According to TMZ, late comedian and actor Garry Shandling was a devout Buddhist and asked to be posthumously honored as a monk at his upcoming funeral.
The entertainment news and gossip site reports Jewish-born Shandling, who died suddenly a week ago at age 66, made private funeral arrangements before his death with the help of a trusted employee.
TMZ reports Shandling wished to be dressed casually at his funeral, where he will achieve monk status by having his shaved during the ceremony by another monk.
Shandling will then be interred with a card that outlines the “Five Precepts of Buddha.”
It is not clear if the former Larry Sanders Show star will be buried or cremated, as both options are acceptable in the Buddist faith.
Food will be served afterward—as requested by Sanders—and those who were closest to him will begin a 49-day Buddhist mourning period.
Garry Shandling died on March 24 after calling an ambulance to his Los Angeles home.
He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His cause of death has not been immediately determined, although TMZ reported Shandling might have suffered a heart attack.
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