Expert: Alex Wilding - 4/13/2011

Question
Hi, I am currently doing a school based assignment about Buddhist death rituals, and was wondering if you would be able to answer a few of my questions? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My questions are:

1. What is the purpose of the death ritual?
2. What texts are read or sung during the ritual?
3. Who leads the ceremony? Where is it held?
4. What symbols are used in the ceremony & what do they represent?
5. What is worn to the ceremony and why?
6. How long after the death is the ceremony held?
7. What is believed to happen to the person after death?
8. What rituals are conducted before/after the ceremony? Why?
9. What is the most important part of the ritual? Why?
10. How is the body prepared for the ritual and what is done with the body after the ritual?

Thankyou!

Answer
Dear Lachlan,
This is far too long a list of questions to answer properly here. If I were to answer even from the point of view of the tradions I best know, each question would need answers at the very least between a couple of paragraphs and a couple of pages. On top, the answers will vary enormously from one tradition to another. If I saw a single book claiming to answer these questions in general, I would fear that it must be superficial.
I suggest you start by searching the literature that is on the web; proceed to books if that is not enough; and select one, carefully defined, tradition to narrow it down.
Sorry that's not what you wanted to hear, but your questions do cover far, far too much ground.
Good luck!
AW