Of the Buddhist/Taoist funerals I've been to, there was some chanting and some burning of "hell notes" (paper money) and sacrifices of food or of paper models of cars, houses, laptops, etc that get burned. It is thought that the deceased will be able to use them in their afterlife. I suppose to some degree it depends on the surviving family as to how much is done to send off the departed loved one.
I've witnessed an almost parade-like procession of the deceased from the home; I've seen at the funeral parlor, all night vigils to keep the person "company" all the while the Hell notes are being burned in the oven while a recorded chant is continuously played in order to help the departed find his or her correct way 'home' and then at another funeral the close family members circled the coffin with a Buddhist monk at the lead. They circled about ten times. The ten times corresponding, I suppose, with the number of levels they believe hell has. This is to help the departed to find their way out of each level of hell. All of this is to 'hope' all will be well.
For the Christian funerals, they are mostly joyful because of the belief that the departed one has gone to be with Jesus. The most recent Christian funeral I have attended was that of my own dear father. For years and years he had been looking to go to meet His Lord and Savior. He had no fear of what life after death on earth would be. His favorite motto being, "Perhaps today!". Perhaps today he would be "with Christ". No, he was not suicidal. He was looking for and longing to be with His Savior who loved Him and died for Him and was living for Him in Heaven.
Dad's funeral was joyful although of course the sadness of the loss for us family members and of those who knew and loved him. Although Dad had had Alzheimer's Disease, he did come out of his fog now and again before he went away from us, especially if something may have triggered a remembered response. One day my sister and I were singing, Oh Haste Away My Brethren Dear, a song he liked to sing and he sang along with us,
"Oh that will be joyful, joyful, joyful, oh that will be joyful to meet to part no more...on Canaan's happy shore..."
Among other songs and hymns we sang this at his funeral. Many folks afterwards said it was the most joyous funeral they had ever been to! This is how it can be with those who hope in Christ their Savior.
One young girl that I knew was walking along the road one day and was hit and killed by a car. She had professed to belong to Christ. However, her parents did not know Him although they were likely nominal Christians. They did not know or understand the sure hope their daughter had. There was a tormented, soul agonizing, strangling cry of despair from the mother in the otherwise quiet of the funeral service. Understandable. Yet, without the hope that we followers of Jesus Christ have, those cries will come forth.
My husband and I lost our firstborn, a daughter. We too sobbed in agony of loss yet not without hope of ever seeing her again. At her funeral I so vividly recall looking and looking at her there in her coffin. She had her very nice red with white polka dot dress on and a bunch of flowers clasped in her wee hands. She was but 15 months old.
As I sat there viewing Sze Hwa, my thoughts swirled: "Oh she will never be sweet sixteen; oh she will never graduate from high school or university..." Then the next thought, "She will never be married!" I wanted to cry again, but wait, the Holy Spirit comforted and gently whispered in my ear, saying, "This is her wedding day!" Oh, my own spirit quieted down and I could rejoice for her, even feel somewhat jealous of her! Imagine, that glorious scene! Gone to be with Jesus Christ forever.
Those have been some of my funeral experiences.
Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda, author of What Buddhists Believe has some other perspective. He indicates that Buddhist funerals are actually simple affairs;
"...simple, solemn and dignified" (Page 229).
He says funerals need not be expensive. Those who burn 'hell' notes; paper cars, houses, computers, etc, are wasting their effort and money (Page 229).
Sri Dhammananda explains that to truly honor a departed person the surviving ones will perform some meritorious act in the name of the dearly departed and transfer the merit points to the deceased. This in and of itself is seen as a 'sacrifice' and sacrifices have good merit; therefore, both the receiver and the giver benefit.
In Burning Quest - Part 20 it was mentioned that as a person would not need their bodily organs for 'rebirth', they can donate them to help prolong another's life, thus, incidentally, gaining merits for the organ gift. (Of course, this is the deceased helping a living person, not the other way around.) Following similar lines of thought, in rebirth a person does not need their body ever again, therefore cremation is a most preferred choice upon death unless, of course, they have donated their body to science, gaining even more merit points.
Speaking quite bluntly, cremation is very ideal as ashes take up a whole lot less room as compared to a whole burial plot of land. It is also less costly. It is easier to take care of and transport in moving house if the ashes are kept in an urn at home.
Spending a lot of money to bury or even to place the ashes strategically is a waste and does not gain any merit for anyone. Dr. Sri Dhammananda claims that (Page 231) if a bereaved person really wants to honor the dead, then donate money or engage in some other charitable work in memory of the deceased, thus gleaning merits for both parties towards the
"...goal of bringing everlasting happiness" (Page 393)
of Nirvana.
This transference of performing...
"...acts of merit in a religious way (Page 397)
is the...
"...greatest gift one can confer on one's dead ancestors" (Page 395).
Such acts include...
"...giving alms to others; building schools, temples, orphanages, libraries, hospitals, printing religious books for free distribution and similar charitable deeds" (Page 392).
In the Bible we only ever read of the various deceased persons being buried, some being hastily thrown into another's grave (2 Kings 13:21); and as in the apostle Paul's case, "left [contemptuously] for dead" where he lay after being pummeled with stones (Acts 14:19). Jesus's burial was very honorably and lovingly tended to by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus (John 19:38-42).
These are examples of being bodily buried in tombs. Generally, when the Bible doesn't state in black and white as to doing or not doing something, we'd take the general principle of precedence as the way God would be pleased and honored. Yet, in the case of burial vs cremation we may be able to plead the case of "tradition" or "culture" as that's how they interred corpses back then.
Yet there are two curious accounts dealing with the burning of bodies; both in the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel 31:11-13 we discover that King Saul and his valiant men, who had died in battle, later had had their bodies burned yet their bones were collected for burial. Amos 2:1-3 exposes that God punished Moab for burning the bones of Edom to lime.
The burials of many of the significant men of God throughout Scripture does point to "proper burial" yet I would not be dogmatic about it. There are countries where space is limited and therefore the norm is cremation. Perhaps this would be a matter of conscience for the follower of Jesus Christ.
A guideline Bible verse, although speaking about meat vs vegetable eating, could be applied here. Look at what Romans 14:23 ESV tells us...
"But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."
Pray and seek God's will for your situation and then proceed in good faith and conscience.
India at one time built funeral pyres for their deceased. This practice is still being commonly maintained to this day yet mostly without burning the living widow along with her deceased husband. In history there have been those burned alive at the stake as punishments for going against The Establishment; generally in relation to a religious nature. Nowadays, cremation is more common in many places for a dearly departed's 'shell'. It's true we do not need that 'shell' in the after-earth-life. God is going to give us new, incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42).
Our bodies were "fearfully and wonderfully made" ( Psalm 139:14) by God who made us in His image (Genesis 1:27). The body needs to be respected but God is also able to raise a person up from wherever they've been interred whether in cemetery, the ocean depths (Psalm 68:22; Revelation 20:11-13) or from ashes in an urn or scattered to the four winds.
At many funerals there are often eulogies bespeaking of the many fine points of the character and conduct, and of how the departed family member or friend had touched one's life. They do this to give honor to the deceased and to keep fond memories of him or her in their heart.
Many followers of Jesus Christ have made donations to charitable organizations "in memory of the departed loved one" or created scholarship funds for the brilliant marginalized and named after said person. These are all good and helpful acts but they have not been done for the benefit of the giver nor to stock up merit points for the good of the departed to help them in a next life or "rebirth"; rather to honor the memory of their family member or friend.
Many Christian funerals are joyous, bittersweet occasions as we know that the late family member or friend has gone to be "with Christ" and that all tears, pain, suffering, and trials and tribulations of life are over. Final. No more misery, ever. However, surviving relatives or friends miss and mourn their loss. God comforts in His good time.
One day those bodies will be raised from their grave, "incorruptible". Our bodies have been rendered corruptible since The Fall of man (Adam and Eve) and thus our bodies fail us and die. However Christians can look forward to being raised with Him, to meet Jesus in the clouds and so be forever with Him; spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18). In this we can comfort ourselves.
We will be known then as we have been known here on earth despite the body change from corruptible to incorruptible (1 Corinthians 13:12). We are the same person with the same "mental continuum" (it has not been given/transferred to anyone or anything else [human being, animal kingdom or deva or devi]). We will have the same soul and spirit. The only different or new 'thing', I repeat, is that our body will then be incorruptible. Again, I repeat that others will know who we are and we will recognize others. Because of this, we followers of Jesus Christ know we will not need to "reuse" our bodies and therefore to cremate upon death could be a viable option.
I like what Jesus told Martha when her brother Lazarus had died. He told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die..." (John 11:25-26 ESV).
Jesus said this very shortly before He raised Lazarus from the dead. It was Lazarus who had died, it was Lazarus whom Jesus called forth from the grave, "Lazarus, come out" (John 11:43), and when they had unwrapped the mummy cloths from him, the sisters and friends, other mourners and rubberneckers saw it was indeed Lazarus whom they knew and recognized.
"The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth" (John 11:44).
Pretty cool. And that's an understatement!! We call this "being raised from the dead" as opposed to being "resurrected". 'Resurrected connotes not going to die ever again. Lazarus is not walking the earth anywhere now. I do look forward to seeing him, though, some day in Heaven.
This is not the general dinner table topic but death and funerals are the inevitable life stage we cannot avoid. One needs to prepare for it's coming before it is forever too late. I plead with those who do not as yet know Jesus Christ as Savior to come to Him this very day and accept the free-to-us offer of salvation from God's outstretched hands. When we come to Him by faith, accepting His gift we attain forgiveness of sins, eternal life and a certain sure hope to going to be "with Christ" and that for all eternity. Won't you come to Him today?
~ERC 2018~
Additional reading:
1. More about funerals...
https://euniqueegirl.blogspot.com/2016/11/on-doorstep-but-dont-get-to-enter-part-8.html
2. About babies that die (Part 10)...
https://euniqueegirl.blogspot.com/2016/11/on-doorstep-but-dont-get-to-enter-part.html
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