The study is concerned with death and funeral rituals that reveal the Ladakhi Buddhist beliefs and attitudes toward death. It focuses on Buddhist religious beliefs and socio-cultural practices regarding death. Buddhists believe in the cyclical reincarnation of the soul. So, funeral rites are performed not only for the disposal of the body, but also to assist the deceased soul to the next destination. The paper discusses how the responsibility of the family members and relatives to perform the funeral rites and the rights way to assist the deceased soul in the intermediate state after death. This thesis also discusses the different forms of oracles in Buddhist Ladakh who present rituals service to peoples when they are possessed by gods. It also explores the roles and importance of Buddhist oracles in rites.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT I 摘要 II ABSTRACT III TABLE OF CONTENTS IV TABLE OF FIGURES V CHAPTER 1: PREFACE 1 1.1 Research Motivation and Purpose 2 1.2 Research Methods and Materials 4 1.3 Research Steps 7 1.4 Structure of the Thesis 8 1.5 Overview of Previous Research 10 CHAPTER 2: GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL STUDY OF LADAKH 15 2.1 Geographical Study of Ladakh 15 2.2 History of Buddhism in Ladakh 17 2.3 History of Shamans and Oracle in Ladakh 20 2.4 Ladakh Buddhist Customs 25 CHAPTER 3: DEATH RITUALS 29 3.1 Death, Dying and Ghost-Spirit 29 3.2 The Disposal of the Corpse 33 3.3 Family and Relatives 37 3.4 Remembering the Deceased 38 CHAPTER 4: VILLAGE AND MONASTERY ORACLES 42 4.1 Tibetan Buddhism, Oracles, and Shamans 42 4.2 Selection of Village Oracles 45 4.3 Work of Village Oracles in Society 46 4.4 Monastery Oracles in Possession 48 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 51 BIBLOGRAPHY 55 APPENDICES 61 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1 Map of Ladakh 15 Figure 2 Torma and Chodpa (Rituals offering object made of food) 22 Figure 3 Tarchok - Prayer Flag on the House 24 Figure 4 Chotkhang- Shrine Room 27 Figure 5 Corpse carrying to the cremation site 35 Figure 6 Village oracle in possession at Leh 42 Figure 7 Monastery oracle in possession and making mask dance at Sekthi Thakthok Monastery 48
