Buddhism - Cross-Cultural Nursing Database

Food culture taboos, etc.

In the past, meat eating was forbidden. This is because of the teaching of non-killing.
(wikipedia Forbidden garlic and garlic food, food taboos)

Other customs and culture

• Mahayana Buddhism is based on the idea of self-interest and altruism, that what is good for everyone is also good for oneself, by following the teachings for the sake of everyone else.
• Hinayana Buddhism held that only those with superior qualities could attain enlightenment through practice. They adhered to a monastic life, fixed interpretations of sutras, unchanging articles of precepts, and strict adherence to teachings for the sake of their own enlightenment.

(in Japanese history)An Easy Introduction to Buddhism)

Customs related to end of life, funerals and burials

• Cremation is the most common method (An Easy Introduction to Buddhism)
• Latter-day water: Latter-day water is a custom that originated from the wish for the deceased to come back to life and a prayer that they will not suffer from thirst in the afterlife.
• Yuban: Bathing and washing a corpse at the time of a funeral. In some cases, the body is simply wiped clean. If the deceased was male, the beard is shaved, and if female, death makeup is applied. (Wikipedia Yuban)
• Pillow Sutra: Originally, to avoid the anxiety of the dying, sutra chanting was performed at the bedside of the deceased to guide them through the process of death. Nowadays, it is one of the rituals performed immediately after death, and is meant to be the first time a sutra is recited to the deceased. In some religious sects, the sutra recitation is not performed. (Wikipedia Pillow Sutra)
• Sutra mail and obi: A white piece of mail with a mantra or sutra inscribed on it. In ancient times, it was made by female relatives, sewn by pulling each other, and the threads were not knotted. (Wikipedia Death Dressing)
• The origin of the "wake" is commonly attributed to a legend that after the death of the Buddha, his disciples, who were saddened by his death, protected his body and preached throughout the night. It is customary for the next of kin to accompany the deceased through the night until the funeral the next day. (Wikipedia: Wake)
• Picking up bones: The ceremony of placing cremated remains in an urn is called "picking up bones. It is also called "koneage," "shikotsu," or "kone pick-up. In order of relationship to the deceased, each person picks up a bone in pairs, each holding a pair of chopsticks. When the bones are placed in the urn, the chopsticks are handed over to the next person.

Others: ideas about causes of disease, coping strategies, etc.

• In Japan, interest in nursing education and hospice management is gradually emerging. Since 1997, Buddhist nursing has been included in basic nursing studies, and Buddhist scriptures such as the "Four Myriad Souls" and the "Common Languages" are studied. The "four immeasurable hearts" are the four elements of the Buddha's teachings. The "four immeasurable minds" are "compassion," "sorrow," "joy," and "renunciation," which are "giving comfort to others," "eliminating suffering," "taking pleasure in others' pleasure," and "wishing people to be who they are," and Buddhist nursing is based on this view of what human beings should be. Buddhist nursing is based on this view of the human condition, which is the ideal state of a human being.
• In clinical practice, it is difficult to answer a patient's question, "Why do I have to have cancer?" Through the Sanskrit word "upastha" (meaning "to stand by"), the attitude of standing by the patient and listening was passed down from Buddhist teachings to nursing.

("Modern Medicine and Religion," by Shigeaki Hinohara, published 1997, Iwanami Shoten)

Customs related to pregnancy and childbirth

Obi Celebration: On the "Day of the Dog" in the fifth month of pregnancy, pregnant women wrap a white cotton belly band called an "Iwata obi" around their abdomen. The reason why this ceremony is held on the "day of the dog" is to express the wish that dogs are fertile and that the delivery is light. It is also based on the Buddhist belief that dogs are the protectors of human spirits as they travel between this world and the next.