Buddhists people believe that funeral services serve two purposes. First, it helps the deceased soul to the afterlife; second, it provides a chance for the surviving relatives to mourn.
The Buddhist funeral is organized to ensure a calm and peaceful transition for the deceased soul’s next life. Samsara is part of religious belief which is known as the cycle of death and rebirth. During the Buddhist Funeral Service, the scripture chanting constantly played to help. The monks play the role of chief celebrants of this essential ritual!
The Buddhist funeral structure is categorized into three parts:
- The Funeral Wake
- The Cremation
- The After-Funeral Rites
However, each denomination has unique rituals or practise that one wants to discuss with the spiritual advisor. There are many experts who provide the service of the funeral to ensure everything will go smoothly. You need to discuss your requirements; they will provide you with various Buddhist Funeral Packages to choose from!
The Buddhist Wake
Some practices consider leaving the deceased body untouched for four to eight hours because they believe the departed is still moving out from the body. At this time, you should hire a medical specialist to certify a person’s death at home or hospital!
After the certification, the family member will take the deceased body to the funeral home, where it’s prepared for the wake. The family has to choose the venue and make other arrangements during this time. Buddhists people believe that odd numbers have special meanings like “Becoming” or transitional numbers; that’s why the funeral is held between three and seven days.
Many people prefer to keep the wakes at homes, monasteries, or funeral homes, while other people who live in public housing prefer void decks. But most of the time, it is usually well-organized in the locations like monasteries and funeral homes. Everything already set up when the deceased arrived in the casket at the location. Everything set up includes an altar, flowers, joss sticks, chairs, and offerings, and you will find Buddhist objects like bells, gongs, and iconography.
You can call Singapore Bereavement Planners to handle all the funeral arrangements. Our team will easily coordinate with you to know the requirements and provide you with various Buddhist Funeral Package Singapore. We help you to bring tentage, catering, flower arrangement, or mobile restroom if required.
The relatives are present in white clothes during the wake. Visitors are allowed to choose black and gloomy colour clothes. The chanting and sessions run for 45 minutes and one hour. People who participate in this are only forced to stay seated for part of the time.
They bowed in front of the deceased and offered a lit joss stick at the altar. Many people also walk around the casket while accompanied by a family member. After performing the ritual, they sit and interact with the family members. The plates with snacks and candies are already placed on tables with a skein of red thread.
Attendees will take a strand, wrap it around the finger before leaving for homes, and discard it before they reach home to distance themselves from the funeral.
The Cremation
The coffin will take to the cremation when the official funeral rites are performed in the determined number of days. On the last day of the wake, monks will come and also perform the final prayer service.
After the ceremony, a family member or a professional will drive the casket to the hearse. It is common for people to walk a little distance on foot behind the funeral as a symbolic procession before boarding an individual or group to the crematorium.
Many funeral service companies offer Buddhist Funeral Package Singapore, which offers crematorium options to choose from. There is one which is owned by the state- the Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium Complex, and two private- Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, or Tse Toh Aum Temple.
The casket of a deceased person escorted to the viewing room with the help of workers for the last farewell. This procedure occurs when the family arrives at the crematorium, and the duration is two and a half hours. The staff will store the remaining ashes of the deceased after the family keep the portion of ashes in the resting urn.
Final Buddhist Funeral
During the seven weeks, the family of the deceased will hold a prayer session once every seven days for further transition. The final rite is organized to commemorate the 49th day when it’s thought that the deceased soul has transitioned to its next life.
All the family members need to avoid joyful gatherings to show respect for the deceased. The period may last up to 100 days. The final ceremony celebrates with more joy and honours the new existence of the deceased on the 100th day. During this time, you can opt to keep the urn at the residence, in a columbarium, or spread the ashes in the sea on land, such as the Garden of Peace. With this final phase, the traditional Buddhist funeral will come to an end.
Conclusion
Singapore Bereavement Planners are known as the leading funeral service company. Our planners are highly skilled and competent at what they do. We can arrange everything for the funeral to go smoothly and without any problem. Here, you will find a wide range of Buddhist Funeral Packages. Get in touch with our team to know more about any funeral service!
