvana. Nirvana is