Death and Culture - Essay Example

In America, the family of the departed adapts many ways how to cope with the death of their loved ones by mourning and attending the burial or cremation and other ceremonies. The people practice many ways of coping by “going back in time to reflect, cry mourn and start the healing process.” And they consider disposing of the body as “the most pressing issue for almost all families” (Schvaneveldt, 1989). Preparing for death and even accepting death is a struggle too hard for most of families in America.

The Buddhist, on the other hand, “reminds their followers about the closeness of death, emphasize the importance in getting to know death and take time to prepare for their own demise” (Tang, 1999). They openly accept death as a stage of a new beginning. Although grieving is collectively practiced by both cultures, Buddhism views and deals with death positively.

In terms of practices, the time it takes for the entire funeral, burial services, and wake is 3-5 days. At this time, some families may choose to have a private service. Jay D. Schvaneveldt, Ph.D. (1989) said that the occasion is “very personal and meaningful to the people involved.” He added that in the past 40 years, cremation of the dead has become widely accepted, although many of the families followed traditional funerals in caring for their departed loved ones, and embalming of the dead “is a very recent and foreign practice to what Americans have done for many centuries” which has become the epitome of the “general denial of death in America.”

In India, the Buddhist tradition observes deathbed chanting. Mahayana Buddhism in Vietnam observes 49 days of praying. Generally, they deal with death calmly. Ven. Thich Nguyen Tang (1999) said that before the death, the family has to call a Buddhist priest “to pray for the loved one so that at the final moment, the right state of mind has been generated within the person and they can find their way into a higher state of rebirth as they leave the present lives.” Although America had slowly changed its ethos and has accepted death as a natural phase of life nowadays, Buddhism still practiced its tradition and ritual, especially in India, and other countries in Southeast Asia.