Death and Mourning in Buddhism and Judaism

Following death, according to Buddhism, the spirit of the departed goes through a process lasting forty-nine days that is divided into three stages called “bardos.” At the conclusion of the “bardo”, the person either enters nirvana or returns to earth for rebirth. It is imperative that the dying individual remain fully aware for as long as possible because the thoughts one has while passing over into death heavily influence the nature of both the after-death experience and, if one fails to achieve nirvana, the state of one's next incarnation.

Stage one of the ‘Bardo’ (called the "Chikai" Bardo), the” bardo” of dying, begins at death and extends from half a day to four days. This is the period of time necessary for the departed to realize that they have dropped the body. The consciousness of the departed has an ecstatic experience of the primary "Clear White Light" at the death moment. The more spiritually developed see it longer, and are able to go beyond it to a higher level of reality. In stage two (called the "Chonyid" Bardo), the “bardo” of Luminous Mind, the departed encounters the hallucinations resulting from the karma created during life. Unless highly developed, the individual will feel that they are still in the body.

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Firstly the “vidu'I” ("confession") prayer or the “Shema” is recited by the dying person, and members of the immediate family remain with their loved one until the time of death. The Buddha’s body was cremated and this set the example for many Buddhists, even in the West. It last from the end of “shiva” to the morning of the 30th day after burial. These periods of formal mourning are only required if one has lost a parent, child, sibling, or spouse. A guardian (shomer) stays with the deceased. Most of the restrictions of the “shivah” period are lifted. “Shivah” ends on the morning of the seventh day following the Morning Prayer services. When someone is dying in a Buddhist home, monks come to comfort them by chanting verses to them, such as: "Even the gorgeous royal chariots wear out; and indeed this body too wears out.

The early Buddhists followed the Indian custom of burning the body at death. But the teaching of goodness does not age; and so Goodness makes that known to the good ones. To leave a body unburied for an extended period of time is considered disrespectful; therefore, in keeping with the principle of “k'vod ha-met”, Judaism mandates that burial should take place as soon as possible after the death, preferably within 24 hours. Goodwill is created by these gifts and it is believed that the goodwill helps the lingering spirit of the dead person. Jewish funerals are generally held in a funeral home, although sometimes they are held in a cemetery chapel or in the synagogue of the deceased. The second mourning period is close to a month long, and is known as the “shloshim”.

Approximate Word count = 1027
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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