Chodrak Dawa: Thoughts on the Death of Crazy Uncle

Hello again,

I am so glad to have received your letter. I was in a meditation session when a kind traveler delivered it to me. The news you revealed to me was so surprising! I never had the chance to encounter him personally, but I have heard some interesting stories about him from the elders of the village. No matter how little we knew of him, the death of someone close to our community is an unfortunate loss. May the soul of Crazy Uncle rest in peace.

Sadly I cannot offer much information as to what type of person he was. However, from what I know, he was a tantric practitioner that hadn’t spoken to anyone from the village for years. He had been living in the caves for the bulk of his life, but no one really knew what his daily activities consisted of. I understand that there has been some speculation on how his body should be treated. As I am not in the village to attend the communal discussion, I can only hope that my opinion will be considered for the processes to come. I also hope that this letter reaches you on time before any decision has been made. Another suggestion I would like to propose is to make a shrine for Crazy Uncle. Regardless of what type of death ritual the village chooses, a shrine is a sign of respect for the dead.

I understand well that we are uncertain of Crazy Uncle’s level of attainment. However, for someone to remain isolated from the world for such a long period of time is, to me, an indication of a high level of attainment. I’m convinced that he was an enlightened being and was turned off at the thought of surrounding himself by people who weren’t. In addition, he possibly felt unable to fulfill the duties of a bodhisattva and so he renounced the world. I will go off of this assumption and explain how the different cultures I have encountered during my pilgrimage deal with the death of an enlightened being. Before I do that, though, I’m simply wondering if it would be possible to conduct a search of his residence? If anyone knows where it is. This way, we might gain some more insight on what type of life he led.

My thoughts on what should be done are as follows…

In the village where I am currently lodging, one of their customs is to perform an exorcism of malicious spirits of the bad dead. They call upon the great strength of Pi-ya and Kui-ya. They are a supernatural entity that one and the same. These spirits are fed a strict diet of iron, which is how they are so strong. This practice consists of performing a series of chants. My personal favorite line is “When Pi-ya seeks out you malicious spirits, then Pi-ya is very strong! When Kui-ya seeks out you malicious spirits, Kui-ya is strong!”. By performing this ritual, the shadow of death and sickness is removed. Offerings are sometimes made to the death-dealing spirits and they are sent to the ends of the earth, never to return.

I have also heard of another death ritual that consists of cleansing the corpse. This ritual is quite popular with the Yi Nationality of China (South East Asia), where they hold a funeral chant. But the ritual is more complex than the simple chant. All of the articles used on the deceased must be purified. For example, the vines used to hold together his limbs must be white, the water must be clear and basin carved from a naturally grown tree. Failure to perform this ritual properly could result in the soul being hindered on its way to Paradise. We also wouldn’t want to have unappeased spirits lurking around. Furthermore, they key person to successfully perform this ritual is a shaman, a very important religious figure. It may take him years to complete the ritual properly. His ultimate goal is to redirect the soul on to the road of the Tree of Forgetfulness. I am not sure as to whether or not anyone in the village is/is in contact with a shaman for this ritual to be effectively performed. Perhaps someone from the nunnery or the monastery would be best suited to deal with this matter. An important factor to note about this death ritual is that continual offerings must be made to the gravesite after the burial.

Also, as I was walking through the forest the other day I came across a man who was a believer in the Pure Land form of practice. I thought it would be appropriate to inquire on their death rituals and he certainly provided some enlightenment for me on their death rituals. Assuming that Crazy Uncle passed away in a state of right mindfulness, that he was ritually focused and he believed in the power of his last thoughts, he could have reversed a lifetime of wrongdoing. That being said, Crazy Uncle could have easily passed away having achieved liberation. The only challenge with this ritual is that we are uncertain of Crazy Uncle’s thoughts during his final moments. We can only hope for the best in that, in his final moments of life, Crazy Uncle should have generated thoughts of following the Buddha to his pure realm. During this ritual, his body would face west, incense should be burned, flowers should be scattered and encouragements should be offered. Another important factor to note to be able to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land is to recite the mantra of radiant light.

Furthermore, this man also offered me some information on Chinese Buddhist Death Rituals. The information he gave me was pertaining to the sacrilization of bones and the development of maintained graves. In this ritual, bones are the focus of memorialization. There is much attention paid to their enshrinement and preservation. The bones become an object of veneration. The gravesite is a location for the family members to pay respect to their dead. This practice arose during the Heian period and is still popular today. A monastic funeral usually takes place and the location of the remains is usually marked by a grave. I have heard that this practice is quite common in the Western world. However, I understand that this practice poses some concern for the people of our village. As Crazy Uncle has no known family, I can’t imagine someone volunteering to deal with the corpse as this could be seen as an act of spiritual uncleanness (kegare). Another challenging element of this ritual would be its strong family orientation. As we do not know of any of Crazy Uncle’s family members, it would not be wise of us to proceed with this type of death ritual. If we perform it wrongly, this could have negative reverberations in the cosmos. We also wouldn’t want to hinder Crazy Uncle’s chances of being reborn at a higher level. Perhaps this death ritual should be discussed among the village council members.

I also came across some texts describing the scattering of ashes in Japan. This practice is viewed by most as a more environmentally conscious style of burial. Not to mention, this would be a more economical option if the village council were concerned about the funding for Crazy Uncles funeral. The scattering of ashes is a non-formal approach to death rituals. Once the remains are prepared, they are typically scattered on a mountain or in the sea. Regardless of which location, the ashes must be scattered in a remote location so as to ensure a peaceful transition and a good rebirth. Ideally, the location should be somewhere that the deceased has visited. I understand that this part might be challenging, as we did not know much about the life of Crazy Uncle. Moreover, the container for the ashes must be suitable and biodegradable, so as to ensure minimal harm to the environment. An important thing to note of this ritual is that there are no formal religious elements. As most of the people of the village are non-traditional and open minded (from what I have experienced), I think that this would be a suitable way of dealing with the death of Crazy Uncle. I believe the people of our village would welcome this idea and be accepting of it. The approach of scattering ashes, in my view, seems to be the most adequate way of proceeding with the funeral arrangements of Crazy Uncle.

Whatever the outcome, I think it is our duty to deal with the death of Crazy Uncle in good faith. It would put us in a favorable position with the local spirits. I fear that if we sit around and do nothing, it could conjure up negative energy and bad things could start happening to the village. That being said, we must be proactive. I hope to have provided some valuable insight on the funeral proceedings of Crazy Uncle.

Talk soon,

Chodrak Dawa