Tibetan Death Ceremony and Funeral Rites Essay Sample

Tibetan Death Ceremony and Funeral Rites
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Tibetan Death Ceremony and Funeral Rites
The Buddhist ideas on life and death were integrated within Tibetan Buddhism due to the high Tibetan standard of living and culture. Tibetans have a particularly unique or open approach to death. Tibetans lead difficult ways of life in the high altitudes and harsh terrain; thus, it is not surprising that they seem to expect death to come upon them at any given moment in time. Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes the imminent death of an individual. While it is nearly impossible to ascertain whether Tibetan perspectives influenced the Buddhist beliefs on life and death or vice versa, it is apparent that life and death are both integral parts of Tibetan culture as well as Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan culture and way of life reinforced Buddhist ideas and allowed it to become such an integral part of Tibetan Buddhism, as it is practiced and known by Tibetans today. Through the synchronized integration of the Tibetan cultural approach to death and Tibetan Buddhism, the two models came to be so united that one is meaningless without the other.
While Tibetans have an open-minded approach to death and the rituals about it, they do not fail to see death for what it is- a process in which one experiences extreme suffering and mental anxiety. The observation is exemplified by a Kalachakra Tantra, which says, "The old have the suffering of death, and again the fright of the six transmigration" (Hopkins, 1996). However, the Tibetans have learned to deal with the sufferings of death as part of their way of life in the harsh terrain and difficult standards of living. Through Buddhism, they channeled their grief and fear of what was once "unknown" about death to reassure them that death is only a part of the process in one's life cycle in which rebirth is forthcoming. The Buddhist teachings on rebirth and the Tibetan superstitions about the soul's transference upon death show just how much the two have integrated together to become Tibetan Buddhism. The integration exhibit in observing by the practice in which upon the soul leaving one's body, the corpse is typically destroyed as rapidly as possible to ensure that the soul does not try to return to it (Duncan, 1964). This is a practice followed by almost all Tibetans, who may use various techniques such as sky burial and cremation, which are both common practices. These rituals are in opposition to the Western way in which the corpse is dressed up and made to look "alive," while the Tibetans leave nothing left of the soulless shell of the person they once knew.
Tibetans are culturally very ritualistic and superstitious, emphasizing ceremonies, especially those dealing with the dead. The rituals are necessary since Tibetans perceive death being a multi-step process. Therefore, it is crucial to help the deceased transition from living to death and rebirth, observing various ceremonies for each of twenty-five, which XIV Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya (2012) identity. According to XIV Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya (2012), “marking these stages are different external physical signs as well as internal signs.” As mentioned earlier, there are sky burials and cremation. In addition to the sinking of bodies...