What is a funeral for the chief priest

Hello.

I am a member of the Soto sect, and the funeral of the Soto sect involves the deceased becoming a disciple of the Buddha.
During the ceremony, Buddhist precepts that should be kept as Buddhists also come up, so they print those precepts at the funeral and distribute them, and they also proselytize, saying, “Today I gave the precepts to the deceased, but let's also keep this precepts as Buddhists.”

The question says, “Having a funeral and receiving an appointment is not a ceremony for the deceased to safely become a Buddha, but a stage ceremony for the bereaved family left behind to accept the death of an important person,” but for me, it's half correct and half wrong.
I regard it as “a ceremony for the deceased to safely become a Buddha, and at the same time, for the bereaved families left behind to accept the death of an important person, overcome it, and recover.”

Incidentally, I'm aiming for a “crying funeral.” Once the funeral is over, the bereaved family and friends must live their lives as usual. If you don't cry during a funeral, you won't have time to cry in this modern society. I also believe that crying will restore the mind.
On the other hand, I noticed that the bereaved families were nervous at the funeral, and that there were many bereaved families who couldn't cry because they had no sense of reality about their death. I couldn't cry at my grandparents' funeral either.
Therefore, I try to make people cry by telling stories that make them cry through vigils, cremations, and funerals. If you cry, the funeral was a success.

We regard sending the deceased to the Pure Land of Paradise as you thought, and the bereaved family as an act of accepting the death of an important immediate family member.

I have been attending funerals since I was in the 6th year of elementary school, and I have visited over 1000 Buddhas over 30 years.
During that time, there were various conflicts, such as faith, behavior, and the meaning of being a monk at a funeral.

Among them, what I think recently is not MUST “must be ~,” but I wonder if facing the Buddha in a natural way is my way of being.

This way of being can empty your mind, recite sutras, and perform manners without thinking.
There is no glory or ulterior motive there; there is only one monk praising the current Nembutsu.

If you work at a funeral home, you probably know that when monks enter the hall, they are bowed deeply by the funeral home and bereaved families, and they are treated as if they were lords.

If you get arrogant about this, saying, “I'm my main job, and I'm different from you as an amateur,” I don't think this is functioning as a monk anymore.

Funerals are created by bereaved families, general attendees, funeral directors, and monks.
You don't need to attend if you think “I have to do” your parent's funeral or that you have to go because it's a company relationship.

As you said, it has both meanings.
I am a Jodo sect, so I tell bereaved families and attendees about Amida Buddha and the Pure Land of Paradise, and tell them that those who have died go to the Pure Land of Paradise and practice ascetic practices to become Buddha in the Pure Land of Paradise.
Also, I will tell you that in the Pure Land of Paradise, you can meet many of your ancestors who have gone ahead, and that someday, you will be able to meet all of them again.
Then, in order to get to the Pure Land of Paradise, they tell them that it is important to chant Namu Amida Buddha and Nembutsu, and they chant Nembutsu for those who have passed away along with the bereaved families and people attending.

By the way, if you have any requests from the monk, please don't hesitate to let me know. It's an everyday occurrence for us, but for those who have passed away, it's a once-in-a-lifetime memorial service, so I want to make the memorial service as good as possible.
Namu Amida Buddha

Is the funeral for the dead or for the bereaved?
It's because everything in the universe is perfect.
That's what “becoming a Buddha” means.

Everything has a cause and effect. There is no living thing, inanimate object, or phenomenon that exists without a cause. This world is made up of a web-like connection between cause and effect.
All beings live in connection, and nothing exists alone... so in order to cherish yourself, you have no choice but to value the causes leading to your own results in order from a nearby place. That way of life is true wisdom. This is the Buddha's teaching.

Hi, back to the story.
Q, Is the funeral for the deceased?
A, of course.

Q, Is the funeral for the bereaved family?
A, of course. But a funeral where the bereaved family says it's for me, for me, and for me isn't good. Let's choose words flexibly around here.

This is my stance. And ideally, I want to take it to a place of true enlightenment rather than attaining Buddhism as described in Japanese dictionaries. I want to get rid of my own personal boundaries and connect to myself as a whole... because that is where the salvation that Buddhism aims for. That's why the funeral was for everything in the universe, so it was all right.
I don't think I understand the meaning, but originally, I don't understand anything that can be understood without “what is Buddhism” before “what is a funeral.” Also, the main part of the funeral is not chanting sutras. Now that you've entered the world of funerals, I would be happy if you could learn more.

Then Buddhism is not Western medicine, but more like Eastern medicine. In other words, the tumor is ready, let's remove it with surgery... it's not. Oriental medicine adjusts the body less likely to get sick by improving lifestyle and constitution. Buddhism also adjusts the mind, making it difficult to create a vicious cycle of suffering through the practice of wisdom and compassion.
So I said, “Save at the funeral!” Instead, we aim to send it out so that the direction of mind can be adjusted through a series of events and annual events that continue from the funeral.

Also, for many modern people, the only place where they can feel death is at a funeral. You can't really learn about life on TV, movies, or books. It's sad when people die... there is no other way to learn it on an instinctive level other than sharing death at a funeral. I think this is important for reducing suicide deaths and suppressing crime.

Finally, there are a lot of monks, so let's go through what we should go through

Yat-sama

This is Kawaguchi Hidetoshi. This is my humble answer to the question.

I also know that funerals are performed to clearly illuminate the path to liberation and enlightenment, not only with the deceased, but also with the bereaved families by having a definite Buddha relationship or marriage (even stronger), without falling into mischievous reincarnation or six-way reincarnation.

In the middle and late Indian Esoteric Buddhism sutras, there is something called a completely abusive purification tantra, and in the original teaching where this sutra was preached, Taishakuten is asked by Sect (Virshana) about what happened after the person called Tenshi Mukoku Hokko, whom he shared in the celestial world, died. At that time, it was said that Tenshi Mukou Hōko had fallen to hell and would continue to wander in pain even after that, and Taishakuten and the others were afraid, and Tenshi Mukoku Hokou, and Taishakuten and others, as well as those who have fallen into reincarnation, are begged to show a method for freeing themselves from reincarnation and leading to enlightenment, and the king explained how to do that.

It is explained that by implementing one of the methods described for Tenshi Moku Hokou, Tenshi Mukou Hokou will be able to somehow move away from bad taste reincarnation, but it is explained that the reason Tenshi Moku Hokou was able to perform such a memorial service by Taishakuten and the others is because Tenshi Mukou Hokou had a Buddhist connection in his past lives.

What Jusei came to mind here was what is called “sentient beings without relationships are difficult to overcome.”

Funerals are an opportunity not only for those who have had a Buddhist relationship or legal relationship during their lifetime, but also for those who were unavoidably in this world to have a Buddhist relationship or legal relationship at the end of this life, and I believe that by all means, I would like them to firmly ride on the flow to enlightenment by having them sign it at any cost.

Also, being able to perform a funeral means being able to perform a funeral is a thankful and precious thing due to the merits of the deceased's own past or present life, and the Buddha's blessing power (or the power of salvation by the Buddha) (for example, the power of salvation by the Buddha; for example, in the case of the All Bad Taste Cleansing Tantra described above, in the case of the All Bad Taste Cleansing Tantra described above, you can move towards the flow to enlightenment) Of I'm an immature person, but I know that I sincerely want to do my best to make adjustments.

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho