Man is mortal and death is to be expected. However, death, to a
human being is a sad and solemn occasion. The funeral that
follows should also be a solemn one, appropriate to the
occasion. Contrary to popular public beliefs, the noisy
elaborate and sometimes showy Chinese funeral processions
which cost thousands of dollars and often alluded to as normal
Buddhist practice, are not Buddhist practices, at all.
They are just the perpetuation of age-old customs and
traditions handed down from past generations. People of
other faiths do often wonder, when viewing such a procession, as to
whether it was a procession celebrating some happy festival or a
solemn funeral. Although Buddhism does not object to the
perpetuating of such practices, so long as they do not conflict
with the teachings of Buddha, it is felt that it is time
that any wasteful, uneconomical and unnecessary practices which are
not beneficial to the departed should be eliminated.
The performance of such elaborate traditional ceremonies or
death rituals which sometimes go on for days and weeks, should also
be discouraged or discarded. Another tradition practice is
the burning of joss-paper and symbolic paper houses,
designed for the benefit of a deceased person. This is definitely
un-Buddhistic in character and should be eradicated. The
rites attached to a Buddhist funeral should be simple,
solemn, dignified and meaningful. Buddhist monks may be invited to
the house of the deceased to chant sutras prior to a funeral. Such
services are rendered voluntarily by Buddhist monks without any
charge. The offering of flowers and the burning of
joss-sticks and candles are normal accepted practices. On the day
of the funeral, the services of Buddhist Monks would again be
called for to perform the requisite religious service at the home
and at the cemetery. It has been the practice of the
Chinese to offer all types of cooked food including roasted
pig and chicken as symbolic offerings for the deceased. This again,
is just a traditional practice not encouraged by Buddhism.
Simple floral tributes together with the burning of incense and
candles would suffice as symbolic offerings. The
slaughtering of innocent animals to serve as sacrificial offerings
to the departed ones is definitely against the teachings of the
compassionate Buddha and should be completely
eradicated.
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/buddhist_funeral.pdf
