CT can reveals mummified monk meditating forever within a Buddha statue
33 replies, posted
[QUOTE]A mummified monk was found meditating inside a Buddha statue, according to Robs Webstek. Although it was already known that a skeleton was inside the relic, the CT scan proves the remains inside the Buddha statue date back to between 1050 to 1150 C.E., and the other findings prove to whom the remains belong.
Said to be the remains of the Buddhist monk known as Master Liuquan from the Chinese Meditation School, according to the Nederland Times, this important monk reportedly lived during 1100 C.E.
Both the skeleton and Buddha statue were displayed as part of a Drents Museum exhibition on mummies in 2014, and it was the first time the relic has been seen outside of China since it was discovered.
According to the Nederland Times, Reinoud Vermeijden, gastrointestinal and liver doctor, Ben Heggelman, radiologist and other hospital employees, did the research on the meditating monk in the Buddha statue, which included the CT and an endoscopic exam at Meander Medical Centre in their free time.
Buddhist art and cultural expert, Erik Bruijn, from Amersfoort, headed up the study.
An endoscopic exam consists of inserting a camera inside the body via a small incision. In this case, the hospital staff inserted the endoscopic probe into the thoracic and abdominal cavities, or the torso and abdomen, of the mummified monk.
To everyone’s astonishment, the probe revealed “rotten material, paper scraps that were printed with ancient Chinese characters,” and that all took the place of where the internal organs should have been.
Speculation is that the organs were removed prior to mummification and enclosure in the statue, and researchers took samples of a material they have not yet been able to identify.
[/QUOTE]
Source:
[URL="http://www.inquisitr.com/1862893/mummified-monk-inside-buddha-statue-meditating-forever-ct-reveals/"]http://www.inquisitr.com/1862893/mummified-monk-inside-buddha-statue-meditating-forever-ct-reveals/[/URL]
[QUOTE]The Drents Museum literature asks visitors whether the monk self-mummified, stating that self-mummification was “not unusual” for Asian monks to undertake.[/QUOTE]
What the fuck.
How would one self-mummify?
[QUOTE=_Axel;47190691]What the fuck.
How would one self-mummify?[/QUOTE]
[quote]Mummifying yourself is not a thing you do on the spur of the moment, especially in Japan's humid climates. In fact, there is a 3,000-day "training" process for turning an ordinary ascetic's body into a mummy's. The key element of the process is dietary; Japanese ascetics would commonly abstain from cereals, removing wheat, rice, foxtail millet, pros so millet, and soybeans. Instead, they would eat things like nuts, berries, pine needles, tree bark, and resin (which is why the diet of the sokushinbutsu was called mokujikyo, or "tree-eating." Over time, the diet would become more restrictive, starving the body of nutrients and eliminating the fat and moisture that can encourage bodily decay after death; X-rays of sokushinbutsu have even shown river stones in the guts of mummies. Jeremiah suggests that, beyond the weight loss, some aspects of the diet may have helped with the preservation of the body after death. For example, certain herbs and toxic cycad nuts may have inhibited bacterial growth. And at least some sokushinbutsu are said to have drunk a tea made from urushi, the sap of Toxicodendron vernicifluum, which is typically used to make lacquer. In addition to facilitating vomiting, the urushi may have functioned as a sort of embalming fluid, rendering the body toxic to potential flesh-eating invaders.
Once the ascetic was prepared to attempt to become a sokushinbutsu, it's said he would step into a tiny burial chamber and has himself buried alive, with a small opening to allow air inside the chamber. There he would sit, chanting sutra and ringing a bell to signal that he was still alive. Once the bell stopped ringing, the chamber would be completely sealed, and after three years it would be opened again to see if the attempt at self-mummification proved successful.[/quote]
[url]http://io9.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564[/url]
[QUOTE=_Axel;47190691]What the fuck.
How would one self-mummify?[/QUOTE]
You don't have to be dead to be mummified.
Which is wicked scary when you think about it.
I could just imagine someone having that in their home as a decoration and one day it gets knocked over and smashed open to reveal a human skeleton.
How did they fit the statue inside the can?
It's unbelievable how they self-mummify themselves through a special diet, and are perfectly preserved (if they prepared and trained properly) in their death meditation pose. Pretty neat. I saw a pic on the reddit article about this of a 200 year old monk that was perfectly preserved with no wrappings or encasing, they really had a lot of commitment to go through with this.
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;47190715][url]http://io9.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564[/url][/QUOTE]
Huh, I thought it included removing your own organs.
That's not much better, though.
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;47190715][url]http://io9.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564[/url][/QUOTE]
Any claustrophobic people in this thread? That seems pretty scary to me. Like being buried alive in a coffin but with even less room to move around, especially with your head being sealed within the statue's head.
apparently they are quite interested in his anus
[t]http://i.imgur.com/kOBb7X9.jpg[/t]
[t]http://i.imgur.com/hNNb8Wi.jpg[/t]
[t]http://i.imgur.com/3Kc9L9H.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;47190715][url]http://io9.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564[/url][/QUOTE]
[Quote]Once the ascetic was prepared to attempt to become a sokushinbutsu, it's said he would step into a tiny burial chamber and has himself buried alive, with a small opening to allow air inside the chamber. There he would sit, chanting sutra and ringing a bell to signal that he was still alive. Once the bell stopped ringing, the chamber would be completely sealed.[/quote]
I am freaking out a little bit right now. It must have been absolutely hellacious. Completely encased, unable to move an inch, barely able to breath, possibly for days? Nightmares incoming.
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;47190818]I am freaking out a little bit right now. It must have been absolutely hellacious. Completely encased, unable to move an inch, barely able to breath, possibly for days? Nightmares incoming.[/QUOTE]
I think it shows these people have been/are something completely incomprehensible to us when they are perfectly alright with this and found it a fitting end to their existence they underwent fully willingly. The sheer power of will and self control is absolutely awe inspiring to me.
Just imagine waking up one day and thinking "yeah fuck it, time to leave one spooky fucking corpse of myself".
That's pretty metal.
[editline]22nd February 2015[/editline]
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;47190818]I am freaking out a little bit right now. It must have been absolutely hellacious. Completely encased, unable to move an inch, barely able to breath, possibly for days? Nightmares incoming.[/QUOTE]
yes but think about it
you're a buddhist monk, your entire life is surrounded by the lifestyle of meditation, you've pretty much mastered being able to meditate for days and want to reach the next step. You have the pain tolerance of a stone wall. You want to dedicate your death entirely to what you lived by. Your corpse will be permanently stored in a statue, meditating forever. This is the perfect way to go for you. You're going to die soon anyways, why not do it grand?
You think that because you forget how massively dedicated people are to life styles like this (the [URL="http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/budist_monk_on_fire.jpg"]nsfw[/URL] famous "Man on fire" image)
people can do some wild things when they put their minds to it.
[QUOTE=Gwoodman;47190757]apparently they are quite interested in his anus
[t]http://i.imgur.com/kOBb7X9.jpg[/t]
[/QUOTE]
well thats something you don't see every day... a buddha statue in an MRI machine
The monks are fully willing when they do this though.
[QUOTE=Griffster26;47191019]The monks are fully willing when they do this though.[/QUOTE]
still, imagining doing it yourself is absolutely terrifying
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;47190715]Mummifying yourself is not a thing you do on the spur of the moment, especially in Japan's humid climates. In fact, there is a 3,000-day "training" process for turning an ordinary ascetic's body into a mummy's. The key element of the process is dietary; Japanese ascetics would commonly abstain from cereals, removing wheat, rice, foxtail millet, pros so millet, and soybeans. Instead, they would eat things like nuts, berries, pine needles, tree bark, and resin (which is why the diet of the sokushinbutsu was called mokujikyo, or "tree-eating." Over time, the diet would become more restrictive, starving the body of nutrients and eliminating the fat and moisture that can encourage bodily decay after death; X-rays of sokushinbutsu have even shown river stones in the guts of mummies. Jeremiah suggests that, beyond the weight loss, some aspects of the diet may have helped with the preservation of the body after death. For example, certain herbs and toxic cycad nuts may have inhibited bacterial growth. And at least some sokushinbutsu are said to have drunk a tea made from urushi, the sap of Toxicodendron vernicifluum, which is typically used to make lacquer. In addition to facilitating vomiting, the urushi may have functioned as a sort of embalming fluid, rendering the body toxic to potential flesh-eating invaders.
Once the ascetic was prepared to attempt to become a sokushinbutsu, it's said he would step into a tiny burial chamber and has himself buried alive, with a small opening to allow air inside the chamber. There he would sit, chanting sutra and ringing a bell to signal that he was still alive. Once the bell stopped ringing, the chamber would be completely sealed, and after three years it would be opened again to see if the attempt at self-mummification proved successful.
[url]http://io9.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564[/url][/QUOTE]
Somehow, all this talk about mummifying and bark-eating made me think of [B][I]Treeman[/I][/B]... :eng101:
[video=youtube;vTq7_vDe1Vw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTq7_vDe1Vw[/video]
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;47190851]I think it shows these people have been/are something completely incomprehensible to us when they are perfectly alright with this and found it a fitting end to their existence they underwent fully willingly. The sheer power of will and self control is absolutely awe inspiring to me.
Just imagine waking up one day and thinking "yeah fuck it, time to leave one spooky fucking corpse of myself".[/QUOTE]
Reminds me of that Tibetan monk who went through self-immolation in protest of something (I don't remember what, was it the Vietnam War or did it have something to do with China?). He just sat there in his meditation pose, not making a single sound as the flames consumed him. That's an amazing (and horrifying) display of willpower.
[QUOTE=Sableye;47190999]well thats something you don't see every day... a buddha statue in an MRI machine[/QUOTE]
It's not an MRI machine, it's a CT machine. Definitely weird though!
[QUOTE=Xenomoose;47191499]Reminds me of that Tibetan monk who went through self-immolation in protest of something (I don't remember what, was it the Vietnam War or did it have something to do with China?). He just sat there in his meditation pose, not making a single sound as the flames consumed him. That's an amazing (and horrifying) display of willpower.[/QUOTE]
Thích Quảng Đức did it in protest of Ngô Đình Diệm's Roman Catholic and anti-Buddhist government.
Man, these monks would be the ultimate special forces detachment. I mean, they can fully commit their minds to something without taking into account anything else. That's some BUD/S 100/100 score shit over there.
[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;47191767]Man, these monks would be the ultimate special forces detachment. I mean, they can fully commit their minds to something without taking into account anything else. That's some BUD/S 100/100 score shit over there.[/QUOTE]
What are they gonna do, meditate the enemy to death?
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;47191828]What are they gonna do, meditate the enemy to death?[/QUOTE]
Ignore the blown off limbs, the bullets hitting their bodies and the loss of blood to keep on shooting at enemies and carrying wounded team mates.
Man, Universal Soldier and the Terminator ain't got a chance against these guys.
[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;47192023]Ignore the blown off limbs, the bullets hitting their bodies and the loss of blood to keep on shooting at enemies and carrying wounded team mates.
Man, Universal Soldier and the Terminator ain't got a chance against these guys.[/QUOTE]
We already have those people, they're called United States Marines and Navy Hospital Corpsman.
[QUOTE=InvaderNouga;47193679]We already have those people, they're called United States Marines and [B]Navy Hospital Corpsman.[/B][/QUOTE]
I'd like to interject that most HMs never see combat, you're thinking of Fleet Marine Force or IAs
[QUOTE=Gwoodman;47190757]
[t]http://i.imgur.com/hNNb8Wi.jpg[/t]
[/QUOTE]
I can't imagine this is what the monk had in mind if you asked him where his statue would be hundreds of years later.
[editline]22nd February 2015[/editline]
Also, did they chop off the bottom half of the statue? It looks like his legs are cut above the knee.
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