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Book Cover
E-book
Author Gouin, Margaret

Title Tibetan Rituals of Death : Buddhist Funerary Practices
Published Hoboken : Taylor and Francis, 2012

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Description 1 online resource (197 pages)
Series Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism
Routledge critical studies in Buddhism.
Contents Front Cover; Tibetan Rituals of Death; Copyright Page; Table of contents; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; Terminology; Transliteration; Inclusive language; 2. The sources; Tibetan material; Non-Tibetan material; Buddhism outside Tibet; Bön; 3. Before death; 4. Immediately after death; Spiritual concerns; Consciousness transference (powa); Death horoscope; Readings, prayers and bardo guidance; Purification rituals; Offering food to the deceased; Practical concerns; Planning the funeral: the role of the death horoscope; Protection against malignant manifestations; Preparation of the body
Funeral processionComments on activities undertaken immediately after death; Spiritual concerns; Practical concerns; 5. Disposal of the body; Burial (disposal in earth); Immersion (disposal in water); Cremation (disposal in fire); Activities at the cremation site; Religious rituals; Conclusion of the cremation ceremonies; Self-immolation; Exposure (disposal in air); Historical origins and the 'Parsi debate'; Who qualifies for exposure?; Who does it?; How is it done?; Religious observances at the disposal site; Why is it done?; Speed and completeness of consumption
Exposure and 'secondary burial'The charge of cannibalism; 'Sky burial' in Western perception; Treatment of remains; From burial; From cremation; From exposure; Bones for ritual use; Hair; Comments on the disposal of the body; 6. Special cases; Holy persons; Preservation; Cremation; Remains; Relics; Nobility; Children; Old people; 'Bad deaths'; Comments on special cases of disposal; 7. Post-disposal rituals of benefit and protection; The transition through the intermediate state (bardo); The intermediate state; The 49 days; The nature of the 'bardo being'; Rituals of benefit
The name-card and the effigyPrayers and readings; Bardo guidance; Purifying the deceased's karma; Severing attachment: chö; Food offerings; Making merit; What if there is no body?; Rituals of protection; Protection against the deceased; Protection against the death-demon; The conclusion of the funeral rituals; It depends on what you pay; Comments on the post-disposal rituals of benefit and protection; 8. Remembering the deceased; 9. Conclusion; Notes; Glossary; Bibliography; Index
Summary This book describes and analyses the structure and performance of Tibetan Buddhist death rituals, and situates that performance within the wider context of Buddhist death practices generally. Drawing on a detailed and systematic comparative survey of existing records of Tibetan funerary practices, including historical travel accounts, anthropological and ethnographic literature, Tibetan texts and academic studies, it demonstrates that there is no standard form of funeral in Tibetan Buddhism, although certain elements are common. The structure of the book follows the twin trajectories of benefi
Notes Print version record
Subject Buddhism -- Customs and practices.
Buddhist funeral rites and ceremonies -- China -- Tibet Autonomous Region
Death -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism.
Buddhism -- Customs and practices
Buddhist funeral rites and ceremonies
Death -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism
China -- Tibet Autonomous Region
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780203849989
0203849981