Dead or Alive? Buddhist 'Mummy' in Deep Meditation

The mummified body of a 200-year-old Buddhist monk was recently found in Mongolia. At the time, forensics experts had made the claim that the man had long been deceased. But now a Buddhist academic is making the claim that the monk is in fact alive and simply in a deep state of meditation, only a single step away from total enlightenment.

The mummy first made headlines in the Morning Newspaper back in January after Mongolian officials confiscated it from individuals trying to sell the remains on the black market. A forensics investigation is still ongoing, but from initial visual tests, experts came to the conclusion that the man was likely 200 years old and exceptionally well preserved, found wrapped in cattle skin.

The man was also discovered in a lotus position, as if he was still meditating, leading many to believe that this was a Buddhist monk.

Dr. Barry Kerzin, a famous Buddhist monk and a physician to the Dalai Lama, recently told The Siberian Times that he has seen several high-ranking monks attempt to enter a higher state of mediation - called a tukdam state.

In this state, the meditator's heart rate slows to a near-undetectable pace and he can appear dead. With all metabolic processes slowing - much like how some animals hibernate - the body begins to very gradually burn the bare minimum of energy to stay alive.

"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," Kerzin explained. "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." (Scroll to read on...)

According to the Times, Buddhists claim that there have been 40 such cases of monks entering this state in the last five decades. Initial speculation is that this 200-year-old mummy may be a meditative teacher of Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov.

And while most remain unconvinced that the mummy is actually still alive and in a state of tukdam, it's not unheard of for religious groups to make this kind of claim.

Last May, it was stipulated that one of India's wealthiest Hindu spiritualist leaders, His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj, the founder of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan religious order, cannot be officially proclaimed deceased when thousands of followers continue to say that he has simply drifted into a deeper state of meditation, called samadhi.

"He has spent many years meditating in sub-zero temperatures in the Himalayas, there is nothing unusual in it," an unnamed aid from the order told The Telegraph. "He will return to life as soon as he feels and we will ensure his body is preserved until then."

The late (perhaps living?) guru was in his 70s when he suffered a heart attack and was declared clinically dead on Jan. 29, 2014.

As things stand, the order is keeping the guru in a guarded freezer "simulating Himalayan-like conditions," even while his former chauffer and family continue to petition Indian courts for a post-mortem examination, or at least cremation rights.

Punjab and Haryana High Courts ruled back in December that the body be released so that Maharaj's family could give him his last rites. However, that ruling was suspended until March as of yesterday, according to The India Times.

Many have speculated that the Sansthan wish to keep their leader legally alive as they vie for control over his vast property, estimated to be worth more than $160 million (USD).

Thankfully, you won't see this kind of trouble with Buddhist monks, who often choose to rid themselves of all but the most basic of earthly possessions in their journey towards enlightenment.

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