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Prayers for the Dead-Death Ritual-100 Day Ceremony
By admin | February 8, 2010
Thailand is a Buddhist country and Buddhists believe in rebirth. The 100 Day Ceremony is a Buddhist Death Ritual where prayers for the dead are chanted, exactly 100 days after a person is cremated. This memorial service is known as “Tamboon Roy Wan”. The purpose of this 100 Day Ceremony is to gain merit for the departed Spirit and to help shorten the time spent by the Spirit in any of the Buddhist realms in which that Spirit may find itself.

Buddhists believe that death is not the end of life but simply an essential part of the process of rebirth. For this reason, many Buddhists do not fear death as non-Buddhists do. They believe that only the body dies. The Lord Buddha teaches about the impermanence of life. The Spirit within that body lives on and will seek out a new body for its new life. What that new life will be depends entirely on Karma. Karma is the accumulation of all negative and positive actions acquired during previous lives. The Spirit will therefore be born into one of the 6 realms ranging from Heaven to Hell according to its Karma. Buddhism has 37 levels of Heaven and nearly as many levels of Hell. Only by achieving Nirvana can this cycle of life and death be ended.

The 100 Days ceremony with its prayers for the dead is a simple but very moving ceremony. At the ceremony we attended in a Temple in Chiang Mai, there were nine Monks and several novices in attendance. These Monks chanted in Pali, prayers for the departed Spirit. A white cord or Sacred thread known as Sai Sin, was passed between all the Monks and held by them as they chanted. Small water jugs and bowls were handed to the close friends of the departed who poured the water into the bowls and placed them before the Monks while they chanted a blessing for the departed known as the Pansakula. The purpose of this ritual is also to pass merit to the departed Spirit. This holy water will then be returned to the earth. Offerings (Sang Khatan) were made to the Monks and the service was concluded.




Topics: Lifestyle & Culture | 1 Comment »


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February 14th, 2010 at 12:45 am
As the widow of the man for whom this particular 100 Day ceremony was performed, living in England, I would like to thank the monks and novices who performed it, and everyone who attended. It is a great comfort for me.