Posted on 02/23/2015 3:17:12 PM PST by Gamecock
A mummified monk found in the lotus position in Mongolia is 'not dead' and is instead one stage away from becoming a real-life Buddha, it has been claimed.
Forensic examinations are under way on the amazing remains, which are believed to be around 200 years old, having been preserved in animal skin. But one expert has insisted the human relic is actually in 'very deep meditation' and in a rare and very special spiritual state known as 'tukdam'.
Over the last 50 years there are said to have been 40 such cases in India involving meditating Tibetan monks.
Dr Barry Kerzin, a famous Buddhist monk and a physician to the Dalai Lama, said: 'I had the privilege to take care of some meditators who were in a tukdam state.
'If the person is able to remain in this state for more than three weeks - which rarely happens - his body gradually shrinks, and in the end all that remains from the person is his hair, nails, and clothes. Usually in this case, people who live next to the monk see a rainbow that glows in the sky for several days. This means that he has found a 'rainbow body'. This is the highest state close to the state of Buddha'.
He added: 'If the meditator can continue to stay in this meditative state, he can become a Buddha. Reaching such a high spiritual level the meditator will also help others, and all the people around will feel a deep sense of joy'.
Initial speculation is that the mummy could be a teacher of Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov.
Born in 1852, Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov was a Buryat Buddhist Lama of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, best known for the lifelike state of his body.
Ganhugiyn Purevbata, who is the founder and professor of the Mongolian Institute of Buddhist Art at Ulaanbaatar Buddhist University, said: 'Lama is sitting in the lotus position vajra, the left hand is opened, and the right hand symbolizes of the preaching Sutra.
'This is a sign that the Lama is not dead, but is in a very deep meditation according to the ancient tradition of Buddhist lamas'.
The mummified remains, which were covered in cattle skin, were found on January 27 in the Songinokhairkhan province of Mongolia.
However, there is more to the story and now police have revealed that the monk had been stolen from another part of the country and was about to be sold off.
An unnamed official said that it was taken from a cave in the Kobdsk region by a man who then hid it in his own home in Ulaanbaatar.
He had then been planning to sell it on the black market at a 'very high price', with local media claiming he wanted to take it over the Mongolian border. Police uncovered the plot and quickly arrested a 45-year-old, named only as Enhtor.
According to Article 18 of the Criminal Code of Mongolia smuggling items of cultural heritage are punishable with either a fine of up to 3million roubles ($43,000) or between five and 12 years in prison. The monk is now being guarded at the National Centre of Forensic Expertise at Ulaanbaatar.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yous guys is gonna be plenty surprised when he wakes up and says that in nervana a guy can get mighty hungry.
‘E’s pining for the fjords.
Dang, he’s skin and bones, needs a good meal.
If this had happened some years ago, Michael Jackson could have bid on the monk (whatever state he is in) and brought him to Wonderland. It would have consoled him for not being able to obtain the Elephant Man.
he dead.
The problem is that since he's a Buddhist monk there's probably not much point in going through his clothes looking for loose change.
Pining for the fiords? Just stunned.
I'd be way more impressed if he could come out of that state of meditation.
Very healthy skin color.
Eeeeshh...
he could become a Buddha?
Wouldn’t the current buddah feel like he’s horning in on his operation?
I was thinking of “yes, but he’s not at all well.”
He looks dead to me
“...still on hold for Comcast”.
Well maybe he’s just resting after a long squawking fit….
He looks like he is about to thro down and bust into a rhyme...
He looks thirsty.
Anyone think of giving him some water?
I came just to see how long it took. That never gets old.
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