A guide for families and mourners
Buddhist funerals
There is no single Buddhist funeral. Buddhism has no equivalent of a central code or a governing office, and practice differs so much between Theravada countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia, Mahayana countries such as China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, and the Tibetan tradition, that the phrase describes a family of practices rather than one rite.
What holds across them is the purpose. A Buddhist funeral is largely something done for the person who has died rather than about them. Monks chant, the family makes offerings, and the good that comes of it is directed towards the person, to help them on their way. That is why these ceremonies can feel less like a tribute than visitors expect.
One practical point matters more than any other and is easy to get wrong: the body may need to be left undisturbed for a period after death, because consciousness is understood to leave gradually rather than all at once.
- Burial or cremation
- Usually cremation, following the Buddha's example
- Straight after death
- The body may be left untouched for a time
- Who leads
- Monks, chanting; no single set rite
- Observances
- Seventh day onwards, up to 49 days in some traditions
One thing to hold in mind
The differences here are real and worth naming. Theravada practice understands rebirth to follow immediately, and centres on merit-making. Mahayana practice, especially Pure Land, chants the name of Amitabha Buddha with the aspiration that the person be reborn in the Pure Land, and a 49-day period is widely observed in Chinese Mahayana. The Tibetan tradition describes the bardo, an intermediate state, with observances commonly in seven-day cycles. Sources differ on exactly how those intervals are counted, so ask the family's own teacher or temple rather than working from a timetable found online.
What happens, in order
A common sequence, drawn mainly from Theravada and Chinese Mahayana practice. Which parts apply depends entirely on the family's tradition.
As death approaches
The person's teacher should be told as soon as possible, so that prayers can be said either in person or at a distance. Their Buddhist community may want to chant or meditate at the bedside as the end comes near, so it helps if space can be found for that.
Leaving the body in peace
Once death has been declared, the body may need to be left undisturbed for at least an hour. No part of it should be touched, and the feet especially not, because consciousness is understood to remain in the body for a time and to leave finally through the crown of the head. The head is the exception: placing a hand, or mala beads, on the top of the head is understood to help the mind on its way.
Preparing the body
The body is bathed and placed in a coffin, which may be adorned with wreaths, candles and sticks of incense. In many communities it remains present for several days rather than being taken away at once, and people come to it.
The chanting
Monks lead, chanting sutras and verses, both to comfort the dying and to accompany the person who has died. In Pure Land settings the recitation of the name of Amitabha Buddha is central, expressing the wish that they be reborn in the Pure Land.
Making merit
The family offer food, candles and gifts to the monks. The good generated is directed towards the person who has died, on the understanding that it helps them. This is the engine of the whole occasion, and it is why a Buddhist funeral is better understood as something offered on someone's behalf than as a summary of their life.
Cremation
Cremation is usual, following the Buddha's own example. In Thailand it typically takes place within about three days, though families with the means sometimes delay it in order to hold further merit-making ceremonies first, which is the opposite of the urgency found in several other traditions.
The days and weeks that follow
Observances continue rather than ending with the funeral. Memorial services are commonly held on the seventh day, and then on the fiftieth and hundredth days.
In Chinese tradition families hold prayer ceremonies every seven or ten days for up to forty-nine days, on the understanding that what is done properly during that window genuinely assists the person who has died.
The Tibetan tradition describes an intermediate state, the bardo, during which monks chant to guide the consciousness through its transitions. Accounts of its length vary between sources, which is a good reason to ask the family's teacher rather than assume.
Theravada practice does not share the idea of a long intermediate period, since rebirth is understood to follow immediately. Even so, the view is often held that the person can still benefit in their next life from what is done for them now, so merit-making continues either way.
What to ask about, wherever you are
Ask, immediately and explicitly, that the body be left undisturbed for at least an hour and not touched. Hospital staff and funeral directors will usually not know this and their normal procedure is to move quickly. It is the single most useful thing you can say at the time.
Contact the person's teacher, temple or monastery early. Much of what happens depends on them rather than on a funeral director, and they will guide the timings.
Do not assume the schedule. A Theravada cremation within three days and a Chinese Mahayana observance running to forty-nine days are very different plans, so establish which tradition the family follows before booking anything.
On organ donation, take nothing for granted in either direction. Because consciousness is understood to leave the body some time after death, this is treated as an individual decision rather than settled by doctrine.
If you are attending
If you have been invited to a Buddhist funeral, these are the things worth knowing before you go.
Can I attend if I am not Buddhist?
Yes, and you will be welcome. You may be asked to remove your shoes. People often bow towards the shrine or the coffin on arriving; joining in is optional and nobody will mind if you simply stand quietly.
What should I wear?
Ask, or follow the notice. In many Asian Buddhist cultures white is the colour of mourning rather than black, so this is worth checking rather than assuming.
How long will it be, and what will it feel like?
There may be a great deal of chanting, and it may run longer than you expect. The atmosphere is often calmer and less openly grief-stricken than at a Western funeral. That is the tradition rather than an absence of feeling.
Should I bring an offering?
Offerings to the monks are part of how merit is made, so they are meaningful rather than merely polite. Ask the family what would be appropriate, because it varies between communities.
Where this comes from
We are not writing from inside this tradition, so everything on this page is drawn from the sources below and we have said what each one was used for. Nothing here is scripture quoted at you, and nothing has been filled in from assumption.
- Personal Ceremonies: Funerals, BuddhaNet
Used for: The ceremony itself across Theravada and Mahayana traditions: monks chanting sutras and verses, bathing the body and the coffin with wreaths, candles and incense, the body remaining present for several days, offerings of food, candles and gifts to monks and the transfer of merit, cremation following the Buddha's example and its timing in Thailand, Chinese ceremonies every seven or ten days up to forty-nine, and memorials on the seventh, fiftieth and hundredth days.
- SPaRC multi-faith guide, Buddhist (Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)
Used for: Care at the point of death: informing the teacher so prayers can be said in person or at a distance, the community chanting or meditating at the bedside, leaving the body untouched for at least an hour, not touching the feet, consciousness leaving through the crown, placing a hand or mala beads on the head, and organ donation as an individual choice. Cited for hospital practice rather than for religious authority.
Tell us if we have this wrong
If you belong to this tradition and something here is inaccurate, incomplete, or simply put badly, we would genuinely like to know. We would rather be corrected than be politely wrong on a page that grieving families are reading. Corrections are made quickly and we will say what changed.
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