David Bowie’s ashes in Buddhist ritual
Just a few weeks ago David Bowie, the famous English singer who made a huge impact in the rock music industry, passed away. David Bowie was once a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner. Although he did not openly practice, his deep interest in Buddhism resulted in a clause in his will for his ashes to be spread according to the Buddhist rituals of Bali, Indonesia.
Death is a part of our lives and for Buddhists, it is THE most important moment in our life as we do not know where we will take rebirth after this life has ended. Although David Bowie was not involved much in Buddhism, I find this fact interesting and perhaps he had deep faith in the Dharma when he made preparations for his death.
I pray that whatever merits he collected in this life may lead him to a good and fortunate rebirth where he will have excellent conditions to practice the Dharma.
Tsem Rinpoche
David Bowie’s ashes to be spread in Bali “in accordance with the Buddhist rituals”
By Justin Whitaker | January 30, 2016
As discussed here earlier this month, one of the many lives of David Bowie was as a Buddhist practitioner and later a devoted patron of Tibetan culture and the cause of Tibetan independence. As reported then, however, the late singer’s 1960s fascination with Buddhism was unclear – perhaps mirroring many people’s interest in Buddhism at the time – “Despite Bowie’s deep interest in Buddhism, he had no sympathy with the hippy package [that came with it]” wrote Sean O’Hagen of the Guardian in 2013. And quoting Bowie’s own words:
“I was young, fancy free, and Tibetan Buddhism appealed to me at that time. I thought, ‘There’s salvation.’ It didn’t really work. Then I went through Nietzsche, Satanism, Christianity… pottery, and ended up singing. It’s been a long road.”
However, as the NYTimes reports, David Bowie vacationed with Iggy Pop in Bali in the 1980s and the place apparently stuck with him. As did his appreciation for Buddhism, though not necessarily the Tibetan Buddhism of his youthful visit to Scotland, as his will specifies that his ashes be spread according to the “Buddhist rituals of Bali.”
It’s not clear what exactly those rituals were though, as Bali’s population is overwhelmingly Hindu (83.5%) with just 0.5% of the population following Buddhism. However, Buddhism has a long history in Bali and surrounding areas and Wesak, the day commemorating the Buddha’s birth, awakening, and death, is a national holiday in Indonesia. Given the long history of Buddhism in the area, census numbers alone cannot measure the depth and breadth of the impact of the religion in Bali. As Ven S. Dhammika writes of Buddhism in Bali,
“The last census in 1989 showed that there were 13,274 Buddhists in Bali, nearly all of them either ethnic Chinese or people from other parts of Indonesia. I visited [two temples] and was sad to see that the monks in them did little more than conduct rituals and do blessings for the people who came. I was invited to the homes of several Buddhists and was treated with the greatest respect but it was very clear that my hosts knew little about the Dhamma. They all acknowledged their ignorance and seemed to have a genuine desire to know more but as they all said, there was no one to teach them.”
Today a number of Buddhist centers can be found on Bali:
Present-day Buddhist temples on Bali have been built in large part by Bali’s Chinese residents, the majority of Bali’s 20,000 Buddhists. Just as in Bali Hinduism, they believe that making offerings of canang (flowers) and gebogan (fruit bouquet) will bring them peace and prosperity. An International nondenominational Buddhist organization, The Bali Buddhist Community (BBC), holds morning and evening meditation sessions, hosts occasional Buddhist events and arranges talks on Buddhism by guest teachers and scholars. Their temple Vihara Buddha Dharma on Jl. Sunset Road in Seminyak, built in 2007, is open to Buddhists and anyone else who would like to join the Sunday services or weekly study class.
Vihara Dharmayana Kuta, once known as the Leeng Gwan Kuta Temple, just east of Kuta, was built to honor Tan Hu Cin Jin, a Chinese nobleman and multifaceted architect who served the raja of Mengwi. Monks and religious figures from foreign countries, including His Majesty Dalai Lama in 1982, have visited the monastery. Run by the Buddhist Dharma Semadi Foundation whose Balinese and Buddhist members have formed a banjar (Balinese-style village council), organize social activities together and arrange teaching programs for Hindu students.
Other Buddhist temples on Bali include: Vihara Buddha Guna on Jl. Raya Bualu Ungusan in Nusa Dua; Vihara Buddha Sakyamuni off Jl. Gunung Agung in Kerobokan; Vihãra Dharmagiri in Pupuan in Tabanan; Vihara Seng Heng Bio on Jl. Pulau Flores in Negara. Other Buddhist temples are located in Denpasar and in Singaraja in the north of the island built by the Thai and Indonesian governments in 1971.
A working Buddhist monastery, the Brahma Vihara Arama in Desa Banjar in the Buleleng District of north Bali is the island’s largest Buddhist monastery. Located about 90 kilometers north of Denpasar, this hilltop vihara was founded by a Buddhist monk who was a noted practitioner of the Vipassana breathing technique of meditation.
This storybook monastery, with its gleaming orange roof, gold leaf Buddha images, raksasa demon gate guardians, stupa with Buddha eyes, temple bell from Thailand, a specimen of the Bo tree of enlightenment and exuberant wood carved panels depicting Buddhist fables, is a dazzling and heady mix of Balinese Hindu and Buddhist components.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/david-bowie-ashes-buddhist-monastery.mp4
Plans are already underway for a popular culture and philosophy book discussing the Philosophical Impact of David Bowie.
Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/americanbuddhist/2016/01/david-bowies-ashes-to-be-spread-in-bali-in-accordance-with-the-buddhist-rituals.html
For more interesting topics:
The Simpsons Co-Creator Sam does what?
Reading Quantum Physics made me a Buddhist
Boy George is Buddhist and proud!
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Thank you so much Rinpoche, for sharing this interesting post.All about
David Bowie been a Buddhist had made a wish when he passed away his ashes to be spread in Bali “in accordance with the Buddhist rituals”.There is quite a number of Buddhist temples in Bali and David Bowie visited the temple there. Buddhism has a long history in Bali and his visits there had a huge impact on him and he realize what he wanted.Death is a part of our lives and it is most important moment in our life as we do not know where we will take rebirth after this life has ended.Hence have faith in Dharma and prepare for our death.
Thanks again,with folded hands.
This is interesting to read about David Bowie’s journey with Buddhism, in fact from reading the story of David Bowie I learnt about ‘Satusoma’ a buddhist warrior, who is a hero for the Balinese people.
David Bowie’s final wish as stated in his will was for his ashes to be spread according to the Buddhist rituals in Bali. This certainly displayed his deep interest in “Buddhism”, and had deep faith in the Dharma, even at his last breath! Buddhism has been around for thousands of years – being one of the oldest religion in the World. More and more people the world over and from all walks of life, are becoming more aware of Buddhism as a suitable way of life -so do many of the compassionate famous-rich and the star-studded celebrities. Compassion is a way of life for Buddhism – It brings harmony, peace and happiness to all beings, including animals, as many Lamas stated. Thank you so much Rinpoche, for sharing this interesting post with us. We will certainly join you in prayers for good merits to be bestowed to David Bowie for a good and favourable rebirth with excellent conditions to practice the Buddhadharma. Om Mani Padme Hung.
Looks like Buddhism created a significant impact on David Bowie. The fact that David Bowie went on to explore other religions show that he was seeking for answers beyond the mundane secular life. Perhaps a deeper meaning to life and what life is all about.
I guess this was reflected in his music and style as he was always challenging and going beyond the norms of the music and fashion industry. Regardless of how famous and iconic a person was, all of us end up the same. Hence, the importance of studying, understanding and practicing the profundity of Buddhism so that we can prepare for our future lives.
Journalist George Tremlett and Bowie’s housemate/lover Mary Finnigan attested that Bowie was serious about Buddhism, speaking to them for hours about it.
According to David Bowie himself,“When I was about nineteen I became an overnight Buddhist. At that age a very influential book for me was called “Seven Years In Tibet”…[Harrer] was one of the very first Westerners to ever spend any time in Tibet; in fact, one of the very first Westerners actually to go into Tibet and discover for himself this extraordinary existence and this incredibly sublime philosophy.”
“Silly Boy Blue,” Bowie’s first Buddhist song, was inspired by Harrer’s descriptions of Lhasa and the Dalai Lama’s winter palace of Potala, the song opening with the yak-butter statues made for celebration days.
Apart from David Bowie, Buddhism is espoused by many celebrities apart from film stars, including popular musicians Leonard Cohen, Herbie Hancock, and Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, and sports stars such as the coach of the Chicago Bulls, Phil Jackson and many more. Here is a list of some of famous Hollywood Buddhists: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/current-affairs/celebrity-buddhists.html