Scientists are shocked after a CT scan of a 1,000-year-old Buddha statue reveals the enclosed mummified remains of a meditating monk

23 Feb, 2015 by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

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Fascinating. The statue looks like it is bronze. They must have immersed the skeleton in the molten metal to make the statue. They did that after removing the organs. That would also seem to mean that the monk passed away while meditating. What a way to go. Unless of course they staged him in that position after rigamortis passed. That would be about 36 hours after death. They must have revered this monk a great deal.

Ancient: A study led by Erik Bruijn, a Buddism art and culture expert, looked
into mummified remains of a monk that were found encased in a 1,000-year-old Buddha statue.

From the Daily Mail:

Mummified remains of a monk have been found encased in a Buddha statue dating back to the 11th or 12th Century.

Erik Bruijn, an Buddhism expert, led the study that determined the mummy was of Buddhist master Liuquan, who belonged to the Chinese Meditation School.

The CT scan and endoscopy were carried out by Drents Museum at Meander Medical Centre in the Netherlands.

While it was known before the scan that a mummy was inside the statue, it wasn’t until then that researchers discovered that the monk’s organs had been removed from his body, according to Colossal.

Rolls of paper scraps covered in Chinese writing were discovered alongside the monk.

After the scan, the mummy was taken to Budapest, where it will be on display at the Hungarian Natural History Museum until May 2015.

Many practicing Buddhists believe that mummies like that of Buddhist master Liuquan aren’t actually dead, but are rather in an advanced state of meditation, according to International Business Times.

In January, mummified remains of a man apparently meditating in the lotus position were unearthed in Mongolia.

The human relic is believed to be around 200 years old and was preserved in animal skin.

Initial speculation is that the mummy could be a teacher of Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov.

Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov, born in 1852, was a Buryat Buddhist Lama of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, best known for the lifelike state of his body.

It would be very interesting to know what it says on those paper scraps as well. I would love to see the statue in person. I find historical finds like this riveting. My daughter is a Buddhist and will love to hear of this. This find is indeed ancient. I wonder if we will ever know the ritual that was performed when the monk died and was encased. I also wonder how they know it is Buddhist master Liuquan. Was there DNA somehow? More questions than not, but an incredible find to be sure.

Reserachers knew that there were remains dating back to the 11th or 12th Century
in the statue, but it wasn’t until the CT scan that they discovered all of the monk’s organs had been removed.