The Buddhist Influence Embodied In The Funeral Custom Of The Mongolians In Ordos

Funeral custom refers to an important religious way for the living to express their nostalgia for the dead,to reassessment their life value and to seek psychological comfort.It is a kind of social custom gradually formed by the long-term development and evolution of different nations or the same nation in their funeral process.The funeral custom contains the values,outlook on life and world outlook of each nation,as well as religious beliefs and folk customs.This master's thesis takes the funeral custom of Mongolians in Ordos area as the main research object,analyzes the funeral custom of Mongolians in Ordos area and the religious belief behind it,and studies the origin and development of the funeral custom of Mongolians in Ordos affected by Buddhism culture.And further in-depth study of Mongolian culture reflected in the Buddhist culture.This paper consists of four parts:introduction,body(three chapters),conclusion and appendix.The introduction part summarizes the purpose and significance of the topic,research status,research methods,data sources,innovation points of this paper and possible shortcomings in the research process.The first chapter of the text analyzes the traditional funeral custom of Ordos Mongolians and its origin.From the traditional funeral customs of Shaman belief period,such as wild burial(natural burial),accompanying burial,secret burial to the funeral customs of cremation,burial to cremation,burial and so on after the introduction of Buddhism.The change of belief influenced social customs.The second chapter analyzes the influence of the Buddhist funeral custom in Ordos.First of all,the funeral ceremony of Buddhism is studied.Secondly,it studies the transcendental rituals of Buddhism.Transcendental rituals are an important part of Buddhist funeral rituals,including the main scriptures read by monks(commonly known as lamas)and the connotation of expression,the six word words of Guanyin Bodhisattva recited by family and friends to help the deceased to live in the paradise,etc.In addition,some customs in funeral ceremony and the reasons behind them are given.There is a Buddhist funeral ceremony in the Mongolian funeral custom in Ordos.The third chapter of the text analyzes the Buddhist ideas and influences embodied in the funeral customs of Ordos Mongolians.Influenced by Buddhism,the funeral custom in Ordos mainly embodies the Buddhist concept of six samsara and impermanence.The concept of samsara in Buddhism is very important in Buddhist thought.Karma and origination are the important contents of the concept of samsara in Buddhism.The karma of good and evil is regarded as the motive force for sentient beings to transfer life and death.Buddhism uses the concept of "origin" to explain the phenomena of the world and life.Buddhism's concept of impermanence is an important thought of Buddhism's understanding of life.By observing the funeral custom of Ordos Mongolians,the author further expresses that the funeral custom of Ordos Mongolians embodies the profound influence of Buddhist culture,both in terms of ceremony and ideology.From here,we can also find that Buddhist culture plays an important role in all aspects of Mongolian culture and customs.The appendix of the paper also adds the materials and pictures of the field investigation and interview to supplement the paper.