The Primadona

Chapter 41 Tragic the Mujickari

Section 41

Tragic the mujickari

I'm thinking hard. How'this? Will tell parents and colleagues Adie in the village? About Adie's death? What about their response? Of course making everything hit by the sudden sad news.

"Yes, my Lord .... Forgive the sins of my best friend!" Since then and repeatedly I asked the owner of the universe. Verily, He is all-knowing.

Adie embraces the Buddhist faith of marrying Caroline, a special condition of the woman who sustains Adie's needs from the beginning to success. Thus, of course my best friend will be cremated to eternity.

I decided to call Clarissa. He must know a lot about this. Once or twice a phone call from me there was no answer.

The draaatt!

Soon I picked up the phone lying on the seat. I can't wait for a lot of questions in my mind.

"Hay .... Bum." Clarisa ahead of greeting.

"Hay, Honey ...."

"Have arrived? Love ...."

"No, I'm having a problem."

"Watch ....?!"

"Yes--- Adie left us." Suddenly my voice weakened followed by a clamor at the end of the phone.

Then, Clarisa's voice made me have to accept reality.

"Come on! The story! Wh why? Accident, Bum?!" Clarisa railed tanya.

Then I explained what happened. All these heart worries I poured out while continuing to drive.

Meanwhile, Caroline hasn't responded to my calls. Even the message through Waatsp was nil.

After telling me Clarisa asked me to meet. But I refused, enough explanation about the funeral of Buddhists he told me by phone.

I was curious about the funeral procedures of the people, because to the knowledge, after death, Buddhists will be cremated, not buried in public funerals.

Clarisa then replied, “Maybe the family wants that.” On the phone Clarissa explained that cremation is not obligatory for Buddhists. There are still many Buddhists who are buried by burial, rather than cremation, as is often perceived by the public.

If examined more deeply, the perception was not entirely wrong. Understandably, on many occasions, we quite often encounter Buddhists who are cremated upon death.

It was done for various reasons, ranging from practicality because the family does not need to perform excessive worship ceremonies until the deceased's desire to follow “tradi” funeral of the previous Buddhists.

Because there are so many who live it, so do not be surprised if there are some people who think that cremation is a funeral ceremony that must be done for Buddhists.

However, whatever the reason, doing a funeral by cremation is not really an obligation that a Buddhist must obey, but rather a choice.

Except Gotama Buddha who far away “minihkan” his people to perform a special cremation ceremony after him Parinibbana, he said, so there is actually no specific obligation in Tipitaka to cremate other Buddhist students.

The body will generally be wrapped in cloth and decoration, then held a ceremony to honor the deceased. After everything was finished, the body was cremated using wood. The ashes are then stamped to a spring (usually the Ganges River) or kept in a special place.

In addition, the decision may have been motivated by the Buddha's desire to leave the relic. In Buddhist stories, it is indeed mentioned, the Buddhas generally “messaged” relics after being drunk. The relics are the physical remains of the Buddha, which are shaped like small stone fragments.

The relic can then become an object of respect for students, who have never met the Buddha in person. With the relic, it is expected that there will be a strong belief in the students to study, practice, and realize Buddhism.

Therefore, other than for Himself, the Buddha did not recommend any particular funeral rites for His students. Thus, there is no obligation that requires Buddhists to perform cremation.

Buddhists are free to choose to be cremated or buried.

Everything is a matter of choice, and the choice is usually taken by the family in accordance with the joint opportunity or the will left by the previous deceased.

Changes to Cremation Ceremony

Because of the nature of tradition, the cremation ceremony carried out also changes from time to time. Although the essence is the same, there is a clear difference between the cremation ceremony of the past and present times. The difference can be seen from various things, ranging from the equipment used to the procedures applied.

Based on experience, I found that the cremation process carried out in the present is much shorter. Understandably, in the present, cremation is usually done using an oven, which can speed up the process of cadaver burial.

With demikan, cremation can be completed in approximately two hours. Unlike the case with cremation in ancient times that still rely on firewood. The process can take hours, so the cremation ceremony feels so long.

In addition, in the present, the procedure of the cremation ceremony also seems simpler. Due to several times following the cremation ceremony of Buddhists from the Chinese Tribe, I saw that even though the worship remains the same, such as Casket Cover (Cit Bok), Flower Night (Mai Song), and so on, and other mourning days, but there are simplifications in the layout, ranging from the choice of chests, offerings at the altar, to pilgrimage activities carried out at certain moments.

This is clearly different from the cremation procedure in ancient times which is known to seem complicated because it has many rules and uses so many attributes. Therefore, do not be surprised, to carry out the cremation ceremony, you must prepare many things and hold prayers for days.

***

Based on the description above, if it can be understood that even in the sutta mentioned Buddha and some of his students were cremated after Parinibbana, he said, but actually cremation is part of a plural tradition carried out by the Ancient Indian Society. This tradition has been going on for a long time, even before Buddhism emerged in the world and is practiced by adherents of other religions outside Buddhism.

Therefore, living in the midst of such a tradition, Buddha and some of his disciples followed him. All of that was done solely because it was a funeral ceremony that was usually performed by the Indian people at that time, not because of any specific obligation.

Thus, cremation can be said not to be a funeral process that must be done by Buddhists, but a choice based on tradition that has been carried out since ancient times. (Trusted source)

"Thank you, Cla.s ...." I said after a while after receiving a lengthy explanation.

"Together, Bum. Tell Caroline later. I am so sorry and glad."

"Yes, but Caroline still hasn't responded to the phone call. Again, thank you, Cla." We ended the call.

I got up and walked to the car, after paying for the glass of orange juice I ordered. The weather was so hot, as strange as the death of the famous mujickari "Adie Permana" friend and half-God man to me.

I deliberately turned the car to one of the cafes. In order to listen to the details, my best friend could not have been cremated.

I was enthusiastic, a glimmer of hope playing in my eyes. I don't feel my eyes glazed considering that Adie some time ago expressed her concern about her death.

Unfortunately at that time I did not go back to discussing his desire to return to his previous faith. I feel guilty.

This chest rippled violently as the voice of a man received a phone call from me. I asked Neng Sutiyah for the contact number.

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