A Chinese statue of the Buddha dating back to around 1100 AD is more than just a statue -- it's the final resting place of a Buddhist master.<\/p>\n
Drents Museum <\/p>\n
It seems Mexico isn't the only place in the world where you can find human body parts incorporated into religious statuary: a Chinese statue of the Buddha has been discovered to contain the entire mummified body of a monk, folded into the same position. <\/p>\n
The Buddha, exhibited at the Drents Museum in The Netherlands last year, was taken to the Meander Medical Centre in Amersfoort, where it was subjected to a full CT scan and had samples taken with an endoscope, under the supervision of Buddhist art expert Erik Brujin. <\/p>\n
The mummy inside the statue -- the only one of its kind ever found -- is believed to be a Buddhist master named Liuquan of the Chinese Meditation School, who died around 1100 AD. <\/p>\n
The CT scan and endoscopy revealed more than just the mummified remains of Liuquan. Samples of a material that has yet to be identified were taken from the thoracic and abdominal cavities, and something else extraordinary was discovered: in the spaces once occupied by organs, the team found scraps of paper scribed with ancient Chinese characters. <\/p>\n
The team believes the mummy may be an example of self-mummification in order to become a \"living Buddha\", a gruelling process that involved a life of extreme austerity. It was believed by some that mummification was not death, but a highly advanced spiritual state, and by others as a state of higher enlightenment. <\/p>\n
Meander Medical Centre <\/p>\n
In Japan, monks seeking self-mummification would begin a 1,000-day diet of water, seeds and nuts, followed by a 1,000-day diet of roots, pine bark and a special tea made from the sap of the Chinese lacquer tree -- a toxic substance usually used to lacquer bowls and plates, used by the monks to repel maggots and bacteria. Then they would be sealed in a stone tomb to await death. <\/p>\n
A further 1,000 days after the monk's death, the tomb would be unsealed; those monks who had achieved mummification would be venerated in temples, while those who had not would remain entombed, respected for their attempt. <\/p>\n
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CT scan finds mummified monk inside 1,000-year-old Buddha<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Chinese statue of the Buddha dating back to around 1100 AD is more than just a statue -- it's the final resting place of a Buddhist master. Continue reading