Buddhist Wedding

Buddhist wedding 

Buddhist wedding ceremony is very simple and not involved more ritual and traditional followings. The bride and groom and their family members put faith in marriage and the relation between the couple. They keep faith on God and follow less religious rituals.

Traditions of Buddhist marriage performed in two ways. One is Buddhist component and non-Buddhist component. In Buddhist component, the wedding ceremony held before the idol of Buddha and offer the prayers to Lord Buddha and distribute wedding gifts to the monks. The non-Buddhist component, the bride and groom families accompanied and follow the wedding traditions practices. In ancient period the monk’s presence at a Buddhist wedding was not considered good. So that they didn’t participate in the marriage ceremony Since they required to be present at funerals. Buddhist marriage ceremony is customarily conducted in a temple. These days Buddhist monks also presenting at the ceremony but leave for lunch as soon as the marriage completed.

Rituals of Buddhist Marriage

The Buddhist wedding based mostly on the horoscope matching. After matching the horoscope of both parties the boy’s family consult Lama for an auspicious day for putting the proposal of the marriage. Later in bride’s family, the maternal uncle of the bride seated on a platform and offer prayers to Buddha. Then the priest chants some mantras and gives him and the whole family a holy drink.  Then the astrologer fixes the date for the wedding.

Buddhist Wedding Vows

Mostly the Buddhist wedding ceremony conducts in the Buddhist temples. On the wedding day, the bride, bridegroom, family members and friends attend at the temple and bow in front of Buddha image. After that, the couple recites certain prayers and light incense sticks in front of the Buddha image. Then the elders of both families put a loop of strings to the couple heads and unite them. During this time they promised the wedding vows before Lord Buddha. After the ritual, the couple offers to the monks such as food, sweets and some medicines. Then the priest of the temple recites some chantings in Pali language and applies a red paste on the foreheads of the bride and groom.

The Buddhist marriage has been changing according to the changes in the society. First, the monks did not attend to the marriage, only attend the funerals but now the same monks play an important role in the Buddhist Wedding.