[Buddha-l] Name of the deceased

Alex Wilding alex at chagchen.org
Mon Sep 1 17:40:27 MDT 2008


Just yesterday I heard that in Tibetan culture there is a tradition that the
name of a recently deceased person is not used - the deceased is referred to
obliquely as, for example "Tashi's mother".
I had never heard of anything like this before. Is that because my
familiarity is limited (which indeed it is)? Or is it a regional thing? Or
what? How long does this apply? It's obvious that the Tibetans are not
generally reluctant to talk about the dead in the way that, for instance,
Australian aboriginals are.
I'd be grateful for any clarification from any of you (CF?) who have
extensive personal experience of Tibetan culture, so thanks in advance.
                                    
All the best
Alex Wilding




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