The Mummified Remains Of A Monk Were Found Inside A 1,000-Year-Old Buddha Statue From China

Finally, the last step was to meditate and chant in the darkness until death. Once the bell stopped ringing, the air tube was removed, and the tomb was sealed.

Three years later, the tomb was opened to check on the state of the body. If the remains were well-preserved, they were taken to a nearby temple to be revered as a “Living Buddha.” If the body did not mummify, it was reburied after an exorcism was performed.

The C.T. scans of the mummified remains within the Buddha statue showed that the monk’s internal organs had been extracted and replaced with scraps of paper.

The paper was printed with ancient Chinese characters that might have been part of prayers or religious texts.

The body is thought to belong to Liuquan, a Buddhist master who was a member of the Chinese Meditation School. He died around A.D. 1100. It is unclear how his organs were removed.