Mummified Monk Discovered In Mongolia

A mummified body of a Mongolian monk was discovered in the lotus position. Mongolia’s Morning News reported: “Experts that only had time to carry [out] a basic visual test say they believe the body can be about 200 years old. So far there is no information as to where the body was found. The only details we learned was that it was covered with a cattle skin.” This has drawn comparisons to Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov, a Buryat Buddhist lama who died in 1927 at the age of 73. He was also meditating when he died and was put in a coffin sitting upright. The body showed signs of decay each time it was exhumed in 1955, 1973 and 2002.

A forensic scientists described it as “in the condition of someone who had died 36 hours ago.” .Monks often leave instructions to be buried in the lotus position. Drying agents like coal and lime can preserve bodies remarkably. Monks have to go through gruesome process of self-mummification, orSokushinbutsu, prior to death. Bacterial growth is decreased by taking poisonous herbs and nuts. The elimination of fat and moisture from the diet prior to death, along with consuming poisonous herbs and nuts, may suppress bacterial growth. The process is thought to have culminated in the drinking of tea—normally used as a lacquer for bowls— as a sort of embalming fluid. It is unclear how much of the latest discovery’s preservation is a result of his own efforts and how much is a result of the application of cattle hides after death. But for those of us who can’t manage to stay in the lotus position for more than a few minutes, spending two centuries like that looks pretty impressive.