49 Days After Death in Buddhism: Meaning and Rituals

In many Buddhist traditions, the 49 days after a death are a transitional period between one life and the next. Families mark it with prayer, chanting, offerings and memorial services, often every seven days, with the largest service on the 49th day. The 49 days are seven cycles of seven days. The practice is strongest in Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, and it is understood differently from school to school.

Why do Buddhists observe 49 days?

The 49 days come from the idea of an intermediate state between death and rebirth. In Tibetan Buddhism it is called the bardo. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, or Bardo Thodol, describes the experiences a consciousness has there and is read aloud by a lama or monk for the person. According to the Huntington Archive's essay on the bardo, the stay is very short for some people and can last up to 49 days for others, depending on how well they understood death and trained for it in life.

Many Chinese and Japanese Buddhists describe the same span as seven periods of seven days. In Japanese Buddhist belief, the soul undergoes judgment every seven days, and its next rebirth is decided on the 49th day. The Japanese name for the 49th day is shijūkunichi, and the period itself is chūin. The 49 days give the family a structure for grieving, praying and doing good in the person's name.

How do different Buddhist traditions treat the 49 days?

Traditions differ on what the period means and how much the living can do, so it helps to know which tradition your family follows.

Within each tradition, practice also varies by country and by temple. A temple priest, monk or lama is the best person to ask.

What happens on the seven-day marks?

Most families who follow the cycle gather for prayers on the 7th day and then on each seventh day after that. In Chinese tradition, prayers are said every seven days for the 49 days. Many families now hold only some of these services, often the first seventh day and the 49th, because of work, distance and cost. This is accepted in many communities, and the sincerity of the prayers counts for more than the exact number of services.

A typical seven-day observance may include:

• chanting of sutras or the name of a Buddha, by family or a monastic
• offerings of incense, light, flowers, fruit or water
• a short talk or prayer by a priest, monk or teacher
• dedication of the merit of these acts to the person who has died

What happens on the 49th day?

The 49th day is usually the main service. It is the day the intermediate state is said to end. In Japan it is called kiake, meaning the end of mourning. A temporary altar is replaced by a permanent memorial tablet, called an ihai, and mourning restrictions on celebrations are lifted. Extended family gather for a memorial service. Many Japanese families also send return gifts, called kōden-gaeshi, to those who gave condolence money.

Temples sometimes cannot hold the service on the exact day, so services are often held a little earlier. Ask the temple what it recommends.

How do you observe the 49 days at home?

Many families set up a small altar. Most include a photo of the person, a candle or lamp, incense and fresh offerings such as fruit, flowers or water. Ask your temple what is customary, as the details vary by tradition.

Other common practices include:

• Daily prayer or chanting, for example the Heart Sutra, the Amitabha Sutra or the Kṣitigarbha Sutra in many Mahayana communities. A temple or teacher can suggest texts and show you how to recite them.
• Dedicating merit. After chanting or doing a good deed, you make a short dedication so that its benefit goes to the person. Good deeds include giving to charity, donating to a temple, supporting the monastic community or offering food to monks.
• Vegetarian meals. Some families keep a vegetarian diet for the 49 days, or on the seven-day observances only. This is a family or temple choice and not a rule for all Buddhists.

If you want a teacher to lead you, ask your local temple, a Buddhist center or a monastic. Many offer to perform the services or arrange them for you.

Can the living really help the person who has died?

Most Buddhist traditions teach that the person's own karma, meaning the results of what they did in life, matters most. Many also teach that the living can help by making merit and dedicating it to the person. Teachers often describe this as supporting the person, not buying a better rebirth. You do not need to hold a particular belief about the mechanism to take part. For many families the practice also gives grief a shape, because there are things to do each week.

Jodo Shinshu, a Pure Land school, takes a different view. One Jodo Shinshu temple states that it does not accept that observances during the 49 days benefit the person who has died. Its temples still hold memorial services, and they describe them as an opportunity for the living to hear the teaching and remember the person, rather than as a way to change the person's fate.

What if we cannot hold the services?

Many families cannot gather every seven days. Sincere prayer matters more than perfect timing, and most temples and teachers will say the same. If you miss a day, you can chant, light incense or make a donation in the person's name on the next day. If you live far from a temple, you can ask one to hold the services for you. Some temples also accept requests to dedicate prayers for a person, sometimes with an offering to the temple.

What comes after the 49 days?

Many families, especially in Chinese traditions, hold a service on the 100th day, and many mark yearly anniversaries. In Japan the later memorials follow fixed schedules that your temple can explain. If you are planning the ashes, see our guide on what to do with ashes, and for help with later milestones, see our guide on anniversary memorials.

What should guests do?

If you are invited to a 49th day service or a seven-day observance:

• Dress simply and modestly, usually in dark or plain clothing, and avoid bright colors. Ask the family if they have a preference.
• Follow the family's lead. You can bow, place your hands together and stay quiet during chanting. You do not need to chant if you do not know the words.
• In Japan, bring condolence money or an offering if that is the family's custom. Ask the family or the temple.
• Offer simple words of support, and avoid discussing rebirth or the person's fate unless the family raises it.

For more on Buddhist funerals in general, see our guide to Buddhist funeral traditions.

What to do next

1. Ask the family's temple, monk, priest or lama which tradition they follow and what they recommend for the 49 days.
2. Decide which observances you will hold. The first seventh day and the 49th day are the most common.
3. Set up a small altar with a photo, light, incense and offerings, and choose a time to chant or pray each day.
4. Plan the 49th day service with the temple, including the date, the people you will invite and any meal or offering.