Dr. Melody Tzu-Lung Chiu - An Overview of Death Rituals in Chinese Buddhist Monasteries of Present-Day Myanmar
Tue, May 10
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Death rituals and Buddhism are mutually interdependent, and this is especially the case in Chinese contexts. In fact, numerous studies have explored Buddhist funeral or Chinese death rituals; however, present-day Chinese Burmese’s Buddhist death rituals have come under much less scrutiny.
Time & Location
May 10, 2022, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
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About the Event
Modern and Contemporary Buddhist Encounters in the Southern Sinosphere
Institute for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism (ISHB), University of the West
Melody Tzu-Lung Chiu, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Death rituals and Buddhism are mutually interdependent; as Spiro put it, ‘death ceremonies are the primary concern of Buddhism’ (1970, 248), and this is especially the case in Chinese contexts. In fact, numerous studies have explored Buddhist funeral or Chinese death rituals; however, present-day Chinese Burmese’s Buddhist death rituals have come under much less scrutiny. Against this backdrop, this paper discusses two issues.
Firstly, the mixing of customs and rites of funerals practiced in Chinese Buddhist monasteries with funeral practices of Chinese folk religion within current Burmese contexts. Examples of the latter include the ritual of breaking the hell, crossing the bridge, and the burning of paper houses. These rituals were all to some extent included into the format of Buddhist death…