Over the years, movies and myths have played up the sacred wisdom of Buddhist monks. According to some films, they are magic Cirque du Soleil ninjas…which isn’t quite true. However, there have been some monks throughout history that have pulled off some pretty crazy stunts.
Recently, a 200-year-old Mongolian monk was found preserved in the lotus position. While this form of mummification is quite common, this lama is different, because according to Buddhist tradition, he may still be alive in a complex mediative state.
The monk was found in the in the Songino Khairkhan district of Ulaanbaatar when a desperate man was trying to sell the mummified corpse to the black market.
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Here is the monk. Two hundred years ago, he went through an ancient technique of self-mummification. It involves extreme dieting and the consumption of toxins to ‘purify’ the body.
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This heightened state of meditation is called the “tukdam state,” which supposedly can continue beyond death. The lama remains in deep meditation for 3 weeks straight with little food while his body deteriorates or becomes preserved by the mummification toxins like our friend here.
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If the tukdam meditation worked, a glowing rainbow would emit from the monk, indicating that he had reached the highest form of Enlightenment.
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(via Rawstory)
Could this monk have produced such a rainbow 200 years ago? Now, of course there’s no way to tell. According to science and logic, most likely, the monk is dead. But…what if…
