Khmer Buddhist Funeral Structure

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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JubalHenshaw
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:39 pm

Khmer Buddhist Funeral Structure

Post by JubalHenshaw »

Hello All,

Does anyone know of a specific overview of a traditional Khmer Buddhist Funeral process? I've attended quite a few and while I'm aware of the rituals and the process, I was curious if there was a very specific overview of the process covering what is optional and required. For example, at the last funeral I participated in we offered food to the monks for breakfast and lunch each day however I understood that this was because they were visiting from out of town so we offered them meals as both a sign of gratitude as well as it was their only source of food. I'm guessing if they resided in town we possibly would have provided food on specific days?

There was also three days of evening prayers, two days of morning prayers (overlapping the 3 days), the funeral service + procession, cremation, and final prayers in the afternoon following the funeral services.
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