Understanding Patient Care in Buddhist Culture

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uncomfortable with silences and tend to fill them with words, making small talk”(Galanti) but in this case it is respectful to the patients care. (Keown)
Space
The space in which a patient from the Buddhist culture occupies should be a very peaceful and calm environment with family surrounding them to have the most serene death as possible. As I stated in the paragraph above, Meditation and scriptures are very important in the Buddhist culture and having an unclouded mind. Prayers can be recited for multiple years leading up to a person death and once it comes to the time of death silence is to be accompanied while completing the distinctive practices of transferring consciousness. The family and health care providers should not disturb the …show more content…

This is a public ceremony where lay people will often come to serve food to the monks and in return they will chant from the scriptures to dedicate to the ancestors of the lay patrons. In their culture this is believed to benefit the dead in the afterlife allowing them to be reborn as a human being again or even a God. The monks are there to fulfill their role as guides and protectors for the people, in this life, and after.
Time
Words in the Buddhist culture that signify time are “Samaya, Kala, and Ksana”(Oxford journals). Samaya means coming together at an appointed or proper time and Kala can signify time of death or “one has passed his late hour” (Miyamoto). In Buddhism, it is believed that the past and the future do not have an existence but rather the present does therefore time is eternal without a beginning or end. In this culture, it is believed to be born over and over again going form life to death to new life in a continuous cycle.
Environmental …show more content…

When it comes to the Buddhist culture death is a subject that comes up very often and is prepared for all throughout their life. It is seen that they want the most peaceful care they can receive to pass on in happiness and into their afterlife. One they have completed their transition into the afterlife it is important to have family and culture support but also silence to respect the next steps in the patient’s life.
Works Cited
Bregman, L. (Ed.). (2010). Religion, death, and dying. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libproxy.boisestate.edu
Galanti, G.-A. (2008).Caring for patients from different cultures (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press
Giger, J. N., & Davidhizar, R.E. (2002, July 1). The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment Model. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3), pp 185-188. doi: 10.1177/10459602013003004
Miyamoto, Shoson (2007). "Time and Eternity in Buddhism". Journal of Bible and religion (0885-2758), 27 (2), p. 118.
Smith-Stoner,M. (2008). End-of-life-needs of patients who practice Tibetan Buddhism. Journal Of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 7(4), 228-234.
Keown, D. (Sep 10, 2007). End of Life: The Buddhist View. Viewpoint Journal, 336.

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