2015年4月19日日曜日

My Report from other modules-Implications on Buddhism as the Standard for Funeral Rituals in Japan


Introduction
              There was once a saying that religions in Japanese society have their functionality at different stages of life. “Born Shinto, die Buddhist” is a familiar Japanese saying. (Ikeuchi & Freund, 1995, p. 61)When a person is born, is recognized as a being under Shinto, as Japanese believe Shinto represents and celebrates life and light. On the contrary, when a person dies, the family members will arrange Buddhist funerals for him or her. This essay explores the implications of Buddhism as the standard for funeral rituals in Japan. I shall do so by introducing the Buddhist teachings on death and reincarnation, and following by how it can be applied to funeral practices. After that, I will evaluate why it is widely practiced in Japan, as well as the changes the original rituals to suit a modern day Japan’s cliente. Lastly, I will conclude by discussing their future role in Japan.
              My thesis for this paper is that, Buddhist funeral practices have deep historical roots and widespread application, where it will not be changed largely despite minor evolutions. Such comprehensive practices will not change in the future due to the need for respecting the ancestors in the same manner that has lasted till date.

Buddhist Teaching on Mortality and Rebirth
              Shaku claims that Buddhism teachings propogates immortality by teaching that a person’s life is not limited to their existence in this world, through actions in this world that measures their degree of kindness and moral righteousness they may obtain an eternal life even after death. (Shaku, 1907, p.1) Eternal life is thus represented by incarnation, which marks the end of this life and the beginning of the next with the deceased’s soul and virtues preserved in his reincarnation in a new vessel.
              Because of such belief where the life cycle lasts even after passing (Becker, 1993, p. 2), this made Japanese stop fearing death to the point that there are unique suicide rituals such as seppuku. People began engage in behaviors such as meditation to transcend materialistic and hedonistic behavior to help one attained enlightenment and freedom from the wheel of birth. In the Buddhist practice, some features and qualities of the deceased will be kept, and reborn into a new body or life form, or the person will achieve a state of nirvana. Nirvana means above the realms of life and death. (Becker, 1993, p. 2)
              The abovementioned teachings on death and afterlife helped shape the funeral services around Japan, albeit with local interpretations which evolved into multiple adaptations of Buddhist funeral rituals, such as varying schools include Tendai, Shingon, Jodo, Zen, Nichiren, and Shinran. Although some (Walter & Stone, 2008, p.247-258) argues that each school retains distinctive qualities in their practices, others (Kim, 2012, p.249) refutes that the uniqueness of funerals from different schools have diminished over time resulting in a compact, condensed and less complicated rituals.

Buddhist Practices after Death
Deathbed rituals focused on achieving the state of mind of Buddha Admida allows the dying to focus on their postmortem life. Such rituals were available since Heian era and promoted the belief that the spirit leaves the vessel, resulting in the loss of vitality (ki) which causes the body to resemble the medical state of death. (Walter & Stone 2008, p.61)
After the person dies, two primary services are done for the deceased by his or her close family members, sogi and kokubetsu-shiki. (Tsuji, 2006, p. 393) Sogi is the funeral rite that follows the Buddhist ritual of sending the deceased to the other world while kokubetsu-shiki is the occasion for family and friends (kumiai) to bid farewell for the deceased before cremation. The family members follow an elaborate set of procedures during the sogi so that the dead ancestors receive sufficient blessing from the living, followed by reincarnation in the world. Subsequently, the kokubetsu-shiki is held either at home or external funeral service centers, where it will be the last chance for people to see the deceased for the last time.
During the sogi process, incense is offered to the passed ancestors. Family members and friends put incense and flowers to the deceased’s death bed because incense offering is the core value and practice for showing respect to ancestors who passed away (Yagi, 1995, p. 394). Incense is both offered at the time of death as well as during the funeral itself by kindred and other attendees. Next, the deceased body will be encoffined (noukan) by encoffining professionals, involving washing the body from impurities (yukan), dressing up in suits or kimonos, and putting make-ups on the deceased. Afterward, the body will be placed in the casket, with several items signifying the importance of Buddhist rituals. Items include a pair of white socks, Buddhist prayer beads to be placed in the hands, six coins to be put in the deceased hands for crossing the Sanzu River, and items that the dead enjoy while alive such as candies. (Kim, 2012, p. 235)After the body is encoffined, the funeral or the kokubetsu-shiki can be proceeded. The dead also be conferred a Buddhist posthumous name (kaimyo) by the Nichiren priest at this stage, where the length of the kaimyo increases with prices. (Rowe, 2000)
At the beginning of the funeral service, an altar at the end of the room is set, with a photo of the deceased, an incense burner, and a freshly cooked bowl of rice with a pair of chopsticks at the center, and some flowers and contributions. A priest will chant sutra while guests are entering the funeral room. When all arrives, there will be condolences speeches and mourning by family and friends, and followed by shoko, the chanting and incense burning ceremony. (Tsuji, 2006, pp. 393-395) The funeral service will then end here.
After this, shukkan begins where the coffin lid will be opened for viewing by guests for the last time. People can add-in the deceased’s favorite items into the coffin, where at the same time each attendee will put in a flower. The ritual will be finished after everyone has paid their respect to the deceased, and the lid of coffin will be sealed. The coffin will later be transported to the crematorium for cremation. Last part of the funeral is the bone picking (kotsu-age) using chopsticks into the urn, marking the end of the entire process.
Therefore, the whole set of funeral rituals does not only serve the purpose of bidding farewell to the dead, but also signals each procedure that the deceased will eventually and successfully depart from this world to eternity. The procedures also explain Buddhist teaching in mortality, where the after works done by kumiai and the priest are crucial in receiving transcendence of spirits to the eternity. Without the correct formalities and processes, the soul of the deceased may remain in the same world that would bring harm and hardship to the family. (Walter & Stone, 2008, p.248)

Reasons for extensive applications in Japan
              Significantly, Walter and Stone (2008, p.247) pointed out a surprising fact that more than 65% of Japanese say they are atheists and only will go to Buddhist temples for memorial services dedicated to their deceased relatives. However, 94% of Japanese including this group of non-believers will still conduct Buddhist rituals at funerals. It is interesting that the prominent and ubiquitous existence of Buddhism in funerals are not considered by Japanese as some new practices and rituals, given the fact that Japan is a secular society as the people believe.
              Walker and Stone (2008, p.247) also explained, historically, the reason for 94% of Japanese to choose Buddhist rituals at funerals is the establishment of danka system through the household system. There were more Buddhist temples being built between mid-fifteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries, and it became compulsory for households to register with local temples. The relationship between families and temples was called danka, which was also certified by the Tokugawa government. Funerals were naturally conducted at family’s affiliated temples, and people only had one option for doing so. As the result, the danka system was more strengthened, and the relationship between households and temples grew stronger. Buddhist rituals at funerals also became dignified by the Tokugawa regime. Other religion’s practices also amalgamated into Buddhist practices and teachings, where they gradually changed into different sects of Buddhism’s. Since the history of Buddhist funerals can be traced back to centuries ago, many Japanese in modern days will also follow the same rituals passed on by their ancestors. Doing so, it can ensure the ancestors are honored according to the rituals at their deaths, and also it will ensure the posthumous well-being of the ancestors’.
From the author’s point of view, Buddhism serves to balance out the social need by providing funeral rituals as compared to Shintoism. (Ikeuchi & Freund, 1995, p.61) As such, Buddhist values and practices bring wellbeing and eternity to the deceased as compared to Shinto beliefs. Therefore, Buddhism has gained its dominance in death rituals by compensating the gap left by Shinto gods’ worship that avoids from death for fear of pollution. (Walter & Stone, 2008, p.6)
In addition to the results of beliefs in afterlife and incarnation, the societal attitude towards deaths meant more than losing loved ones in this world. Since the general public makes sense of the conception of immortality and eternity, it seems relatively easier to accept the fact that their loved ones are dead. Deaths no longer appear as eulogies and sentimental, but it signifies the new journey for the deceased at either the nirvana or to reincarnate back into this world with some same characteristic traits. Therefore, as a result of the existence and widespread conceptualization of Buddhist teaching at mortality, almost all Japanese practice Buddhist funerals as they guarantee eternity. To the families and friends, the fact that the dead is not in fact ending his or her journey indefinitely also serves as a comforting factor for losing loved ones.

Changes in Buddhist rituals to meet societal needs            
The modern Japanese society has largely transformed its default practices of funerals into one that is economically viable and less time-consuming. As mentioned, there are much simplifications and condensations of procedures and rituals during funerals, which include moving of venue from temples to one’s homes.
Buddhist priests were the core commanding role of funerals. In modern day’s context, professional funeral services sogiya handles the funeral from beginning to end instead. In addition, the simplification of procedures also faced criticisms where people do not practice authentic and traditional rituals as described by Buddhist teachings, that funeral services merely conduct their version of cost-efficient funerals with Buddhist colorings. (Walter & Stone, 2008, p.276)  
Notably, at the time of passing away, the deceased is granted a posthumous name by the priest, known as kaimyo. Kaimyo’s usual length is of two characters, but the length can be increased with more money paid to the priest or temple. By having a kaimyo, the deceased’s life can be illustrated by having the kaimyo to conjure an image of his or her life, in a Buddhist manner that it is engraved on the tomb and home altar butsudan. The deceased can be then remembered everlastingly, by implying that the deceased is not excluded from regular communication with the existing members of his home. (Walter & Stone, 2008, p. 300) However, there has been a trend of increasing beliefs that posthumous name is not necessary at all, some 32.9 percent of parishioners responded to a research. (Walter & Stone, 2008, p. 301)As they believe that granting of kaimyo has become too commercialized, this is one of the main components that has been cut down in contemporary funerals.
Many believed that the shortened funeral services would never allow the deceased to receive proper enlightenment from the Buddha, and in turn tranquilly expedite to the eternity. However, given in today’s fast pace society where cost-efficiency and time-efficiency play the greatest role in people’s living, traditional funerals that consume money and time, as well as mobilization of relatives from elsewhere, would not be viable for many. (Walter & Stone, 2008, p.263)
Nevertheless, Buddhist rituals have already become the social norm, and the practice can be said to be unshakably rooted in the Japanese society, albeit with variations from different sects. The minor modifications on rituals reflect the social values and anthropological changes but should not be considered as deviating from the traditional practices and nor have incomplete effects of transcending. As long as the basic structures and core procedures do not change, the funeral services would still be as meaningful, and the dead would still receive peaceful enlightenment into eternity. (Walter & Stone, 2008, p.277)
             
Future Role of Buddhist Funerals
Transformations in the society will continue to lead to minor changes in funeral practices for practical reasons. The younger generation who receive less information and education on Buddhist teachings and understanding of death may not fully understand the rituals and their implications to the deceased as well as to the family as a whole. In the future, there might be even more simplified and compacted funerals due to incapability of understanding the rituals. As the younger generations witness and experience more funerals, knowledge and implications can at least be imparted.
Still, funerals with Buddhist colors have already become the social norm, whether or not the funeral itself is performed by traditional Buddhist priests or funeral services. The core values and purpose of funerals will not change mainly due to high ancestral influences and family bonding, where the next generations need to apply Buddhist funeral practices voluntarily or involuntarily as a mean to worship deceased relatives and their lost loved ones in the future. Therefore, the funeral practices in Buddhist context will continue even in next generations.

Conclusion
              The funerals in Buddhist context has strengthened family bonding by allowing living members not to forget the deceased ones with optimistic attitudes. Due to the prevalence of Buddhist funerals, many families believe that their deceased relatives have already been transcended into eternity or have incarnated somewhere in this world. Therefore, the society will incline their attitude into a higher degree of acceptance of Buddhist funerals from the past and the present.
              All in all, Buddhist funerals gave Japanese the most comforting and relieving process of enduring the loss of loved ones. However, at the same time, families would need the Buddhist rituals to be continued as remembered by off springs forever. That is also the reason, that Buddhist funerals are the default practices of funerals in Japan.




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REFERENCES

Becker, C. (1993). Breaking the Circle: Death and the Afterlife in Buddhism. Southern Illinois University.

Ikeuchi, F., & Freund, A. (1995). Japanese Buddhist Hospice and Shunkō Tashiro. Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 15 (1995), pp. 61-65.

Kim, H. (2012). The Purification Process of Death: Mortuary Rites in a Japanese Rural Town. Asian Ethnology, Vol. 71, No. 2 (2012), pp. 225-257.

Murakami, K. (2000). Changes in Japanese Urban Funeral Customs during the Twentieth Century. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 27, No. 3/4, Mortuary Rites in Japan (Fall, 2000), pp. 335-352.

Rowe, M. (2000). Stickers for Nails: The Ongoing Transformation of Roles, Rites, and Symbols in JapaneseFunerals. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 27, No. 3/4, Mortuary Rites in Japan (Fall, 2000), pp. 353-378.

Shaku, S. (1907). THE BUDDHIST CONCEPTION OF DEATH. The Monist, Vol. 17, No. 1 (January, 1907), pp. 1-5.

Tsuji, Y. (2006). Mortuary Rituals in Japan: The Hegemony of Tradition and the Motivations of Individuals. Ethos, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Sep., 2006), pp. 391-431.

Walter, M. N., & Stone, J. I. (2008). Death and the Afterlife in Japanese Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press.

Yagi, D. (1995). Protestant Perspectives on Ancestor Worship in Japanese Buddhism: The Funeral and theBuddhist Altar. Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 15 .




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