Question
Hello,
I design funerary urns and have recently become interested in Buddhism. I would like to know more about how a Buddhist funeral ceremony unfolds, especially whether the ashes are placed in an urn and whether these urns are special. What rituals are practiced in France and modern societies generally during cremation?
Thank you in advance for enlightening me.
Sincerely,
Nadège
Nadège
Answer from Master Kosen
In Japan, the ceremony is held before cremation, before the open coffin, until the body is placed in the cremator. Then, during cremation, people go for a drink and something to eat. When it is finished, they return and collect what remains of the deceased’s bones. The furnaces are cooler than in the West, and the bones are not reduced to powder. They place them in the urn or urns two by two using chopsticks, like those used for eating. The urns are generally ordinary.
Kosen