user7792: A Buddhist, when dead, is most of the time cremated and not buried. Does this have to do with anything in the teachings of the Buddha? As far as I know, burying a body is more Eco-friendly than cremation. I share with you one of the best answers given by the legendary Neil deGrasse Tyson :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afGkv0IT4dU

user295: In historic times it was a practice to wrap the body in a cloth and throw it into the forest or designated grave ward. The clothes used to wrap the body was used to stitch robes. Also the pratice of doing cemetry contemplation was based on such disposed bodies.
Creation is a more cultural evolution than being Buddhist at least in the Theravada perspective, i.e., Buddhist do not have a particular way as to bury or cremate. This pratice has come among Buddhist perhaps due to Hindu and Indian influence and customs. See: search on hindu funeral pyre
For more on this see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_ground
Buddhism Practices : Buddhist funeral rites this is the pratice in Sri Lanka, I a not sure if the pratice is the same in other Theravada countries.


user254: That answer in the video has a parallel in Sky burial where the body is exposed in the wilderness to be eaten by birds and animals.
That practice is unpopular (and, more to the point, illegal) in countries which don't have enough wilderness etc.
Cremation is a standard practice in India and, apparently, was the practice in the Buddha's time. The Maha-parinibbana Sutta ends with the monks telling the local society to do as they see fit (which included cremation).
I think there is a "religious" aspect to it: a Christian might believe in resurrection of the body and therefore want their body buried instead of destroyed. A Buddhist is more likely to see the body as impermanent and not-self (on the other hand Buddhists do collect relics, see e.g. here and here).
As for ecology I suppose that burial is more carbon-neutral, but it takes land, cemeteries run out of space.

user111: To add to the answers already given, cremation was considered as the respectful way of disposing of the dead. All Buddhas and Cakkavatti kings of the past were said to be cremated. You wouldn't want a body of a virtuous being to be put underground and subject it to disrespectful situations like people walking above, animals digging up body parts, worms working on it, people/animals defecating or urinating above it etc.
Even when they are alive, you always offer high places to them as a form of respect. So the traditional Buddhists are disinclined on putting them underground for the sake of a plant since the event is about paying respect, rather than an opportunity to feed a tree.

7792: <p>A Buddhist, when dead, is most of the time cremated and not buried. Does this have to do with anything in the teachings of the Buddha? As far as I know, burying a body is more Eco-friendly than cremation. I share with you one of the best answers given by the legendary Neil deGrasse Tyson :) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afGkv0IT4dU" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afGkv0IT4dU</a></p>
 295: <p>In historic times it was a practice to wrap the body in a cloth and throw it into the forest or designated grave ward. The clothes used to wrap the body was used to stitch robes. Also the pratice of doing cemetry contemplation was based on such disposed bodies.</p>

<p>Creation is a more cultural evolution than being Buddhist at least in the Theravada perspective, i.e., Buddhist do not have a particular way as to bury or cremate. This pratice has come among Buddhist perhaps due to Hindu and Indian influence and customs. See: <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=hindu%20funeral%20pyre" rel="nofollow">search on hindu funeral pyre</a></p>

<p>For more on this see:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyre" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyre</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_ground" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_ground</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.maithri.com/articles_new/Buddhism_Practices_Buddhist_funeral_rites.htm" rel="nofollow">Buddhism Practices : Buddhist funeral rites</a> this is the pratice in Sri Lanka, I a not sure if the pratice is the same in other Theravada countries.</li>
</ul>
 254: <p>That answer in the video has a parallel in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial" rel="nofollow">Sky burial</a> where the body is exposed in the wilderness to be eaten by birds and animals.</p>

<p>That practice is unpopular (and, more to the point, illegal) in countries which don't have enough wilderness etc.</p>

<p>Cremation is a standard practice in India and, apparently, was the practice in the Buddha's time. The Maha-parinibbana Sutta ends with the monks telling the local society to do as they see fit (which included cremation).</p>

<p>I think there is a "religious" aspect to it: a Christian might believe in <a href="http://www.catholic.com/tracts/resurrection-of-the-body" rel="nofollow">resurrection of the body</a> and therefore want their body buried instead of destroyed. A Buddhist is more likely to see the body as impermanent and not-self (on the other hand Buddhists do collect relics, see e.g. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Aar%C4%ABra" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_associated_with_Buddha" rel="nofollow">here</a>).</p>

<p>As for ecology I suppose that burial is more carbon-neutral, but it takes land, cemeteries run out of space.</p>
 111: <p>To add to the answers already given, cremation was considered as the respectful way of disposing of the dead. All Buddhas and Cakkavatti kings of the past were said to be cremated. You wouldn't want a body of a virtuous being to be put underground and subject it to disrespectful situations like people walking above, animals digging up body parts, worms working on it, people/animals defecating or urinating above it etc.</p>

<p>Even when they are alive, you always offer high places to them as a form of respect. So the traditional Buddhists are disinclined on putting them underground for the sake of a plant since the event is about paying respect, rather than an opportunity to feed a tree.</p>
