Buddhist Weddings
General Information
The Buddhist religion is known for being simple and straight-forward. And this is reflected in their wedding ceremonies. Not all of the Buddhist temples are licensed as official marriage venues so couples can choose to have a civil ceremony, these are typically in the garden or house of a family member or friend. The Buddha did not consider marriage to be a sacred ceremony, so it was treated as more of a social gathering, rather than a religious event. A Buddhist wedding ceremony is meant to symbolize the promise of eternal companionship between two people. The weddings do not contain any complex or long rituals that are evident in other religious wedding ceremonies. During the ceremony the couple makes a commitment to create a harmonious and peaceful relationship together. There are no religious or specific rules that the couple must obey, just a marriage based on faith and belief. Customs At the entrance to the Women’s house, custom has it that a pot of water, flowers and bamboo sticks are arranged in a typical way and leave adorn the entrance for good luck. One tradition of a Buddhist wedding is visiting a Lama (Buddhist priest), who can help the groom figure out whether his and his bride’s horoscopes are a match for getting married. This guides the groom in choosing what day is spiritually right for proposing to the bride. There are no rules regarding official attire, just guidelines. The bride must choose a gown that is not too revealing and the groom wears a suit. They also have the choice to wear the official dress of their religion or country. Ceremony The night before the wedding there is a traditional Buddhist ceremony. During this, the bride and groom to be pay tribute to the bride’s ancestors. Nine monks are invited to perform a ritual that begins the marriage process. On the morning of the wedding the monks arrive at the wedding venue and prayers are said as holy water is thrown on the guests. After prayers are over the newlyweds present each monk with an envelope of money. The ceremony consists of two parts, one being Buddhist and the other non-Buddhist. The non-Buddhist part of the ceremony consists of the traditional practices the family follows, this may include a feast or gift exchange. During the Buddhist component, prayers are offered along with gifts to the God and monks. This is when the couple takes vows of promise and faithfulness to each other. They choose which scriptures to read as well as any other traditions they would like to take part in. One special Buddhist tradition is that after the ceremony, the newlyweds walk down the aisle carrying 21 strands of beads each. This strand is called the o juju and represents Buddha, the couple and their families. Information sourced from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/ |