Time for reflection.

by Robert Hironaka


"To die or not to die... we really don't have a choice. We can therefore
only take care of our life-body and body life until the fullness of time and being
ends our existence on earth" - Taitetsu Unno.


Intellectually, we are aware that death will occur to each of us. When it happens to someone close to us, are we ready?

The funeral is a time to reflect on the event to get a better understanding of self. Reflect on the life of the deceased and how that life has enriched our life. Benefit from the experience of losing a loved one or close friend by thinking on how your life has been enriched for having known the person. Treasure the lesson that you have learned from your association with the deceased.

The Buddhist view to the funeral and memorial services is more than a time for family and friends to come together to pay special tribute for cherished memories and to give each other mutual support. It is a time to hear the Buddha Dharma that teaches the Oneness of life.

Although we say we attend some else's funeral or memorial service, the primary purpose is to help those who are still living reflect on their own life so that it might be a step towards shinjin, an awareness of reality within our self. Shinran said, as much as he might have loved his deceased parents he never once uttered a prayer for them. On the contrary, the deceased who has become a Buddha... an enlightened one... is calling us to open our eyes and see the true nature of life; to become awakened, to take another step in our path towards our own attainment of Buddhahood. Funeral and memorial services are held in grateful memory of the deceased and are yet another opportunity to hear of our place in the universal Oneness with our surroundings.

Jodo Shin Shu Buddhists have learned to live a life of gratitude. A life enriched by the deceased. Even the passing of an infant has enriched your life as you contemplated the birth and the development of the child. Dwell on this positive attitude.

The funeral and memorial services are to awaken shinjin, a gradual process that generally does not happen like a bolt of lightning. Use the funeral and memorial services as steps within our own awakening to the reality of life. Realize that death is one step in the life process. Realize that we must take that step. Realize that we must awaken the Buddha nature that is inherently within us to arrive at shinjin.

"The funeral service is not a 'last rite' or a 'farewell', but a beginning. To keep and cherish is a reflection in the innermost heart of those causes and conditions that sustain existence. It is to awaken to the frail realities that define the truth of the life that each one of us lives" (Rites of passage, Takemoto, Kodani and Hamada).

The funeral and memorial services are to help those in attendance to reflect on their own life in their steps towards shinjin. The content and order of a service may differ from one funeral to the next at a family's request to make it more meaningful for them. The following is a typical service:

  • Temple bell - a calling bell. Listen and enjoy the many tones and overtones. The bell is struck in a pattern of 7 - 5 - 3 with a decrescendo and crescendo between the 7 - 5 - 3.

  • Family members, friends, those participating in the service as well as representatives of groups that the deceased was associated with gassho, ring a bell, burn incense or other symbolic act of clearing the mind to receive the Dharma.

  • The service is usually started with a short period of meditation, a moment in the ecstasy of truth, to prepare the mind to receive the Buddha Dharma.

  • The chant before the casket or the beginning of the service has the following meaning: We respectfully call upon Tathagata Amida (Buddha of Infinite Light, Wisdom and Compassion) to enter this dojo (hall) as we joyfully scatter flowers of welcome. We respectfully call upon Tathagata Shakyamuni to enter this dojo as we joyfully scatter flowers of welcome. We respectfully call upon the Tathagatas of the Ten directions to enter this dojo as we joyfully scatter flowers of welcome'. The chant acknowledges the presence of all manifestations of Truth-reality at this moment of encounter with death in this body form and the beginning of the next form.

  • Reading of the Homyo or Buddhist name. Buddhism teaches that on dying, each person reaches a state of Buddhahood, a state of fully understanding life. The homyo is the name of the deceased in this enlightened state.

  • The service chairperson usually makes some comments about the deceased. This may be a brief biography of the deceased.Chanting the sutra by the presiding minister(s). Although the meaning of the sutra, which is in a foreign language is generally not understood, it is a time of meditation, a time of quiet contemplation to prepare to hear the Buddha's message both oral and from your own reflection.

  • Singing of a gatha is a form of verbal meditation.

  • Dharma talk on the Buddhist view of life usually reflects on the life of the deceased and how that life has enriched our life. The talk is to help awaken an awareness within yourself of our self (Shinjin).

  • Family express their gratitude to their friends, church, ministers, etc.

  • Gatha and meditation.

  • Reading.

  • Announcements.

    While services are generally similar from one funeral to the next, we build on the awareness and thought that was started from this or other experiences, towards our own shinjin. The deceased helps to show us the path to our own enlightenment.

    Whoso is compassionate is everywhere beloved,
    By the kind and good he is prized as a friend,
    and at death his heart is full of peace.


    Namu Amida Butsu.




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