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Mummified Monk Found Inside 1,000-Year-Old Buddha Statue
An anonymous reader writes Using a CT scanner, scientists and hospital staff at the Meander Medical Center in the Netherlands have discovered the mummified body of a Chinese monk inside a statue of Buddha. The monk is believed to have lived around the year 1100. From the article: "Glowing through the statue's golden cast, the human skeleton is believed to belong to Buddhist master Liu Quan, a member of the Chinese Meditation School. To further investigate the mummy, the researchers took the statue to the Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort and carried out an endoscopy and additional CT scans. They found out that Liu Quan's internal organs had been removed and replaced with scripts covered in Chinese writing. The museum speculates Liu Quan may have 'self-mummified' in order to become a 'living Buddha.'
He's just in a very deep state of meditation.
Like this guy: http://siberiantimes.com/other...
is he dead, or is he just meditating really really hard?
The one time I actually go and RTFA, and now I'm all creeped out. No more of that nonsense ...
How do you self-mummified???
Still living, he removed his organs, placed some scripts and paper covered in chinese inside his body. And then he placed himself inside the statue...
I'd like to know what they are smoking at this museum!!! Wait, it's from the Netherlands, they spend too much time in coffee shops.
I just saw this collection of pics of the same subject. It was quite interesting and thought I'd share. http://www.carapas.com/these-m...
It'd be pretty great if they could get those writings out intact and scan them. From what I've seen Buddhism is a waning religion, and is probably the only one that most people can't really speak against, since, you know, what has a Buddhist ever done to you?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazi...
He dedicated his body to his conviction, he personally suffered for what he believes is the path to a better life, he left this world in a peaceful and voluntary mean. He didn't bomb another religion, or shoot the infidels, or behead the non-believers. To each his own religion. Religions only become bad when they creeps up on others.
Brandan Frazier ...
I hope the poor monk doesn't get hit with some drug-resistant bacterial infection...
#DeleteChrome
design on what, from face value, sounds like a falsifiable statement. And if it not, then that's like, just your opinion man.
My wife's family is Buddhist, and none of them are anything like you describe.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
"They found out that Liu Quan's internal organs had been removed and replaced with scripts covered in Chinese writing"
This is fatal.
He didn't say it was bad, only weird. And it is pretty weird.
Anyway, I though Buddha specifically taught us how to become a "living Buddha". That's pretty much entirely what his teachings were about and nowhere in them did he mention encasing yourself in a statue of him like some sort of creepy stalker.
One of the ways that religions become weird is when they blow off the teachings of the great master/prophet/god/whatever and concentrate more on worshiping them. Given time, it seems like that's where all religions end up.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
Nuts to you. Some of us are anthropology nerds; to us this matters.
That's not true at all, I have read on these very pages how all religion is utterly and irredeemably evil and must be destroyed. Now we're making exceptions?
PS if you think Buddhists are innocent of bombing, you really need to pick up a history book. Beheading, too.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Buddhist converts. Like Steve Jobs. Did you marry an Asian woman? So typical.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
A bit like Leonard in "Leonard Part 6" operating on himself.
Terrible movie, you should see it if you want to see what happens when a huge ego is let loose unchecked.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Budda also abandoned his wife and children to find "enlightenment".
So it's like a Holy Buddhist Turducken?
1000 years before Intel, the advertising slogan "Monk inside!" was invented.
Achille Talon
Hop!
.... Liu Quan may have 'self-mummified' in order to become a 'living Buddha.' They found out that Liu Quan's internal organs had been removed and replaced with scripts covered in Chinese writing. Uh, what??? Being Dutch, I like the Netherlands and I like our 'coffee'shops. But seriously, keep the academics away from the pot!!!!
To be fair, about 25% of the world population ends up marrying an Asian woman. So, yeah, it is kind of typical.
I did not take that reincarnation stuff serious at that time. My mistake.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
After the tenth year of the linux desktop not happening, tech news fell to the side. Sort of like the end of worlders on xx date.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
And brought it back so to speak. His wife, Yasodhara, and son Rahula became Arhats.
To add to what others wrote about his coming back, it should also be noted that he was a prince and an heir to the throne. It wasn't as if he abandoned his wife and child to destitution. Add to the fact that ancient and medieval royal marriages were nothing like today's.
This is really a communal conflict, rather than a religious conflict. But then again, that is the case with a few other so-called religious conflicts today.
Even with these riots, it is still difficult to paint Buddhism or Buddha as hostile. The rioters are not at all drawing from any religious teachings. In case of Abrahamic religions, the perps can quote scripture as justification. I don't think there is anything similar in Buddhism.
I've yet to meet a Buddhist who was anything like you describe. Don't confuse Buddhism with Californicatin' "New Age" hipsters. The latter only claim to be Buddhists, and only pick and choose a few select pieces of their scripture that goes with their crystal-worshipping nonsense.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the undisputed hide-and-seek champion of the world.
He dedicated his body to his conviction, he personally suffered for what he believes is the path to a better life [......]
He died for a better life?
That's like fighting for peace. Or fucking for celibacy.
They already know what they say - "Software failure. Guru meditation #00000004.0000AAEF"
No religion is perfect, and while Buddhism shouldn't be a religion there are many who have made it so...and once you put religion in, you take rationalism out.
Violence committed by 'Buddhists':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
You mean that fat bastard, I hate him! always eating all the figs and reclining. Something not right with that boy I say.
Mummifying is preserving a body. This was done by basically drinking poison and then letting it do its work. The scrolls and statue are a bonus. They were already mummified before that was done.
You are missing something: knowledge of how performed his self-mummification. The cure for this ignorance is the article, which described how they believe the whole process went down. I'll save you the trouble though: we don't know who removed the organs or when, but we do have a theory for how he became mummified.
Well, you've got to stretch the definition of Religion pretty far to encompass Buddhism. It offers no God, nor any Commandments (though lots of guidelines for monks and others seeking enlightenment). Hardly a religion by most definitions.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
If you believe yourself to be an eternal being, then this life is but one small step in a much longer journey. It's always puzzled me why so many Christians fear death, when they claim to know they are going to a place vastly superior to this one.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
You're in luck, Zombie Jesus Day is 2 months away or so.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Yeah, but those scriptures could contain the explanation what the fuck that means!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Read TFA - it's a 2000-day diet designed to severely emaciate the body, followed by drinking varnish tea to purge remaining fluids and possibly render the body poisonous, followed by live entombment in a space too small to move in, and meditation until death. 1000 days after death the tomb is then opened to see if the body was mummified or not - presumably some time after that the scrolls were inserted - they're not normally part of the process. Depending on construction the statue may have been the tomb, or it may have been constructed around his body at some later date - in fact I wouldn't be surprised if both the scrolls and the statue were added to the mummy at the same time.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
If you believe yourself to be an eternal being, then this life is but one small step in a much longer journey. It's always puzzled me why so many Christians fear death, when they claim to know they are going to a place vastly superior to this one.
Well, there are many who profess to be Christians but are not; but then, you always fear what you do not know, no matter how much you try.
And then, of course, many fear how death will come on them - do you really want to die because a sword cut off your head in one of many passes, being burned alive, etc?
$0.02
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
The year of the Linux desktop already happened, but now desktops are no longer relevant.
Better late than never Linus!
(X-day is coming July 5, 1998)
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Well, you've got to stretch the definition of Religion pretty far to encompass Buddhism. It offers no God, nor any Commandments (though lots of guidelines for monks and others seeking enlightenment). Hardly a religion by most definitions.
Which definitions are you referring to? Mine is Paul Tillich's "Ultimate Concern". By that definition, Buddhism is certainly a religion in the sense that it provides a path to meaning (i.e. enlightenment.)
You will not drink with us, but you would taste our steel? - Walter Matthau, The Pirates
At least he didn't go on anyone's nerves except those that enjoy the same kind of lalaland fantasy who are probably ok with this.
Most other religions and their zealots spend their time going on the nerves of those that are perfectly happy without joining the loony club.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Pretty much this. Why all the weeping at religious burial ceremonies? Allegedly that guy is now in a better place, ain't he? Or is it that you envy him and you can't just off yourself 'cause the religion commands that you won't get to $happy_place by suicide?
I'd rather expect a huge celebration with strippers and blow. Thinking about it... that's how I'm gonna organize my funeral.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Nah, that part I can understand: funerals are for the living, who have undeniably suffered a loss. You might weep when a good friend moves far away, and you can still visit and talk to them on the phone. Death is considerably less malleable - even if you decide to follow, doing so means giving up contact with all your living loved ones until their time comes.
And incidentally I've actually been to a few funeral parties - no strippers or blow, but lots of drinking and carrying on, with plenty of laughter to ease the tears. I'd certainly hope my own would be so pleasant. That I will die is the only guarantee I got in life - don't mourn that I met the inevitable, rejoice that I lived well while I was here.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
If I wanted to see that I'd watch C-SPAN.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
It's always puzzled me why so many Christians fear death, when they claim to know they are going to a place vastly superior to this one.
That's because they can only delude themselves to a certain extent. Deep down they know that when they die that's it. Nothing. But they try and believe that's not true. So, of course, because they spend their whole lives desperately clutching a delusion, they never come to terms with oblivion. All but the most gullible ones live their lives desperately fearing reality.
I don't even know what your point is there.
"Buddhist converts." Did I say that she converted to Buddhism, or that she converted her whole family?
But, yes, she is of Asian ancestry, though she was born in this country. To make it more confusing for you, she was born in 'The States', but not in 'a state'.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.