Thai funerals usually follow Buddhist funerary rites, with variations in practice depending on the culture of the region.
While variations exist among the cultures of Thailand's different regions, most Buddhist funerals generally include the same common basic features.
[1] The coffin is then placed on display for merit making, and daily rites are held, with monks invited to chant the Abhidhamma.
An important ritual during such funeral rites is bangsukun (บังสุกุล, from Pali paṃsukūla)—the offering of cloth to monks on behalf of the dead.
Each chanting ceremony may be sponsored by a family member or friend who pays for refreshments and gifts (cloth, etc) to the monks.
The body is finally disposed of in a cremation ceremony, which takes place at a temple's crematorium (called men (เมรุ) in Thai for their symbolisation of Mount Meru).
[2] Royal sponsorship of funerals may be granted by the king, usually to government officials and high-ranking members of the country's honours system.
While the lying-in-state for government officials and retired military and police personnel last from either 2 weeks to 5–7 months, the lying-in-state for senior members of the Buddhist clergy can last from 6–8 months to two years, with Buddhist services led by monks with prayers made while using the pha yong or memorial ribbon attached to the urn held 3 to 4 times a day with chanting by 4 monks (for lay funerals) or 8 for clergical funerals also being performed.