Green Burial and Tibetan Buddhism

Sky burial — offering the body to vultures on a charnel ground — is the most famous Tibetan funeral tradition. In Western countries, open-air excarnation conflicts with public-health and corpse-handling laws, and attracting protected wild vultures is prohibited. That leaves diaspora families with a question: if the spiritual intent of jhator is returning the body to nature as a final act of generosity, what lawful alternatives honor that same principle?

Green burial is the closest parallel available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. And the philosophical alignment runs deeper than most families initially realize.

Why Sky Burial and Green Burial Share the Same Root

Jhator evolved on the Tibetan Plateau for practical reasons — permafrost made digging graves impossible, and timber scarcity made cremation expensive. But the tradition wrapped those constraints in a profound spiritual framework: the body is an empty vessel after the consciousness departs, and offering it to feed living creatures is an act of supreme generosity (dana) and non-attachment.

Green burial rests on a strikingly similar foundation. The body is returned to the earth without chemical preservation, without a sealed vault, without materials designed to slow decomposition. It decomposes naturally, feeding soil organisms and supporting plant growth. The body nourishes life, just as it would nourish vultures in jhator.

The key theological compatibility:

Non-attachment to the physical body. Tibetan Buddhism teaches that clinging to the body after death — by the deceased or by the family — obstructs the consciousness's passage through the bardo. Embalming, elaborate caskets, and sealed burial vaults all represent a form of material preservation that runs counter to this principle. Green burial explicitly rejects preservation in favor of natural return.

No chemical intervention. Traditional Vajrayana practice strongly discourages embalming. Formaldehyde is believed to block the subtle energy channels. Confirm the natural burial ground's embalming policy in advance; avoiding chemical preservation can align with the Tibetan Buddhist preference.

Simplicity. The body is wrapped in a biodegradable shroud — cotton, linen, or wool. In Tibetan practice, the body is traditionally wrapped in white cotton. A green burial in a simple white cotton shroud meets both the ecological and the religious requirements simultaneously.

How to Arrange a Green Burial for a Tibetan Buddhist

The critical constraint is timing. Tibetan Buddhist body handling rules require that the body remain undisturbed for hours after death while phowa is performed and the consciousness departs. Confirm in advance that the funeral home, natural burial ground, and local requirements can accommodate that no-touch and cold-storage plan.

The practical sequence:

1. Complete the phowa and body preparation rituals according to Vajrayana protocol — the no-touch period, consecrated saffron water washing, anointing with camphor and dudtsi, placement of the Takdrol mandala and sacred items on the body
2. Wrap the body in a white cotton or linen shroud — this serves as both the traditional Tibetan burial cloth and the green burial shroud. If using a biodegradable casket (wicker, bamboo, or untreated wood), place a white khata beneath the body inside it
3. Keep sacred items with the body. Ask the natural burial ground which biodegradable items it permits. A paper Takdrol mandala, seed syllable markings (written directly on the body), and cotton prayer flags may be acceptable; metal items like a Five Families Crown would need to be removed.
4. Transport to the natural burial ground on the day and at the direction specified by the astrologer's death horoscope
5. The burial itself can include prayer recitation by the lama — chanting the Akshobhya mantra, reciting from the Bardo Thodol, or performing a final dedication of merit at the graveside

Where Green Burial Is Available

Green burial options have expanded significantly:

• US: The Green Burial Council certifies natural burial grounds across the country; availability varies by state.
• UK: Natural burial grounds operate in many parts of the UK; confirm availability locally.
• Canada: Natural burial availability and requirements vary by province; dedicated sites include examples in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
• Australia: Natural burial sections exist in cemeteries in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
• New Zealand: Several natural burial cemeteries operate across both islands.

Costs vary by cemetery. Savings may come from no embalming, no vault, and minimal casket expense, but families should compare local prices. The body in a shroud, in the ground, returned to earth.

What About the 49-Day Obligations?

Green burial does not prevent the family's post-disposition ritual observances. The 49-day bardo cycle — the daily sur offerings, the continuous butter lamp, the water bowls, the weekly memorial ceremonies — can continue after burial, with details guided by the family's lama or lineage. The family's practices are tied to the consciousness's journey through the bardo, not to the state of the physical remains.

The one consideration: families who want to press tsa tsas (clay memorial tablets incorporating ashes) will not have cremated remains to work with. An alternative practice is to take a small amount of soil from the burial site for use in the tsa tsa mixture, though this is a modern adaptation rather than a traditional practice. Some families commission tsa tsas using blessed substances (dudtsi, mandala sand) without any physical remains at all.

When Green Burial Isn't the Right Choice

Not every Tibetan Buddhist family will prefer green burial. Cremation is a common choice in the diaspora because it mirrors the traditional cremation practice in Tibetan regions where sky burial is not available. Cremation also produces ashes that can be mixed into tsa tsas, scattered at sacred sites, or enshrined in a stupa — all deeply meaningful practices.

The choice between green burial and cremation is a family decision, ideally discussed in advance and documented in a spiritual care directive. What matters most is that the phowa is performed, the body handling protocols are followed, and the 49-day bardo support continues regardless of how the physical body is laid to rest.

Sky burial teaches that the body is a gift to give away. Green burial is one way to honor that teaching within the laws and landscapes where diaspora families actually live.