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Why Is There a Mummified Monk Inside This Ancient Buddha Statue?
Modern science has revealed a human skeleton inside a Chinese artefact that is around 1,000 years old.
Using a CT scanner and a special endoscope, a team of Dutch scientists studied a Buddha statue that dates back to between A.D. 1050 and 1150, describing it as their “oldest patient ever.”
They confirmed that there’s a mummified monk inside the statue, which had been on display at the Drents Museum in Assen.
The remains are thought to belong to a Buddhist monk called Master Liuquan, the NL Times reported. Among the internal samples were scraps of paper with ancient Chinese characters.
RT @usupera: Robs Webstek: Buddha Statue with Mummy in Hospital http://t.co/Z9opgDk6nV pic.twitter.com/mK8BICoHk5
— OnLineMan (@onlineman) February 21, 2015
This may be an example of self-mummification based on a torturous ritual that was prevalent about 1,000 years ago, but got banned in the 19th century, according to Ancient Origins.
Basically a monk would slowly starve himself for several years, and then eventually go into a meditative state inside a tiny tomb in which he died.
The statue has since been taken to the National Museum of Natural History in Budapest, Hungary, where it will stay until May.
Another mummified meditating monk was recently found in Mongolia, and is said to be in a spiritual state called “tukdam,” which means that he is not actually dead.
www.visiontimes.com
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