Tibetan rituals of death/ Buddhist funerary practices Gouin, Margaret

1 Introduction
Terminology
Transliteration
Inclusive language
2 The sources
Tibetan material
Non-Tibetan material
Buddhism outside Tibet
Bon
3 Before death
4 Immediately after death
Spiritual concerns
Consciousness transference {powa)
Death horoscope
Readings, prayers and bardo guidance
Purification rituals
Offering food to the deceased
Practical concerns
Planning the funeral: the role of the death horoscope
Protection against malignant manifestations
Reparation of the body
Funeral procession
Comments on activities undertaken immediately
after death
Spiritual concerns
Practical concerns
5 Disposal of the body
Burial (disposal in earth)
Immersion (disposal in water)
Cremation (disposal in fire)
Activities at the cremation site
Religious rituals
Conclusion of the cremation ceremonies
Self-immolation
Exposure (disposal in air)
Historical origins and the 'Parsi debate*
Who qualifies for exposure?
Who does it?
How is it done?
Religious observances at the disposal site
Why is it done? 68
Speed and completeness of consumption
Exposure and 'secondary burial'
The charge of cannibalism
'Sky burial' in Western perception
Treatment of remains
From burial
From cremation
From exposure
Bones for ritual use
Hair
Comments on the disposal of the body
6 Special cases
Holy persons
Preservation
Cremation
Remains
Relics
Nobility
Children
Old people
'Bad deaths'
Comments on special cases of disposal
1 Post-disposal rituals of benefit and protection
The transition through the intermediate state
(bardo)
The intermediate state
The 49 Days
Tlie nature of the 'bardo being'
Rituals of benefit
The name-card and the eflSgy
Prayers and readings
Bardo guidance
Purifying the deceased's karma
Severing attachment: cho
Food offerings
Making merit
What if there is no body?
Rituals ofprotection
Protection against the deceased
Protection against the death-demon
The conclusion of the funeral rituals
It depends on what you pay
Comments on post-disposal rituals of benefit
and protection