NEW BUDDHA IN THE MAKING

[Likes2Read]

More on the practice of self-mummification:

Scan Reveals Mummy Hidden Inside Buddha Statue

[Magnolia]

A 1,000-year old mummified monk hidden inside a statue of Buddha has revealed more of his secrets.

The Chinese statue, part of a joint exhibition between museums in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary, is attracting plenty of attention after scientists performed a CT scan and endoscopy on the mummy inside.

After a seven-month exhibition at the Drents Museum in Assen, Holland, that ended in August 2014, experts decided to conduct a closer analysis of the hidden mummy.

“After the exhibition, we had some more questions about the inner part of this mummy,” Vincent van Vilsteren, curator of archaeology at the Drents Museum, told FoxNews.com.”

The statue’s owner, a private individual in Holland, is considering making a life-sized reconstruction of the mummy, according to van Vilsteren. “For that reason, we decided to do a 3D scan,” he said.

The owner bought the Buddha statue in 1996, unaware of its grisly contents. The mummy was discovered the following year while experts were restoring the statue.

In addition to the CT scan, which was performed at Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort, Holland, last year, scientists also performed an endoscopy, carefully inserting a small camera into the mummy.

“What we thought was lung tissue, was not lung tissue, but what seems to be the remains of little pieces of paper with Chinese writing on them inside the body,” van Vilsteren told FoxNews.com. “There are still some investigations going on, DNA research is going on,” he added.

The CT scan was the mummy’s second -- an earlier scan was performed at Mannheim University Hospital in Germany in Spring 2013.

The mummy is believed to be a Buddhist master of the Chinese Meditation School. The monk, named Liuquan, died around 1100 A.D.

Van Vilsteren told FoxNews.com that, while the mummy is around 1,000 years old, a 14th-century textile roll found beneath the body provides some key archaeological clues. “We think that the body was worshipped in a temple as a mummy and, only in the 14th century, was made into a statue,” he said.

The expert noted that the recent discovery of a 200-year-old monk’s corpse in Mongolia has fueled interest in the 1,000-year old mummified monk. The amazingly intact remains of the monk in lotus position were found in Mongolia’s Songinokhairkhan province, attracting huge media attention.

The Buddha statue will be on display at the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Budapest until early May, when it heads to Luxembourg.

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[starfire]

Wow!!!! That is just amazing!!!!! Also finding the little pieces of paper inside the stature along with the mummy is very interesting and actually makes sense to me as they probly said something about the monk himself and or something like maybe a blessing of some kind or a prayer maybe!!!! It would be cool to know what was said!!!! I just have a curious mind about those kind of things!!!! Thanks for sharing Magnolia!!!!!

starfire :dragons::

[Likes2Read]

The part of the article (that I linked to above) that surprised me was that monks deliberately attempted to mummify themselves.

These monks would typically subsist on water, seeds and nuts for 1,000 days, then roots, pine bark and a toxic tea made from sap of the Chinese lacquer tree for another 1,000 days while sealed inside a stone tomb, according to CNET.

They would breathe through a small tube and ring a bell to let everyone know they were still alive, Business Insider Australia reported. Once the ringing stopped, they'd be left inside for another 1,000 days.

Those who were mummified are said to have achieved enlightenment, Smithsonian reported.

[starfire]

The part of the article (that I linked to above) that surprised me was that monks deliberately attempted to mummify themselves.

These monks would typically subsist on water, seeds and nuts for 1,000 days, then roots, pine bark and a toxic tea made from sap of the Chinese lacquer tree for another 1,000 days while sealed inside a stone tomb, according to CNET.

They would breathe through a small tube and ring a bell to let everyone know they were still alive, Business Insider Australia reported. Once the ringing stopped, they'd be left inside for another 1,000 days.

Those who were mummified are said to have achieved enlightenment, Smithsonian reported.

Yes actually that did surprised me as well, that they did this too!!!! I wonder how many more statures have been done like that!!!!! :think:

starfire :dragons::

[Bunni]

Fascinating!