Buddhist funeral services

From the first call

If your family wishes to chant beside your loved one before the body is moved, tell us when you call. At home we wait until the family says the time is right. In a hospital or care facility it depends on their rules, and we ask the staff what they can allow.

The clergy and the chanting

We coordinate with the monks or nuns (法師) of your family’s temple, or help you find clergy if you do not have a temple. Chanting (誦經) is arranged during the wake and on the day of the funeral, and the family is welcome to chant with them or to have a chanting group attend.

The altar

We prepare the altar with the portrait, a Buddha image, incense, candles, and lotus or white chrysanthemum arrangements. Offerings are vegetarian, and the banner your family chooses, most often 往生極樂, hangs above. If your family also keeps regional or Taoist customs alongside the Buddhist rites, we arrange both.

Cremation or burial

Many Buddhist families choose cremation; burial is also practiced. We make the arrangements with the crematory or cemetery, and with the columbarium, temple, or cemetery where the ashes will rest. If your family wishes to be present when the cremation begins, tell us and we will ask the crematory.

The forty-nine days

After the funeral we advise on the seventh-day rites (做七) and the forty-ninth day. Our memorial date calculator shows when each day falls.

What we arrange

• Coordination with your temple or clergy of your choice
• Chanting and 往生 rites during the wake and funeral
• Altar with Buddha image, incense, and vegetarian offerings
• Guidance on the 49-day (七七) period of observance