If you really want to honor and help your departed ones, then do some meritorious deeds in their name and transfer the merits to them. According to Buddhism, good deeds or ' acts of merit ' bring happiness to the doer both in this world and in the hereafter. Acts of merit are also believed to lead towards the final goal of everlasting happiness. The acts of merit can be performed through body, speech or mind.
Every good deed produces 'merit' which accumulates to the ' credit ' of the doer.
Buddhism also teaches that the acquired merit can be transferred to others ' it can be shared vicariously with others. In other words, the merit is ' reversible ' and so can be shared with other persons. The persons who receive the merit can be either living or departed ones. The method for transferring merits is quite simple. First some good deeds are performed.