Sky Burial of Tibet (Warning-Viewer Discretion is advised)
October 23, 2010
This is not meant to shock, or scare you or frighten you. It is to enlighten you on a Cultural practice for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
This practice is happening in Tibet now and for Tibetans it is accepted. It might not be accepted by other cultures and that is OK, but that does not mean how the dead are dealt with in Tibet is better or worse than any other cultures.
The zoroastrians of Bombay also have sky burials, where the bodies are left in a huge open air building for the birds to consume slowly.
WARNING: The pictures are very graphic so viewer discretion is advised.
I extracted this from a website originating in Taiwan, here: http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!kGRWihqBRULUqIx59PXpTFU-/article?mid=3018.
This depicts a Tibetan system with dealing with corpses. After prayers have been done by the Monks, the cemetery workers will slice up the body of the dead, mix it with barley flour and with prayers scatter it to the vultures. It is the last act of giving for the person who has eaten flesh themselves their whole lives.
It reminds us that our bodies are borrowed and VERY TEMPORARY. It is not a good idea to attach so much to our bodies, but more to our minds. Our minds will leave the bodies and whether we bury, cremate or feed it to animals, we will have to leave it. We have left our bodies so many times in our previous lives and we have no memory of it and neither does anyone else. Some people might find it disrespectful to feed the bodies to the animals, but our bodies will be eaten by insects/maggots anyways when buried. What we do with the dead doesn’t so much affect the dead. It is more for the living. But then the living quickly becomes the dead anyways and then everything is forgotten.
So what is important, is to take care of the mind. Start now. Whenever you feel like quitting, remember your mortality and all the karmas you have accumulated. Nothing is harder than to control one’s negativities and fears, but death doesn’t stop anything, it is just carried over into future lives. So deal with yourselves now and overcome now. THERE’S NO ESCAPE FROM THE SELF.
Tsem Rinpoche
P.S. I don’t know what is written in Chinese below the pictures. I don’t read or understand Chinese. So this is my disclaimer please.
天葬的理念常表現於壁畫中（攝於白居寺）。
冰天雪地的西藏進行土葬並不容易，且遺體不易腐爛；
而進行火葬需耗費大量木材，在物資缺乏的高原上並不適用。
因應獨特環境產生的天葬，才是最適合老百姓處理遺體的方式，高僧圓寂則進行火葬或塔葬。
恐懼天葬事實上只是源於對死亡的恐懼，以及對肉身的執戀。
不管以何種方式處理遺體，人類的屍首最終都會消失，
烈焰焚燒的火葬、萬蟲鑽動的土葬也不見得不「殘忍」，
只不過是避免親眼目賭肉身毀壞的過程罷了。
請大家能明白天葬是一種信仰和風俗習慣，需要崇敬的心態來看待。
請注意了，正在吃飯或者正吃東西的朋友，請吃完後再看，以免浪費食物。
請注意了，大家先不要急著往下拉，等一會兒後再拉圖片就能全部顯示了。
在西藏民間，天葬是較為常見的一種喪葬形式。對於天葬，民間有許多禁忌，包括禁忌生人觀看。
今天就在這裡我們一齊解開天葬之迷。
果洛地區天葬台上的經堆（瑪尼經堆），既在石板上刻的「六字真言」。
01.果洛地區天葬台上的經布（瑪尼經布），既用「六字真言」印製在布上的經文。
02.年老的「熱甲巴」已喝完了一瓶白酒，想再吸支煙後再送亡者升天。
03.第一刀。
04.由正脊下刀，男左女右。這是一具男性屍體，因此第一刀須從左邊割開。
這是第一刀割開後的局部，可以清楚的看到刀割效果。
05.第一刀的連續性是很強的，不能一片一片的割碎，
而且一直要割到腳掌才算結束。
06.這樣可以清楚的看到第一刀切開後的情況和在第一刀割開前勒在屍1體頸部的繩結。
這根繩子有幾個作用，一是固定屍體，二是防止腹腔的氣體、食物溢出，
三是有宗教意義。這把刀的樣子與平日用的不同，是特製的。
07.從這張照片上可清楚的看到「熱甲巴」在將死者的第一塊肉割下後，
再割成塊。
08.將肉切碎後下一個動作程序是將左邊的腿取下。
09.將腿骨取下後（也可後取）再從相反方向的部位開割第二刀。
10.第二刀割大腿時的情景。
11.第二刀的程序和方法一樣，要一直割到腳掌後才可停刀。
這是割到足根時的情況。
12.分解肢體的順序應從小腿與膝開始。現已將小腿豎起，準備分解。
13.這樣看得更清楚一些，將腿扭成這個角度容易分。
14.「熱甲巴」熟練地將小腿與足分離。
15.分解大腿骨與骨盆就不是很輕鬆的事了。
16.將其大腿與骨盆分離下來了。
17.按順序要分離從肩峰開始至手部皮肉。
18.要一刀到底，這樣看是很清楚的。
19.也是一刀到底，一直割下。
20.這是打開後，既將胸腹皮肉割下後所看到的情況。
21.從這個部位下刀開腔。
22.把內臟全部拉出。
23.找出與內臟有聯繫的腹膜。
24.將腹膜切斷。
25.將五臟拉出放在一邊以便檢查
26.「熱甲巴」不都是普通的解剖者，而且要負責檢查死者死亡情況。
這是「熱甲巴」在叫死者親戚來看死者的五臟情況。
27.死者的親戚與「熱甲巴」一起在觀察死者內臟割開後的情況。
28.每一個器官都是要死者家的委派人一一檢查的。
29.檢查完畢後下個程序是解下骨盆。
30.先將腰脊上的肉與腰脊分離。
31.再將腰脊割斷。
32.這是被分離下來的骨盆和屍體情況。
33.骨盆的面積很大，需要砍成若干塊。
34.按程序要分離脊椎和肋骨了。
35.已破開了一面肋骨。
36.兩邊均已砍開，既分成圖中的三片。
37.將肋骨取下後，還需分成小塊，
但現在看到的是頭顱只與頸椎相連了。
38.將頸與脊椎從頸根部砍開。
39.用刀割斷與脊椎相連的韌帶。
40.取下脊椎準備分離成小段。
41.按間隙分成小塊。
42.這是最後的一部分了，先把繩子割斷（不解結扣）。
43.頭顱的皮肉都很緊很難分離，從這樣大的刀來看，
似乎「熱甲巴」也很難下手。
44.這對「熱甲巴」來說確實不是難事，
分離的第一刀都是從這裡開始的。
45.由後至面頰逐步開割。
46.面皮被割開後，需不停地將皮一同割下。
47.這是一具被割得很乾淨的頭顱。「熱甲巴」準備將其砸碎。
48.在砸骨的粉碎過程中，要把炒麵混合在骨肉中，
這樣一可以起粘合作用，防止血濺，還可以誘禿鷲的食慾。
49.當屍體一抬到葬場，禿鷲就飛來了。它們也十分關切施葬的過程。
看這只禿鷲是多麼聚精會神。
50.當肉送到一定地時候，禿鷲便會飛來食肉 我們離天葬台越走越遠了，
他們走後那裡會留下什麼呢？
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Thank you for sharing this. I’ve always loved the idea of a sky burial for myself. It’s such a beautiful way of giving back to the universe in a simple way. We are animals, no better or worse than any others, and being able to perpetuate the circle of life by allowing others to live from our remains is actually beautiful and reassuring. Nothing about this is scary or horrific. It’s much nicer than rotting under the ground, pumped full of chemicals, or being burned until you’re ash and adding to the pollution and warning of the planet. I love this.
Tibetan sky burial is a mysterious funeral practice that fascinates and sometimes intimidates people from a different cultural background. Tibetans see it as a last gift to the universe — a way to show the insignificance and the impermanence of our earthly lives. In reality sky burial, holds much greater significance. The practice demonstrates fundamental values and beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism such as reincarnation, impermanence, compassion, and non-attachment. Although it might seem brutal for some at first, yet this tradition demonstrates deep love and compassion towards all living beings and genuine concern about the earth. It’s the last act of merits and they consider them a spiritual practice that’s all about giving back to the world.
Sky burials is a funeral practice are where human corpse is placed on a mountaintop to decompose to be eaten by scavenging animals such as carrion birds.
Looking at those pictures though scary yet will remind us to train our mind and every single time in life is important spent it wisely. Nothing stays forever, its better to accept it and prepare our next life as what Tsem Rinpoche had advised us to meditate on death.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
To the Tibetan Buddhists, sky burial is sacred. The meaning is deep and profound. Some other countries with diversed cultures, the loved ones even sleep with the dead. In Indonesia, for example the bodies of people who have recently died are kept at home and preserved by their families.
Perhaps we should have an open mind. To train ourselves to accept.
By the way Rinpoche, just for further information, there tree burial in /oo. For those under 10 years old. Here’s the link https://youtu.be/6hFmDlg3QyI?si=H31AG7Tk-I3P1PiQ
Damn this is violent
It’s not though. It’s done with love and respect.
More often when we talk about sky burial, we heard comments such as sky burial is brutal, cruel and inhumanity because corpses are sliced into pieces and bones are crushed to feed vultures. When we learn and understand the meaning behind, sky burial is a spiritual practice, also a final offerings of the deceased to this world.
Sky burial serves as both practical and spiritual purposes in Tibet community. In terms of geographically environment, the ground is rocky yet frozen and it is hard to dig. Trees are scarce so cremation is not an option for common people. All these factors make sky burial an appealing alternative.
When comes to spiritual, Tibetans who are Buddhists belief of reincarnation. The body is a vehicle to practice dharma and prepare for next life. Death may stop a body from functioning but the mind of the deceased will move on to next life.
Tibetans see this funeral ritual a sacred one. The vultures are sacred, feeding the dead body to vultures as a final act of charity is practice of compassion. When the vultures are fed fully, they will not hunt. Smaller animals are therefore safe from vultures attack. In the same time, family members who witness the ritual, they practice to confront reality of death and impermanence. The entire ritual is pure spiritual practice purposes.
Bear in mind, our body is the biggest traitor. Spending much of our time fulfills the body needs and wants do not help us during our death. Nurturing our mind with dharma is what we must do. Meditate on death is highly recommended. Our mind will transform with greater motivation and able to face the biggest challenge in life. The sense of insecure and fear will lose hold on us.
i really can not finish reading it. in fact, life is short and body is meaningless to us if you did not fully make use our life in the right way
AMAZING LESSON. NOT AT ALL OFFENSIVE. THANK YOU
This is insanity worst method for last rites. vultures have their own ways to feed themselves. don’t make everything your deed. everything in universe has its own course. Dont intervene. The best method to dispose the dead one is to cremate(burn) it and let them mix in panchtatva (Akash (Sky or pace), Vayu (Air), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire) and Prithvi (Earth)mrida.
That’s your opinion. This is a time honoured tradition and best way of respectfully dealing with the dead. Just because you don’t like it don’t shit on others ways of doing things.
good morning images download
By any of the many methods to take care of one’s body, sky burial would definitely rank as the 1st in term of the sickest method to take care of a body. Because we ‘re extreme in love with our bodies, taking good care of them, of course we would want the bodies to bury or cremate as a whole without have one to slice us up piece by piece and feed to the wild animals. However, if we able to understand and let go this kind of attachment with our bodies and know that nothing will last forever. We would be liberate from many kind of sufferings and gain real freedom.
After reading this article and looking at the pictures,my first thought was Sky burial is so gory and grisly. But if it is a common practice in Tibet for spiritual purposes, it should be acceptable. Instead of letting the body rot it is offered to the vultures and thus creating a good cause. Besides this practice also reminds us of impermanence and detachment. At death, nothing belongs to us including our own bodies. What we can bring with us is Dharma and our karma to our next life. Therefore, we should be mindful in our thoughts and deeds in order to collect merits for a good rebirth.
We know that death is inevitable but we try to forget and often we live our life enjoying what we have. Yet, the fact is that we don’t know when we die and we will take a rebirth, according to Buddhism in one of the six realms. Therefore, we should prepare for that day as our next lives depend on how we live today.
The sky burial in Tibet seems to be cruel but after we have left our body it is just a corpse, we used during this life. There will be another body so we learn to not be attached to this body but prepare for our future.
This article is very scary, not because of the graphics, but because of the truth shows in it.
Many people are so afraid of death, some dont dare to talk about it, think about it, or even hear about it, and it is a big tabboo talking about it. But when death come, we get panic, angry, etc.. why wait till death come only scared? We should get prepared and ready because death comes anytime without warning.
This article sets a great reminder to ourselves.
With respect how tibetan belieave in buddhism and no attachment when death come to you. Sky burial is beautiful way offering your body to feet the hunrry vultures. No need fancy funeral but blessed by the prayer and offer up the body. I heard the left over bone, some they offer up to the monks to make instrument, mala and ritual item to collect merit for the death person.
看到图片里屍體被一片一片切下來，感到很无奈，那是人的身体，那是我们一輩子珍惜的和執著的身體，最後什麼都不是了。無論这一輩子經歷和拥有过的，好的，不好的，快乐的，痛苦的，国王，乞丐，富有和穷人，最後的結果都是一樣，一具白骨。生活中各種情緒，计较，不甘心，都是那麼的沒有意義，最後还是一具屍體，这不是悲观，是让你更清楚这一生要如何活的更有意义。生时能够利益众生，至少死时这一具屍體能让人们更尊重.
This is a very unique practice. In fact, it’s only Tibetan has this burial ritual. It doesn’t only save place, save cost, it also very much remind us about impermanence. Everything we own in this life, even our body, doesn’t stay on this earth after we die. Basically nothing stays. I respect the ritual master who cuts the body, even he has to have very clear mind and mindful so that he won’t cut any part wrongly and he is not scared of cutting human’s body.
I always had this initial thoughts of having my body being disposed this way after my death. I must say i had abandoned the idea after looking carefully at the photos. It is beyond my imagination but I would now go for cremation after donating off all possible working organs and let my ashes be of benefit to some ritual items rather. An interesting article worth contemplating and attending to. It does reminds me of the fragility of our human lives hence making it useful and meaningful makes a lot sense.
By looking at the photos in this article, I find that this sky burial practice is spine-chilling. I really imagine if I witness it myself. I think I will feel unwell or vomit. This sky burial only practiced in Tibet. It is itself a teaching by telling us not be so attached to our bodies and our live is impermanent and anytime we can die. For me, I still prefer to be cremated. That is one of the less hassle way to settle the dead body.
It’s definitely great to know about sky burial. I’m also impressed by the practice as it reflects the impermanence of life. Not forgetting to mention the kind of generosity to a great extent. Instead of finding fault with the practice, I guess it would be also good to respect cultural diversity.
An interesting article to read for, that’s make me think of life is Impermanence, let’s face the fact, no matter how old we are, we can’t even running out the word called ” DEATH ” or can say that’s the final path of ours human life.
I attended many funerals in my life, my Dad passed away, my uncles, aunties and even my friends ( some of them died in very young age ). From all the funerals that make me think ” What life all about “?
Here’s the answer from ours Guru : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4j5RJfu5X0
Form the pictures it may look gruesome but in actual fact it’s a corpse that left behind after we died or after our consciousness left. No matter what we do to the dead body it does not make any different for our next course of journey. No matter how elaborate we do for our funeral it does not going to make a different for our next life because what determine our rebirth is our karma. It’s does reflect that our body is just a vessel that we cannot bring over after life no matter how we preserve it. The impermanent of life is truly show here and what important is to build a strong mind through the practice of dharma to transform our mind for better because what we train with our consciousness we are able to bring over to our next life but not our body.
Such a blessing. Even after death one can benefit others and collect merits still. I do not find the pictures to be gruesome but a great reminder of impermanence and how short our life is. After we die our body is just a shell without its host but looking at the pictures also make me cherish how important the shell is especially when it comes to doing virtuous actions because if we were born in other forms, we will not have the chance to do so.
I believe a part of sky burial practice is due to environmental factors. Before Tibetan Buddhism I wonder if there were other rituals before the sky burial, perhaps following the Bon or other traditions.
This is the first time I got to know of the sky burial regime in Tibetan Buddhism, which I found quite interesting. The process of this burial emphasizes so much of our attachments towards our body. In this century, people would rather spend much money and time on their body to look good, great and even some went for surgical operation to perfect their body. Nevertheless, when death moment comes, all this are worthless and priceless. What takes with us when death comes is only our mind. Hence, we should start cultivate our thoughts positively and make a habit into helping others to benefit them. In time of death, only the merits we have collected from our Dharma work, will lead us to good rebirth.
What are we most attach to? Our body. And true enough Wen forgot about our mind. We focus on what we need outterly. We do anything to feed that desire, to feed that pleasure on our body. Many even feel unpleasant to cremate their body after death but chose to burry. The attachement is so strong.
Sky burial looked scary but I think it’s the most spiritual way of funeral. using our death body to create the last good course we can by feeding whatever we left.
Death is inevitable the moment we are born. As a Buddhist, our Guru and the Dharma teach us to be mindful and cultivate our minds so that all our motivation in this life will contribute to gaining merits whereby we can purify the negative karma that we have accumulated throughout our many previous lives.
On death we take nothing that we have accumulated in this life except our karma which is our true inheritance to continue our vicious cycle of death and rebirth in samsara.
It is my opinion that on death, we should not cling to the physical form and feeding our bodies to other living sentient beings is an act worth considering.
However, living in affluent environments and societies like Malaysia it is very difficult for our health authorities to permit sky burial due to hygienic reasons.
Gruesome pictures but definitely will propel us to realise that when we do everything to cherish our physical forms, the efforts are futile as on death we decompose and becomes “dead meat”. Using our “dead corpse” to benefit hungry vultures is truly a noble final goodbye.
Some of us may find this gruesome, but this reminded me of impermanence. We can have all the fun we want, spend most of out time chasing after money and material possessions but at the end, we all still have to die. We either die accomplishing nothing in life or we die knowing we have done things that have benefited others and ourselves. Most of us may find it hard to give up all the “fun”, I’m not saying to abandon all these immediately and go meditate in a cave, it’s impossible. But if we could cut off our “obsessions” one by one, slowly, we will then be spending less time on doing activities that are not beneficial. All these time we have wasted could have been used to help others or even save someone’s life.
Thats nice they skin them then feed them to the birds like theyre some kind of bird feed. What do they do with the bones, bring them back in and make soup out of them?
Was on one of the cable shows years ago.
[…] thành một phần của thiên nhiên xung quanh. Những phương pháp khác Thiên táng Thiên táng được thực hiện bởi một số người theo đạo Phật ở Tây Tạng hay Mông Cổ. […]
[…] Sky burials are performed by some Buddhists living in Tibet and Mongolia. The soil in the region is too hard to dig a grave, and the resources required to make a wooden casket just aren’t worth it as most of Tibet does not have trees. […]
U do not have right to insulate the humans body’s like this. this is totally wrong. that person was human not animal whom u treat like this by cutting their parts and showing the world.
What is initially unpleasant and perhaps disturbing to western sensibilities I find quite beautiful after some thought. I can understand how many would find it disturbing or distressing, many are attached to the physical body and burial, while it seems a “nicer” option is really just a waste of resources and good land. In time you feed the earth and the worms and insects anyway, why not just let go and give yourself over to nourish other lives rather than filling a bit of land with your decaying corpse where otherwise someone might plant a garden? Cemeteries are monuments to human insecurities and vanity nothing more.
Namaste
There is beauty in Death. When I see a dead animal I always pray, go to Source and then I ask for it to become food for something that needs to eat.
This is good……Beautiful and Peace Filled
Thank You for this post and its love
This is an interesting article. Thanks for posting this.
Speechless… Thanks Rinpoche for sharing this! I read this few months ago but it is still stunning, by just looking at the pictures. It reminds me of the four basic meditation foundation in our spiritual journey (so that we will not deviate from this path)
1. Impermanence
2. Death
3. Suffering
4. Precious Human Birth
I have a question about reincarnation. Is it believed that there is a limited number of souls that continue to reincarnate? Or are new souls ever created?
I apologize for my ignorance. I appreciate this page… it is very informative and eye opening!
Thanks,
Al
It is very horrible to chop a family member body. Very horroribal ritual.
感谢仁波切向我们分享天葬的资讯.我之前曾阅读过有关天葬的资讯,然而通过阅读仁波切的部落格后,它让我可更进一步的了解西藏丧葬的文化.的确或许我们无法接受此文化但我们可从了解到藏人们所奉行着一种无私的精神.再次谢谢仁波的分享.
I do not find this barbaric at all, although I don’t understand why cutting up the body is necessary. The vultures will take it all. Worms in the ground is better? I find a certain beauty in this ritual; I would rather know some of me gets to fly the skies after I’m gone. That carcass on the ground would only be an empty shell.
This is really good to contemplate on death and how we are nothing. We are nothing but an empty shell. I think I’m sick wanting to go to see the actual progress. I would like to print these pictures to remind myself everyday what to do and the purpose of my life. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this.
It is my understanding at this point that disposing of the body in this way is one of the best ways to gain merit as the flesh of your body helps to feed some of the creatures on this planet and therefore is a very good way, and meritorious way to deal with the body after death, because your act of giving selflessly continues even after death.
To be frank, the pictures are a little ‘not so good looking’ but it’s the truth, so Thank You for sharing Rinpoche. After the time of our death we don’t own our bodies anymore. I personally think that this is a way to practise not to grasp on our bodies after we are dead, because after our death, this is the least we can do, feed the vultures with our bodies. If i’m gonna be dead tomorrow, I actually don’t mind having this cause after all, my body is either gonna be buried or cremated, so might as well just feed those birds.It makes not difference when you’re buried or cremated, cause you’re still gonna be eaten by maggots and another one, in that case, fire..
Translated from Bing, all the chinese text… easier to follow procedure….. and to note that burial started this was because the ice made it difficult to bury and they would not decompose……what seems odd to us makes a lot of sense.
Burial often embodied in the idea of murals (photo taken in the baiqoi Monastery). Ice burial in Tibet is not easy, and remains difficult to rot;
Cremation costs a lot of wood, resources were scarce on the plateau, did not apply.
Burial due to the unique environment, is the most suitable way for people dealing with the remains, monks passed away for cremation or burial-
Fear of burial in fact simply the result of fear of death, and the practice of physical love. Regardless of the way in which the body, the human body will eventually disappear, Burning flames of burial with cremation, insect drill will be not “cruel”, Eyes is simply to avoid betting on flesh destroyed. –
You could see the sky burial is a kind of belief and customs requires reverent State of mind to look at. Could I have your attention, is eating or being eaten by a friend, please look again after eating, so as not to waste food.
Please note, we don’t hurry down, in a few minutes after images can show all the time. In Tibetan folk, burial is a more common form of a funeral. For burial, folk have many taboos, including taboo watch strangers. Together we unlock the mystery burial here today.
In guoluo area of celestial burial platform jingdui (Mani), carved in stone, “mantra”.
01. in guoluo area, under the hand of the celestial burial platform (manijingbu), using both “mantra” verse printed on the cloth.
02. the old “hot bar” has finished a bottle of white wine, want to smoke cigarettes and then ascends the dead
03 the first knife.
04. Ridge knife, male left, female right. This is a man’s body, so that the first knife to cut open on the left. This is the first cut after the opening of the part, you can clearly see the knife effects.
05. the first cut is the continuity of a strong, not a piece of cut up,
And it has to cut into the foot end. 06 so you can clearly see the situation after the first cut and before the first cut at 1 knot in the neck. This rope has several functions, one fixed body, the second is prevention of abdominal gas, food spills, Third, religious significance. This knife looks different from the weekday, is special.
07. from this picture you can clearly see “hot bar” after the first piece of meat cut of the deceased, Then cut into pieces.
08. cut the meat into pieces after the next action program is the left leg off.
09. the leg bones after removing (after also taking) cut second site opened again from the opposite direction. #sthash.rPJKON2S.dpuf
10. a second knife to the thigh of the year.
11. the second knife procedures and methods, to keep cutting to the soles of the feet can be stopped only after a knife. Relaxation, which is cut to the root of the situation.
the decomposing body of order should begin with calf and knee. Shanks has been set up, ready to break down.
see more clearly, legs twisted into this perspective easily.
“hot bar” skillfully separate calf and foot.
decomposition of femur and pelvis are not very easy to do.
down to their thighs and pelvis separated
in order to detach from the acromion began to flesh.
. a knife in the end, it is very clear to see
also a knife, has been cut off.
. it is open, the chest and abdomen cut after seeing flesh
21. this knife opened.
22. pull all offal.
23. name associated with the visceral peritoneum
24. cutting the peritoneum.
25. to pull the five Zang-organs aside in order to check the
26. “hot bar” is not the normal Anatomy, and are responsible for checking the victim’s death. This is the “hot bar” deceased relatives hit the five Zang-organs of the deceased.
27. the relatives of the deceased and “hot bar” in the situation after the country observe the internal organs of the deceased.
28. every single organ was to delegate each of the family of the deceased to check.
29. check after the next program is off my pelvis.
30. the lumbar spine is first on the meat separated from the lumbar spine.
31. the lumbar spine severed.
32. it was separating the pelvis and the body.
33. the pelvis is large, you need to cut into several pieces.
34. the program shall meet the spine and ribs.
35. has broken ribs.
36. both sides have been cut, is divided into three pieces.
37. after removing the ribs but also cut into small pieces,
But watch head now only connected to the cervical spine.
38. the roots of the neck and spine from the neck cut open.
39. use a knife to cut the ligaments attached to the spine.
40. Remove spine preparation separated into small pieces.
41. the clearance cut into small pieces.
42. This is the final part, first cut the rope (without the knot).
43. the flesh of the skull are very tight difficult to separate from such a large knife, It seems “hot bar” is difficult to start.
44. this “hot bar” is really not difficult separating the first knife is from here.
45. the progressive opening cut from between the cheeks.
46. after the dough is cut, to continually cut down.
47. This is a cut down pretty good head. “Hot bar” ready to smash it.
during the process of bone crushing hit, to mix the noodles in the flesh, so one can adhesive role to prevent blood can also lure Vulture’s appetite.
when a dead body is carried to the burial, vultures fly. They are also applied and was buried with great concern.To see the vultures are concentrated.
50. when the meat to a certain point, predator the vultures will be flying away from the celestial as we were walking away, What will stay there after they left?
看完了所有照片后，久久合不拢嘴！实在太惊吓了！以前曾听说过天葬，但不曾目睹，所以今天真的是宝贵的一堂。原以为尸体放着就会有秃鹰来觅食。原来天葬要经过这么多‘手续’幸亏这里没有天葬，不然我们一定吃谷种！天葬与我的行业鼓励顾客预先准备身后事真是天渊之别。但我还是尊重他人的信仰。
in my opinion this is good because you feed animals with your body that will not be used again and besides it will rot or be eaten by maggots in the soil of which it is buried. but this is a very interesting topic. thank you for sharing Rinpoche
I went through the above pictures just as I finished my bowl of soup and I felt like throwing up. I feel queasy at the sight of blood. It took me a long time to go through all the pictures and I still have not gotten over that feeling.
Being brought up in this country where the main disposal of the dead are by cremation and burial, this really opened my eyes to the teaching that at death, we can still benefit others.
As a former meat eater myself, i couldn’t agree more to the reason behind a sky burial. All that is left of our bodies is a decay of skin and bones left for maggots and insects to feed on. I once ate meat whats the difference between animals eating my body after I have passed. It is a very enlightening topic to me, helps me realise the shortness of our lives. I wouldn’t want my family and friends having to suffer and go through the trouble of having to prepare a burial etc. when the time and money spent could have been used to help others that are in need. Though I have to admit, those men whom prepare the sky burial must have very strong stomachs to go through that haha.
Thank you for sharing Rinpoche.
Real things are usually hard to be accepted. Looking at these pictures really brings uneasiness.
Nevertheless, we all know that death is certain, it is just a matter of time…For those of us who count ourselves fortunate to have met the Dharma, we truly need to collect as much merits as possible so that we don’t go through this life in meaningless way.
I feel that humans have this natural habit to be so inclined to do things at the last minute, very much like students study just few days before exams. We do many things which does not contribute positively to our human lives and our karma bank. We tend to regret what we did not do when we were much younger by the time when we have not much time and energy left. This is scary.
Time and again I have to always remember that while I will leave my body at my last breath, karma follows me like shadows.
When I pass away, I wish I could have a sky burial. In the end, our bodies are just sacks of meat waiting to decompose. I think it is better to have my body put to good use and let me give my last offering to animals.
When we die, we create so much problems for our families and friends because they have to arrange for funerals and such. When I die, I do not want a funeral, I do not want m body to wasted by the flames of a pyre or be rotting away underground. It is a waste of money. Even though sky burial costs a bit, I would love to do it as the money is not wasted. Even if I cannot get to do sky burial, it would be great to donate my body to science so that people can learn more about the human body and they can test things on my carcass and not test on live animals.
This is a shocking yet powerful post. The practice appears to be cruel and inhumane but the meaning behind it is profound. Why are we still attached to our body after we have passed. The body is going to rot one way or the other. Is it not better to make one last act of giving at death, something we may not have even done while alive.
i really can not finish reading it. in fact, life is short and body is meaningless to us if you did not fully make use our life in the right way
Selfless deed of a true Dharma practitioner. There is no attachment to the physical body and even in death, the act is to benefit other beings. If we are not up to this, it will be meritorious that we donate our organs. Millions of sick people are queuing up for organ transplant. Our death can give hope and life to several people by just donating our organs.
honestly i would not mind to sky bury, think about it, you will not need the body anymore so why not feed some animals. we eat them so when we are gone why not feed the hungry, it will bring good merits that will benefit you when you when you are going to be reborn. think about it.
i think this is a wonderful way of giving back our physical bodies after we die. After all, we have no further use for it, i don’t see why we should be squeamish about it. Even if we are buried as is the norm, our bodies will just be eaten by worms. It is better than cremating i think because cremation is not good for the environment. Personally i would sign up for organ donation so that if any of my body parts are usable, at least it can help someone after my death.
Wow , this is first time know about “Sky Burial” . Thank you Rinpoche sharing this interesting Tibet culture .Yup, we are just borrow a body to this world , after dead we need return body also . I can accept sky burial of Tibet because can saving place and money $$… Nowadays , land is getting lesser and expansive too , not everyone can affort it….
[…] received a lot of interest in the earlier photoset of the sky burial I posted a while back. I recently came across another one, this one is done in a different more hands on style. There is a lot more work with the caretaker really dismembering the body. Still fascinating to […]
My my, these pictures send quite a shock to my ignorant mind. Even without much dharma knowledge and understanding I can comprehend that all our lives the body is our main focus. At least I think I am the body, and without dharma teachings it is easy to fall prey to the delusion that the body is IT. Like so many have mentioned in their posts, from birth everything is tended to care for the body, clothes, food, washing and grooming. Then with adolescence caring for it by looking into fashion and as a focal point to attract everyone. Tending only to the body’s needs really seems pointless at the moment of death. The media and fashion industry are up to no good then? Or perhaps my point of view makes me suffer so much when I don’t have the possessions I desire! It’s really sad where we can end up in life and death if we don’t have a good and reliable source of inspiration like the dharma. Even better to understand and apply and be better, sounds like a good life plan for me. And I also want to thank all the lovely Kecharians for preserving Tsem Rinpoche’s dharma teachings by living them and inspiring blog fans like me. You guys are my inspiration and of course Rinpoche for showing us a different way.
It’s true what you said here. The first time I saw these pictures was truly shocking! If I did not know any better, I probably thought it was cannibalism! lol! Of course, that’s far from it and the truth behind having a sky burial is as a final offering to benefit other beings with this very body that we’re born into.
Many of us are very very attached to our bodies… so much so that the plastic surgery industry or aesthetics industry is so lucrative. I know people that would intentionally lie to their doctors just so that they can get their ‘beauty’ injections even if they know the treatment may be life threatening at certain points. It truly is sad that people would value their beauty over their health or even their lives in certain cases.
When I see the sky burial, it tells me that the body is just our vehicle in this life… there is no reason to be attached to it either than to use this body to be of benefit to others. Why make all the effort just to nourish something that will decay in just a few years… this state of impermanence tells us to make full use of time urgently.
What you said is true… everything is pointless at the moment of death especially if we never did anything much to benefit others while we are healthy. I say healthy because many people think they can start ‘doing good’ when they have reached retirement age… but let’s all be honest, as we get older, we really can do only so much because of our physical limitations. When we see how short life is and we’re only a few years away to becoming a corpse, hopefully with great merits we will want to use our lives for benefiting and not for increasing our attachments.
Thanks for the feedback Sarah. I’m learning so its nice to get feedback from someone who knows more.
At least, in this sky-burial the dead is performing an act of giving:giving their flesh as food to the animals. A reversal of roles indeed. When alive, these humans had been gorging mindlessly on the meat that had been the result of killing these animals for their flesh. Indeed, Picture 38 above, where the dead man has been stripped of all his flesh and body parts, leaving only his head and his ribs, reminds me of the way I see people attacking a fish on their dinner plate. They, likewise, strip the fish of all the flesh, leaving its head and bones.
When we die, our bodies will disintegrate one way or the other. The only thing that does not disappear are the karmic imprints that we carry in our mental continuum from this life to the next and the next and the next. The overwhelming negative imprints will determine the misery and suffering of our future lives.
Hence, we need to deal with these negativities now and take control of them.
At first I was shocked to see these gruesome images. But this is necessary to remind us that time is not on our side.. Everybody will die. What’s most important is that we do our best I’m Dharma while we are still alive.. Because once we say ‘byebye’ only our karma follows us like a shadow.
This blog post is powerful and important for us to contemplate on our death.. Thank you for sharing, Rinpohe!
Sorry, I meant *Rinpoche.
I personally think Sky Burial is a beautiful way of finally leaving this lifetime.
Afterall what is the use of this physical body that is dirty and smelly even before we die, and decaying and decomposing every minute after we die ?
Sky Burial is beautiful because it’s our last act of giving something back to Nature – the vultures , insects , worms, maggots.
However i feel before we give away our dead bodies to Nature, we should sign up to donate all our organs that can benefit living people, in all the various transplants that medical science can now achieve to save many people . Family members must be made aware of this dying wish so they can immediately contact the hospitals to quickly come to collect the body, to harvest whichever organ that is still usable , that is not diseased or already decayed.
This is something that i strongly advocate as we really really do not need our kidneys, heart, eyes, liver, spleen, skin etc etc. Then whatever that is left, cremate and throw into the sea to feed the fishes ( i don’t know if creatures of the sea eat ashes or bone remains or not). If i’m in Tibet, i would have opted for sky burial.
At first I thought….no, the world is not ready for this, they will view our practice as barbaric, and this will affect our reaching them with the dharma. But I think, in retrospect, the world is very adult and grown up, and it is a hard hitting statement that we waste valuable time and energy on these smelly aggregates, dressing them elaborately, primping and preening, when we could be adding value and being of service, and this reinforces the fact that it is just a vehicle to be left behind. I love the fact that unfortunate beings benefit from the flesh of those passed, it is a natural and beautiful conclusion to this particular rebirth. Thanks for your bravery at taking this risk for the enlightenment of all beings, Rinpoche.
correction: wanted to say, may tsonkhapas teaching live forever.
Once in ‘life’, in the least, is necessary to see ‘death’.
Thats the nighmare we live into, we carry on, in which we seek and want love/ to be loved. Long live the everlasting Buddhas, my Tsonkhapas teachings light forever our darkest pit.
it is good that they feed the vultures with the human body parts, respect the nature and help the birds to survive but why dont they use the body parts like the kidney, liver, eyes, heart etc to donate help the other people to survive and use their organs to help other people to live. I respect this culture but why do they use it for the living people because many living people need this organs this days but I still respect this culture and that’s only my own opinion.
Looking at this old post now gives me a different perspective. Perhaps in the past it was all too gruesome. Well that shows me my state of mind at that time hu? It is still actually gruesome but the deeper meaning behind this is what strikes me most!
Imagine using your temporary body you whole life just indulging in the self deception of happiness and then die. At least with the Sky Burial practice you actually have the opportunity to give something back to mother nature. If we think about it really funerals are more for those who is alive, to allow them closure to the reality, to allow them to grieve more then the deceased, which is quite selfish when I think about how people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and the huge dramas and fuss that goes along with the funeral.
We’re better off using that money to build a temple for the deceased or do a puja…at least this way you help the one who passed continue to collect merits even after they have left their shell. So glad that I have Dharma to understand and have this perspective… with this perspective we become lighter knowing you can do something for the love one that is gone still and they can benefit from it. No point cryong over a spill milk. How did you treat the person when he/she was alive and why when he/she is gone you cry to cows come home, that is so hypocritical and I cannot believe that in some Chinese funerals they actually pay people to cry :-O
I don’t know why I haven’t commented on this blog post yet, though I have seen the images and heard about these burials many times since joining the dharma. It is one of the most striking set of pictures i’ve ever seen and possibly the most impressive kind of burial I have ever heard of
I remember that when I first heard of this I really took to this idea that our very last act in this life can also be used to benefit others – what else would we do with that body anyway? It makes so much sense and is such a wonderful act to be able to use every last bit of ourselves for someone else, even when we’re not around anymore. I have never resonated with the idea of building elaborate graveyards, “booking” a place for our ashes in a collabarium – what for when our mind will never know of this and when a few generations down won’t even know what we looked like, our names or who we were. The idea of investing so much into our bodies while we’re alive is absurd as it is; even more absurd to think of how much we would invest into our bodies when we’re dead and don’t even get to see where we are!
And so, there was one day I was talking to Rinpoche about this. He had asked me what I was doing, so I replied to say I was eating lunch, after having come back from the traditional cheng meng prayers, where we visit our ancestors’ graves. I told him the idea of sky burials appealed so much more to me, for the fact we could at least feed some beings with our body, as a last act of giving. Rinpoche replied, “If you really want to collect a lot of merit in that last instance, then you had better make sure you eat a lot more doughnuts and become really fat so you can feed more vultures” hehehehe So yes, perhaps it is time to stop obsessing about losing weight, for even the things that we are most “upset” about can be turned into something positive for someone else. The vultures would have a party on all my wobbly bits.
Jokes aside though, I don’t think practices like this would really be allowed in a country like Malaysia. The neighbours would be horrified to see my chopping up my grandmother in the front yard, a smile on my face as I tell them that it’s to “feed the birds”. But I do think this idea is beautiful and helps us contemplate constantly on the idea that this is where we go in the end – back to the earth and the beings who inhabit it. That really, this body is just like everything else we use and discard.
[…] Video: Tibetan Sky Burial Images: WARNING – These are very graphic photos.here, and here. […]
Thank you RINPOCHE for the teaching.
Although the sky burial prosedures look very scary but it is the tradition for Tibetans.I must admit that realy difficult to look at the pictures.This picture reminded us–our body is temporary,dun attach to our body!when we dies,we have no different from others.we won’t bring anything but only karma can bring along.so dun waste time,start now to learn dharma and do dharma work for benefit more others!!
我们本来不就是一滴精和一滴血吗？往往我们最执着的就是当我们得到后就不舍得放手。往往很多从贫穷到一夜变富的朋友都对钱捉的很紧，因为他们都害怕在失去的滋味。相对的，当我们从没有“我”到后来都变得很执着于“我”。我们的身体是受之父母，意识却是自己的。当我们离开这个身体时，理当就把它回归到大自然。
我们的父母不是从小就教导我们要与别人分享我们所用拥有的吗？当我们死后为什么就不能也与他人分享我们的肉体。我们的肉体能够喂养秃鹰，让他人满足，不是很好吗？
反正人死后不管用任何仪式的葬礼如火葬，水葬，土葬，或天葬都逃不了遗体变可怕的事实。最可笑的就是，我们还没的选择。
所以就像仁波切所说的，不要在浪费时间在我们没办法控制的事情上。与其花很多的把自己搞得美美的以得到别人的赞美，不如把时间投入到学习佛法，并改变自己让自己有能力控制自己的未来。
Reality straight in the face. And why not? Why should we believe in a lie…all our lives about who we are… only to be betrayed at the end by our body if we think that is who we are to begin with. How we will be betrayed is if we spend most of all our resources in our whole life just to take care of the body.
There must be more to life.. and i appreciate buddhism very much in teaching about the mind. I do not claim to have mastered the topic of the mind but the little I know, i find so much more meaning to using this body instead to develop the mind…which will never be chopped up and disappear.
I had the fortune to visit our monastery in India, Gaden Monastery together with Rinpoche many years back with a group of other students. We had opportunities to meet Rinpoche’s friends and teachers over there and also to ask questions.
I was very new to Buddhism then and I asked the monk “what would be the quickest way to help lay people like me who works in the corporate world in a modern society with all its distractions to learn and practice buddhism.”
The monk smiled and said to meditate on death. It resonated and made a lot of sense but I did not have much knowledge how to..
I have since learnt more about this topic from my spiritual teacher, Tsem Rinpoche.
You might find this teaching of great benefit to you too. http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/kechara-13-depts/last-night-i-spoke-about-death-meditation-in-more-detail.html
AMAZING LESSON. NOT AT ALL OFFENSIVE. THANK YOU.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this precious teaching and thank you to everyone who has posted in this blog. Today, in this very hour i have really waken up from my deluded life with the fact that our body is impermanent. If we exchange the time we have spent to keep our body looks good with doing something meaningful such as Dharma works, we can even achieve more in spirituality and able to benefit many people around us. Time is really running short as our body is weakening day by day, minute after minute as our body lifespan is clocking towards the death.
我有朋友每个月花费几千块钱在美容，美发及置装。当他们看了这篇文章及血淋淋的图片后，不知还会不会花那么多钱在一个空的躯壳上？这些血汗钱拿去帮助慈善团体不是更有意义？姑且不谈慈善机构，以个人利益来说，花钱上课充实自己，丰富内在品质，通过佛法了解生死的意义。 我们对美丽的外表无止尽的最求，这些执着对我们临终那一刻，根本没帮助。
I always thought that if I see enough of these images, I would be numbed to the blood and gore but it doesn’t work that way. I think it is indeed a reflection of how attached I am to my body and ego.
It makes sense considering or that I have achieved or rather not achieved because I am afraid or because I was lazy. I read that the Buddha recommends monastics to meditate upon bones and corpses because it helps us to gain the realisation of impermanence. I think these images are perfect for us to view again and again.
I just saw on Facebook a line of Theravaden monks in their saffron robes, sitting and witnessing an autopsy being done on a dead corpse. Even the monks does this as part of their practice. It would be good for us to do it not as a festish but as a reflection to realized the illusory nature of our biggest attachment – our bodies.
Thank you, Rinpoche for these realistic images. The ones that made most impact are the images that capture the last few steps of the ceremony where only the head and rib cage remain. The human head is the part of our body that commonly gives us our identity. Our major organs within the rib cage area form the core “engine” that keeps our body’s functioning. Seeing these images where we are no different than animal carcasses is a humble reminder that this precious human life can be no better than that of a beast if we do not use it to develop an attained/enlightened mind.
Besides our physical body, this process hits directly at our self-cherishing and ignorant mind. It is a glaring message for us to realize the wasted energy and resources we put to prevent or delay the inevitable aging and death. This does not mean that we should act irresponsibly towards our human form that is the best form of rebirth. Instead, we should care for this body with the motivation that it will serve us well as we work on developing our minds. This is what I understand to be cherishing our precious human life.
Thank you again Rinpoche for always conveying preciously honest teachings even though they can be “ugly” and challenging to our ignorant perceptions.
It really difficult to finish reading and viewing this blog, very scary.however it is truth of the life, once death, it only a body which no more under our control,we should cherish every moment NOW to do good things and keep mind transform before negative karma ripen.
Thanks Guru for sharing such inspiring pictures for us. It maybe use for our Death Meditation if we unable to do the visualization.
Just imaging when we death and we are seeing our lended body being process like this what we can do at the moment? Is that we still consider the hair is messy? The nose is flat? Or the stomach too big?
So i thinks is better follow the GPS of enlightenment (LamRin) as much as possible to dun let this situation appear in front of us again…
When reading this article, two things come to my mind:-
1. if we keep this body to benefit others, it is worth to do so.
2. if we keep this body for our own benefits, we need to keep remind ourselves that we would end up as the picture showed, and it is something wasting effort and time for our life.
在西藏，因为风俗及信仰，人类终于对动物有了贡献。因为欺负动物，虐待动物及杀害动物的就是人类，因为要满足人类，就牺牲了动物。
天葬，这葬法对人类来说是有点，“残忍”，但我们忘了，我们是如何对待，放在桌台上宰割的动物。
It’s reality in our face. Death is inevitable. I cringed when I saw the corpse’s face and how the coroner chopped the body. It’s a reflection of my strong attachments to my body and the illusion of the self.
A body is not good anymore when it’s dead. So it makes sense to use the body as a last offering. It is logical to develop the mind and focus less on the body coz the body is only a temporary vessel for this life. Contemplating on this helps me let go of many of my self created limitations and neurosis.
Our body is temporary, mind is the one that will take rebirth again and again. A dead body, this is what we are when we are dead, nothing more than that. No matter how much we make, how famous we are, we will not be able to bring with us at the moment of death. Do not be too attached to our appearance, it is like a piece of clothes, we change it every 75 years or so if we are lucky.
In Bombay, the corpses are left on top of towers for the vultures to eat. I think in Tibet it is a faster and cleaner method. Recently, in Bombay, there are less vultures due to the birds dying because of pollution. This caused a lot of distress to family members because the bodies were left on the tower to rot.
In the sky burial, there is religious significance in offering the body to the scavengers. As Rinpoche said, it is the last act of giving. It is like repaying one’s debt of meat to the animals since we have been flesh eaters when we were alive. I also think that the workers in the charnel grounds are very brave and compassionate. Not everyone can do this type of work.
Mmmmm….. It is cruel, barbaric if just by viewing the photo. But by understanding the meaning behind, cultural, geographical and religion background of Tibet is, that’s totally not cruel at all! Very meaningful and is much, much better than getting cremated. Although donating our organ to people who needs it is great too, but I rather feed other sentient beings. We all are just RENTING a human form, we got to RETURN back ANYTIME without any notice.
Although I have heard little of Sky Burial, but I don’t know what is all about, I was like, so cruel and ewwwwww!And now I understand the meaning behind.
Thank You Rinpoche to share, explain what is all about Sky Burial, and also giving us knowledge.
Dear Rinpoche:
Before come to Kechara, I dare not see these kind of pictures simply because I didn’t have sufficient Dharma knowledge to understand life. But now I accept and understand that nothing is permanent including our own body which accompanies us 24/7 for the whole life. Therefore personally I don’t mind how other people want to handle my body after I finish “using” it but it would be best to donate the left-over usable organs to other people who may need it so I became an official organ donor last year. I hope the recipient(s) will use the organ(s) wisely to learn and practice Dharma. hehe…
Thanks for sharing. Take good care.
With love,
VP
For some, sky burial seems barbaric, but by understanding cultural, geographical and religion background of Tibet, you will find out actually it tells Tibetan Buddhist’s view on life and death; and also on paramita, giving the alms to the birds. It demonstrates also the ecology view which did not spend money and effort on getting fire woods to cremate the body or making coffin.
The post teaches me that we should preserve/protect or safe guard our mind, not the body which will disappear any how after our death but mind travels with us. Strive to leave good imprints on our mind rather than on our body.
I did hesitate a bit if I should watch those pictures or not at midnight alone before sleep. I was too curious anyway. The pictures were not as bad as I thought but my stomach feels a bit funny now. 🙂
Well, I saw how pork was cut in the market before and I ate ribs before and enjoyed. But when you see a human body, it felt very different but think deeper, it’s the same. The “re jia ba” cut the human body just like the butcher cuts the pork. When the mind is gone, the body is nothing. It’s a piece of meat.
After we are dead, nothing matters anymore. Fame, money, friend, career etc etc means nothing. We are lucky we are alive today but did we just waste a day.. again?
Rinpoche mentioned before that our body is the biggest betrayer. You clean it in the morning, it gets dirty at night; you invest so much money on cream to rub into your skin, it gets winkled anyway. Doesn’t matter how well you treat it, it will get old and ugly anyway–no one can escape. Yet we attach to it.
I will be ugly and winkled and after I am dead, my body will smell and rotten. I will be a corp just like the one in the pictures. The only thing lasts is our mind. If we train our mind, the effort won’t be wasted.
Thanks Rinpoche for teaching us and leading us to the right direction in life! I read my words again and I know I wouldn’t think the same way if I didn’t meet Rinpoche. Rinpoche, you are saving us! Thank you!
Love,
Christine SH
if you see only butterflies i think it is wisest
42 is the last part of the first rope break (puzzled knot).believe it or not ?
English
Spanish
Arabic
26 “hot A Pakistani” there are not the normal anatomy, but also responsible for checking the death of the deceased.
This is the “hot A bar called the deceased relatives of view of the five internal organs of the deceased
The burial of the idea often expressed in the mural (photo taken in Palkor).Ice and snow in Tibet burial is not easy, and the remains of non-perishable;Cremation need to spend a lot of wood, does not apply in the highlands of the lack of supplies.For burial should be unique environment is the most suitable way ordinary people deal with the remains, the monk passed away for cremation or tower,,,天葬的理念常表現於壁畫中（攝於白居寺）。
冰天雪地的西藏進行土葬並不容易，且遺體不易腐爛；
而進行火葬需耗費大量木材，在物資缺乏的高原上並不適用。
因應獨特環境產生的天葬，才是最適合老百姓處理遺體的方式，高僧圓寂則進行火葬或塔 if you dont understand chinese i think it is wiser to learn it if you have the capacity if you do not have the capacity do not
do not mis understand me whilst im good with this means i konw it is happening , who the perpertrators are, who is often asked to carry out the work, the money they are paid for the work and the hope they have for the occupation and education of their own children , everything is impemanent, yet however everythings is cyclic, unless intervention to the circle of demise is replaced with hope not to say though that our bodies should be wasted in ashes , when they have far more value served to the buzzards in the interem
believe it or not dear justin and dear tulku
im okay here too
I remember i first saw the sky burial documentary in a Buddhist retreat more than 10 years ago. Venerable Kai Zhao showed it to us and reminded us that do not attached so much to our body and death is anytime.
Now, i understand further that this is the last generosity act of the deceased, giving the last bit of what we have in this life – our body to provide food for other living beings. This is very meaningful. The 「熱甲巴」and all the family and worker also treat the body with respect.
Seeing the pictures again, remind me that at the end of our lives, there will be nothing left except for our karma, not even our body that is so dear and close to us. everything will be gone… so, why do i still so attached to my body?
i have to use my this remaining life to learn and practise Dharma and take care of my mind.. at the end, it is the Karma that will be follow me forever, so, i better create more good Karma while i can.
Thank you Rinpoche for the teaching.
Looking at the pictures really show that whatever we do to our body will just gone upon death. Time and money spend to pamper our body will just go to waste because we can’t bring it over after we died. Whatever we do to our body after we died either it goes to the coffin for buried or cremation it doesn’t make any different, it just a method to dispose our body.
It’s very important to realize now that we should use our body as a vessel to benefits others. Use our body to create more merits because this is what we can bring over to our next life.
好震撼的一篇文章，那些照片，有点让我喘不过气来。谢谢仁波切的分享，终于了解关于天葬的一些-这神秘的西藏特有文化。和Chris一样，以为天葬只是把尸首丢到山上，让秃鹰来食用就好了，想不到这可是牵涉不同的步骤，和不同的意义。
这些已经过加持的尸肉，同时也可以加持食用的秃鹰，这让我感觉真是物尽其用，即使在我们往生后，还可以利用剩下的躯壳做最后的善事。这不也是藏传佛教的特色吗？
虽然觉得这整个过程很恶心，但想深一层，对阿，人死后剩下的就是这副臭皮囊，没有灵魂，没有感觉，已和这世间一切没有任何关联。所以那些钱财啊，亲人啊，爱人啊，事业啊等等，通通在死后，一点意义都没有。
而我们却常常执着在面貌上，身体上，外在的等等。‘我要减肥’，我要美美’等等的话语，应该听不少。但看完以上的照片，想像我们就是那具尸体，生命很脆弱，唯一带得走的就是佛法。常说修习佛法就是为了修死亡那刻。念死才能让我们珍惜生命，如何让人生活的更有意义吧？
OMG it’s done with bare hands. How compassionate that these people who perform the ritual are kind enough to have to deal with the ugly filth we leave behind. It’s a strong reminder that our bodies are no different than beef, chicken, pork. It’s just a temporary shell.
nepal also in tibetian camp they doind same thing they cut death body and give to animal or bird.i ask why you have to do this?? they say if animal or bird eat his or her meet can get some marit. body is emty his mind not there balance only body.before he not do any good thing and after death body give to animal so that he can get some of marit.is this true ???i ask in my mind.but i realy dont know is true or not.
This articles are pretty shocking to most people thank you for the warning ..it prepares a person before reading.
Our body serve as just vehicle for our soul. At the end of our journey we dont have any remain, we cant bring anything along so hence nothing is permenent.
Thank you for posting.
Somehow these images reminds me of the Kawang section of Setrap’s prayer… why is it that when alive we see the body is beautiful, we love it so much, but when when it is dead we can’t even bear to look at it; we cut it up, the stuff that comes out of the body makes us retch (but if it were the body of a cow instead, probably it makes non-vegetarians hungry? eew).
Tsem Rinpoche had in his previous post (http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/ten-minutes.html) recommended that we do 10 minutes of meditation of death everyday. watch a video teaching on death meditation here http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/kechara-13-depts/last-night-i-spoke-about-death-meditation-in-more-detail.html
Furthermore than watching these images, and as we are at it, let’s visualize that it is us there being dismembered and fed to the vultures.
Let’s visualize it is this body of ours, that we treasure so much that we keep free from even a pimple or a wrinkle, that we diet for, that we exercise for and pay fees to the gym for, that we apply make up on, that we dress up and make beautiful.
This body that we want to keep from pain, that we want to use for pleasure, pleasure of the stomach, pleasure of the ears, pleasure of the touch, pleasure of viewing nice things, pleasure of smelling beautiful scents, sensual pleasures, pleasure of hearing praises, bias pleasure of being looked at with envy (even jealousy)…
That body we have to leave behind, we have to let go of at the time of death, this body: one of our strongest attachment.
We have built-up with this body a whole nice looking little story we tell ourselves: I won’t die today, I won’t decay today, not today, NEVER today. To think that is to deny we ever die, because tomorrow never exist, only today exist, only now.
And when that moment comes, only then do we realize how foolish we’d been thinking, only then do we truly realize that time is short FOR REAL!
But this body is perishable, it was made to fail. If we could we should sue the manufacturer because it has very short life span, it is prone to diseases and illnesses, it fattens easily, it requires so much maintenance, and costly maintenance, it smells quickly, it is very expensive to dress, it procures pleasure but so much pain too.
This body that we have to feed, that we have to house, that we must park in plane seats to go and “see places”. This body that we must move in cars, sit in restaurants, expose to being recorded on tape, maybe go on TV, even on the silver screen.
That body that is us being exposed to others, to their judgment, to their bias looks, to their despises or jealousy (is there anything between the two?).
This body, in the second part of the story, and even way before the end is giving up on us, it does not support us, it creates problems, it becomes more expensive, harder to maintain.
But really what are we attached to when we are attached to this body?
Everyone has seen vampire movies.
One thing I never could understand as a child watching these vampire movies is this: on one side there are the humans terrified at the idea of becoming a vampire, and on the other side we have the vampires terrified at the idea of burning in the sun.
What is the difference really?
Same fear, different bodies, but same fear.
The fear of loosing our physical support and great attachment to what we think the support is.
So, as a child, I was wondering: wouldn’t it be wonderful to become a vampire and live much longer without getting old? Well maybe the blood drinking was not very appealing, but human body has many unappealing aspects too… So I never got to understand or be frightened by vampire movies…
So what’s the point of looking at these images of sky burial…
Is it to get depressed about the failing nature of our bodies?
Of course not, that would have no other effect than getting depressed and that’s good for nothing, absolutely nothing.
I think the point is in this: let’s be real about the nature of our body, about the fragility of our body, about the fact that we may die anytime, young or old, and stop the delusion of building up a life around our body, because these images demonstrate clearly: this construction will fail us just as it failed the person in the pictures, and that person could be me.
So what then? Well, this: we can use this body to alleviate the suffering of others; we can use this body to alleviate our own suffering, because despite all its defects, it does allow us to understand what the F#@$* is going on and get a good look at reality and even touch the truth, it allows us to engage in a spiritual practice and not get attached to failing mental constructions. It gives us that opportunity!
And for that reason, we should exercise, we should respect our body, we should eat healthy, we should look our best, we should maintain it, dress it up, this body is us, it is a product of my karma and it is me, but it is to fail and be let go off at one point, so there is no positive aspect arising from getting attached to it (it only gets worse), but it is our vehicle to gain greater understanding of existence and extinguish our suffering and inspire/help others to do the same.
Some say “my body is my temple”. Indeed, but there is no need to get attached to a point of grasping and great suffering arising from grasping. The “temple” means that it is my vehicle for betterment, and “betterment” can only be spiritual, for the body will decline and the intellect will decline, only the spiritual will sustain.
Thanks for the sharing Rinpoche, i have never think of this before. In our life we have consume so much meat and when we die, we want respect for our body, hmm i think is pretty great to feed the birds after our death or perhaps to donate our organs to the people who waiting for survive.
Rinpoche explained very well, easy for me to understand. We need to be more attached to our mind and not body. although this post is very disturbing but it is the fact that we will leave our body anyways.
Although the sky burial prosedurs looks very brutal but it is the tradition for Tibetans and it is not an easy thing to comprehend.I would prefer to be cremated….If i can’t be fed to the hungry birds at least will try to save a life by donating out my organs.
i also see in nepal after people dia meet give to egal .i realy scare.
看到天葬的实际情况，我不禁联想到，我们吃动物的肉，情况其实也不就是一样的吗? 为什么家里的母亲斩鸡肉时，菜市场的人们宰鸡宰羊时我们就不会觉得可怕呢? 大概是因为我们实质上根本没有将它们视为生命，而纯粹是给我们“果腹”的食物吧！
我也在吃素后才意识到，原来过去我根本不视盘中的肉为生命。
Our human body form is just a vessel that we stay on when our consciousness mind is as one with the body. Once the mind has left, it is just an empty vessel. The sky burial benefits others sentient being, as food for their stomach. This is the last thing that we can contribute to others. I also look at the sky burial as sometimes when we human killed animals for food, and they are still alive…..and cannot even look at it when a human is been cut into pieces as a corpse.
看起来第一个感觉是非常恶心的天葬，这就是西藏当地的独有的风俗。当人死了什么都没留下。其实生命无常，我不知道何时自己闭上眼睛后就与世长辞了，在生命里，不是我们拥有什么，而是我们做个什么。让生命更有意义 。在有生之時，能与佛法结缘，是很好的缘份，让我们把这个缘份变得更有意义，不要白白浪费我们的时间。
Our human body is one of the physical form which we may put to good use or abuse it when we have it. What I think is more important is the ‘mind’ that resides in this body. It is given our body will live, get sick and die and leave us with decayed flesh and bones to be fed to the birds but what do we do with the ‘mind’ that was left behind, does not stay stagnant but moves on to the next phase/realm of existence.
Do we choose to train and challenge our ‘minds’ further now with the use of the body to carry on improvements in ourselves so we can reach enlightenment or do we let this ‘mind’ remain the same, unchallenged or even glorify this body while we have it …
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this post. I found it very gruesome. All our materialistic will be nullify when we die. Dharma is the only thing we can bring along with us after our death.
It is so true that when we die, we leave everything behind: our gross form, material wealth, friends and families and all the things we perceive as important in this very lifetime. Instead of being scary, gruesome and disgusting, the pictures here plays a meaningful role in reminding us about the impermanence of life and how we live in more than just one lifetime.
To me, all the various methods used to ‘dispose’ the body of a dead person are the same, only whether consideration is put into whether the body can be put to better use to benefit others. I think the best method for me is to harvest our organs to be donated and to feed animals with our rotting flesh by sky burial. Then on, I feel it is a great honor to have our bones made into musical instruments for rituals or even ornaments like bone malas, very meritorious indeed.
It’s very scary and gruesome when you look at those pictures, if you don’t know Tibetan buddhism and their cultures you might think it’s an act of cruelty and have no respect for the dead or they can’t afford a coffin, but after studying Rinpoche’s blog and Tibetan buddhism and their cultures, this is the last act of generosity by offering up our dead bodies as foods for the vultures.
這是一篇很震撼的文章。讓看到生与死對人就是那麼一回事。在生之時，人用盡一切方法給我們的身體完美的照顧，滿足它的需求。所作的一切都是從我這個身軀利益為先。當死亡發生在我們身體，意識離開身軀后，它只是一個屍體了。天藏讓我明白在生之時就應該學習放下，不要等等等….，以為死亡不會那麼快就降臨在自己身上。每天都在學習和滿足我的欲望。到頭來是一場空。謝謝上師教導。
This is an eye opener to me seeing body being chopped off like this. It was started when the corps were hard to dispose or rot away in this snow mountain and also hard to buried under the ground. To discriminate will cost a lot because it needs a lot of woods which is also hard to find in Tibet. Hence they came up with this idea which is very spiritual.
I like the idea of people eat meant for their whole life and now when they are dead, they give back their flesh to the mother nature. But i still prefer the idea of putting my ash inside a big stupa or buddha statue.
This is a very good teaching and reminder of non-attachment to our body, cos at the end, when we dies, we are no different from any other, even animals. Burial inside a coffin does not make us any different, cos the process of dying is still the same, the only thing is no one can see what is happening inside the coffin when the decomposing process taking place, which is no less gross than sky burial.
So while we alive, grap the chance creating more merit. The wrong focus is when we keep on talking what to do with a dead body.
Very true indeed.
When a person dies, what left behind is his body.
Why go for cremation where his/her body will be burn to ashes?
Burial is good, at least it benefit the maggots and worms, a source of food to the other sentient beings it also acts as a fertiliser to the soil.
Same goes for sky burial. The only difference is that one do not see how a body decompose inside a coffin.
At the very least, it is the last act of kindness when we die to benefit other sentient beings.
虽然看起来第一个感觉是恶心，但正如所说的，这是西藏当地基于环境的条件而独有的风俗。其实，我们的葬礼也不见得很好，只是没亲眼看见尸体被腐蚀掉，并不代表我们的死亡比较不一样。
这画面上的尸体将很快换作是你我。死无定期，因为念死，我更能清晰地思考，在生命里什么是重要的，什么是浪费时间的。
在为佛法全职工作了一段时间，越来越让我紧握的是时间。我决定不再浪费时间在坚持自己的想法，只要是能够利益更多人的，我能够做的任何改变，我都会去尝试。因为生命无常，我不晓得何时自己闭上眼睛后，就与世长辞了。
希望大家也把握分秒，把时间花在能够长存的利益上，而不是最后成为其他生物的食物的尸体上。
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this piece of educational footage of sky burial with us.This serve as a reminder to us as not to waste any time in gathering wealth that we could not bring with us when our time is up. Even our greatly cherish mortal body must be left behind when we draw our last breath.
Let’s put our precious human life to good use while we can to practice dharma,there is no certainty what we might end up next time,maybe the Vulture in the last photo.
This is the acid test of how much one is attached to one’s body. One of the 4 foundation of mindfulness is the impermanence of one’s body and to meditate on its ‘ugliness’ through contemplation. However, nothing creates a bigger imprint and realism than seeing one’s body reflected in this sequence of pictures of the dead man’s body being disposed of.
Working so hard for the sake of our body is futile .We should use our body to do what really benefits us before we are reduced to bits and pieces of meat.
I must admit I could not watch past the first photo…
Rinpoche’s blog post taught me the following:
(1) Not to be attached to our bodies
(2) If we cant watch the picture of human body to cut into pieces, we should just STOP inflicting the same cruel act onto our fellow sentient beings. Hence we should stop eating meat
I will always keep the above in mind.
What is being done to the human corpse here is no different from what butchers and slaughterers of animals do to the animals. Only, in the case of animals, they were alive and kicking and wanted as much to live as we, humans, want to live. The Tibetan system of feeding the human corpse to the vultures is a small way of repaying a karmic debt to the animals that they (the humans)have slaughtered for their meat. For those of us who ate meat and continue to eat meat, how, I wonder, are we going to pay our karmic debt to the animals who had been slaughtered for the meat we demanded/demand as our food?
Yes, our bodies, we cling to so desperately in life, will betray us at death. Our minds will, however, continue into future lives carrying all our karma and imprints and delusions(our negativities and our fears). Thank you, Rinpoche, for reminding us yet again about the impermanence of our bodies and this life. Thank you for reminding us to focus on taking care of our minds.
非常震撼人心，图文并茂的文章，许多年我看过有关天葬的书籍，当时没有真正了解。今天再看，想象那具尸体就是自己，念死的画面也就更清晰。。。
仁波切经常给予我们有关念死的开示教诲，人们对于美貌等一切的执著还那么重要吗？看了这篇图文并茂的天葬描述，相信是时候将许多对世俗的执著放下了！
谢谢仁波切与我们分享什么是天葬。這些照片是非常生動和血腥，仁波切教導死亡和無常的認識，他們似乎也不是那麼可怕了。多學習佛法前，，死後留下我們的身體。我們不再是我們的身體，因為它是可以由死者做最後的立功行為。，其實應該感激藏人如此坦蕩的胸懷，讓我對自己身軀的執著逐漸放下了。
當人死了，你的皮囊只不過如廢棄的塑膠袋一個，隨時準備被丟棄，所以我又為何如此執著呢
The pictures above really reveals what we are in actuality. The countless hours and money spent for grooming and decorate our bodies will bear no results in the end if our motivation is just ordinary (e.g., to make us feel good, etc.). What we can do is to enggage in those activities with higher motivation.
它是一種文化風俗也是人民對自己軀體的觀念。很多人看了這篇文章恐怕也會像我那像，為什麼藏人可以如此對待自己的軀體呢？
可是當我將这篇文章再讀多一遍，唔。。。感覺改變了，變得比較開放且大方接受了，其實應該感激藏人如此坦蕩的胸懷，讓我對自己身軀的執著逐漸放下了。
當人死了，你的皮囊只不過如廢棄的塑膠袋一個，隨時準備被丟棄，所以我又為何如此執著呢？
Now thatit’s shown to the public, it is no longer a SACRED ritual anymore. It must be sanctioned by Tibet
no comment. that a teaching by itself. a real good one. 🙂 thank you rinpoché.
Developing and transforming our minds are beneficial and lead to everlasting happiness in this life and future lives. Developing attachment to our body and graspings to this life that lead us to a moment of pleasure has no purpose and meaning that passes away in a wink. Why wait any longer if you understand the vicious circle of life for there is a qualified Buddhist Master in Tsem Rinpoche to guide us to permanent peace and happiness? Why wait any longer when you understand the nature of life circle, Tsem Rinpoche is here to help us transcend mortality?
Agreed with Janice ” what we do for the dead affects not so much the dead, but the living. ” , For the death, No matter being chopped in pieces or being buried completely, not much different. Is just a rottten body !! We all have to prepare for it and accept it, the chopped bodies could be anyone of us in the past or in the future.
This post reminded us we all are having a shell which will be rotten anytime. Death, is unavoidable. Do not fear…!! Things are impermanent, remind us not to be lazy , think complicated or affected by any others anymore. Open to learn and transform, do not include too many other factors but learn.
Thank you Rinpoche !!
I have seen a documentary about sky burial when I was quite young, but not explicit. It did not show the whole process but only the part where the bird came to eat the meat. No matter how beautiful, how successful, how wealthy we are, when we die, it is nothing more than a piece of dead meat. We cannot bring anything with us, we become the food of someone else. It makes me think what is the purpose of life, what is the use of chasing after money and fame knowing that we are going to die anyway.
I was going through the photos and thinking what a ugly corpse I will be. When my time comes, i will want my head to be chopped up first and set aside. Eeeew coz I will be so uuuugly! Yes, even at death still must look good (for a person so attached to the body hahaha).
I had often told my family members that i do not want any wake and funeral procession. What a waste of money, time and energy. Just a cremation straight out from mortuary, wrap up the ashes and throw them away in a bin. But after meeting with Rinpoche and Dharma, my perspective has changed. Why waste the flesh when it can be used to feed another being? At least that can be my last act of giving and hopefully add to my merit bank for a better rebirth.
Chris Tan, on Jun 7, 2012 at 3:44 amThank Rinpoche to share with us what is burial. At first I thought the so-called sky burial of a body carried to the mountain and then to the vultures to eat on the line, the original is not the case. These photos are not terrorist or loss of appetite, but when you see that part of the decomposition of the head but with fear.We should not be too obsessed with our appearance to our body. We spent so much time to do the fitness so my hair or appearance of a robust body or maintenance beauty. Once death comes, all this is no longer belong to us. Loss we have spent so many years of meticulous maintenance is not the end for “betraying” We can not leave with us. Instead, prior to the hour of our death, let us even more obsessed with their own body, do not want to leave this world.This is why when someone just died, we need at the top of his head Baihui pull pull their hair, and then tell or remind the dead Do not stay here to leave its body. Then with his lifetime own deity or Buddha Bodhisattva
谢谢仁波切与我们分享什么是天葬。一开始我以为所谓的天葬就是把一具尸体抬上山然后给秃鹰吃就行了，原来并非如此。这些照片并不恐怖或让我失去胃口，只不过当看到分解头部那一部分却带有点恐惧感。
我们不应该太过执着于我们的样貌我们的身材。我们花了那么多的时间来做健身以让得到一副健壮的身材或保养美容我的头发或样貌。一旦死亡来临时，这一切都不再是属于我们了。亏我们用了那么多年的时间无微不至保养它们，到头来还不是 ”出卖“ 了我们并不能与我们一同离去。反而在我们临终之前，让我们更加执着于自己躯体，不舍得离开人世间。
这也是为什么当某人刚过世时，我们需要在他的头顶处百会拉一拉其头发，接着不停地告诉或提醒亡者离开它的身体别再逗留于此地。接着跟随着生前自己的本尊或佛菩萨而去。
We come with nothing, we go with nothing left, we can’t even keep our body properly, what more about the material belonging, nothing belong to us, not even our body, ourselves. whether we are ready or not, willing or unwilling, when death come, we still have to let go everything. No prior notice, no time delay, no room for discussion, death is with immediate effect…
For me, i’ll not accept the fact that my body being chop into pieces after my death. Is it better i donate all my organs to people who are in need.
Anyway thank you posting this, its’ guite scary, i hope i’ll not have a bad dream tonight
Hi Cindy. Yes, if your organs are usable after death, it would be more beneficial to donate them to someone in need. But what of the rest of your body? Not everything can be donated, so would you consider having the rest of your body chopped up and offered as food for carrion eaters as another final act of giving?
There is no difference between a butcher chopping up a chicken or cow for our consumption, after all.
Seeing the photos reminds me of a documentary film called 今古奇观. Has anyone seen this documentary before? I still remembered watching this in a cinema when I was very young and it has left a pretty strong memory in my mind. The documentary was not too detail about it, but I remembered the vultures came and eat the flesh. Of course at that time, I don’t understand what it meant.
I must admit that it is not easy to look at the photos. It just show how attached I am and unwilling I am to let go of my body. If I truly believe in reincarnation and that we are just borrowing a body and my mind can go to next body, why am I still so attached? It only shows that I only accept reincarnation on an intellectual basis, but still not living it…
It also amazes me how different races or religions handle death, and how I am so used to my culture and sometimes judging other cultures.
I took on the spiritual path after the death of a very close friend. May be this post set as an alarm to me that death can come anytime…
Decades ago, when I was in Hongkong there was a documentary movie of Sky Burial in Tibet and with everyone who had seen saying how gruesome the movie was, out of fear I never saw it.
Now having learnt some Dharma and looking at the pictures posted by Rinpoche, I kind of feel how giving this form of burial is, to be beneficial even in Death and also non attachment to our physical form.
Recently, Rinpoche gave a wonderful teaching on the evergreen mind which never dies and forever learning and rejuvenating, makes me realize more and more that the very importance of paying so much attention to our physical form is by nature a delusion and futile clinging on. Instead we should pay attention to transforming our minds to a higher level each and every moment while we are alive.
At the same time with further reflection even if the body by natural process will age and decay even when you are alive, it is imperative to keep our physical form in tip top condition. However if the motivation is to attract attention to this physical form is most unnecessary but if the motivation to maintain our physical form well so that it will not slow us to serve others is commendable. At the same time keeping our physical form in good condition will also prevent our loved ones the burden of looking after us. That too is a way of benefitting our loved one.
At today’s era, creamation and in-the-ground burial have become more ethical and responsible method of practice of disposing dead bodies, though “space” has become more scarce for the living than the dead. Human culture, beliefs and wants, have compel at least a simple or memorable service according to one’s affordability or means. Accordingly, whether by burial or cremation, as a rule of governmental law, dead bodies must be disposed off in an acceptable and ethical manner, so as to avoid unnecessary infectious diseases to be spread or sourced from careless or undesirable burials, not according to its ministry directives. Rituals have given us a concrete shape to the strong spiritual ideals and our belief that whatever comes from dust shall be returned to dust.
Seeing the picture above, it reminds me of our “rented”, body. This form that we cherish so much, shampoo, soap, wash, perfume and make up to look good, will one day be an empty shell.
Yes, the pictures are quite disturbing. It is disturbing because many of us are taught not to talk about death, taught that it’s inauspicious to talk about death and are protected from this thought since very young (because our parents love us, but they don’t know how to share with us the process of dying, hence they think they are protecting us by avoiding this topic). It’s not their fault, but because they are brought up that way by their parents too.
But if we study Buddhism and understand the law of Karma and reincarnation, we will look at Death in a different way. We will understand that this life, being in this body (is a blessing and very fortunate), should be used wisely to cultivate good habits, do as much good as possible to benefit others and train our MIND to reduce as much negative thoughts possible. Our MIND, are deeply habituated with negativities due to the Karma we created from many lifetimes.
It will be a waste if we have found a way, to learn and to train it but choose to convince ourselves instead that it’s ok and enough if we do not harm others and have a clear conscience we’ll end up in heaven (that is very stupid and IGNORANT). If it’s that easy, not many will be left here on planet earth. It is easier to stay in Samsara. Hence many embrace it.
Do cherish this fortunate rebirth and start transforming and break away from the vicious cycle of uncontrolled death and rebirth. Yes, we can’t control the time of our death. But if we identify our self cherishing mind that deludes us into permanency, we will learn to cut down our ATTACHMENTS to illusions and the “things”, we see as so precious, we cannot live without.
When our thoughts are clear on how impermanent things are(which is the true nature of life),we will not waste precious time, we will not be LAZY and CHOOSY to learn, train and transform our mind.
Death, is unavoidable. Only thing is, are we preparing our MIND for it? We must clear all DOUBTS and prepare the MIND by cultivating goodness, creating good Karma by practising, doing our Sadhanas,and having deep faith in our practice and strong Guru devotion. We can choose to leave this body in FEAR or in PEACE. It is up to us.
Thank you Rinpoche for your kind teaching.
Joe
Joe, thank you for an insightful comment. We are indeed fortunate to occupy this vessel we call our body, for a short period of time. But we are only fortunate if we know how to use this physical instrument to perform virtuous acts. Otherwise it becomes a mere instrument with which we express and actualize venomous thoughts and create more negative karma.
By the time I got to picture 34 I had to ask, Where now is the mind that used to occupy the body. That is the most important question.
There is nothing shocking nor scary about the pictures. Its the same as watching the butchers cut the meat of animals in any other place. Everything we do end up with the same ending – death. The body that we have now is just a shell, we cannot take with us when we die. I don’t mind if my family do a sky burial for me when I die.
Thank you Rinpoche for always reminding us time in and time out about how short life is and do more.
The photos are very graphic and gory but with the understanding of death and impermanence being taught by Rinpoche, they do not seem to be so frightening anymore. Before learning more about Dharma, I would feel sick and disgusted by these photos. Now, it is something done in a different culture and after death our mind stream leaves our body. We are no longer our body and therefore we do not feel anything anymore towards that body. And it is definitely a god thing to feed the vultures the meat as it is the last meritorious act that could be done by the dead person.
The pictures are gory and perhaps scary to some. This is a very good way to shake us up from our slumber and make us realise that death is certain and our body is just a vehicle that houses the mind which is like the engine of a car. So it is this “mind” that will lead us to our next rebirth and the body is just a shell. It is also a very selfless act by the deceased or family members of the deceased to offer the body to feed to the vultures. Shows their deep faith in the Dharma and no attachment to their body.
From nothing we came, from nothing we return to. And thus we shall continue, until we liberate ourselves.
The vultures are vanishing in those parts of Bombay, Rimpoche where the Parsi’s feed the birds’ the dead bodies. Diseased, old body maybe not a good offering, Rimpoche.
very good…here now..gone anytime
Thank-you for the educational pics, I do belive that this is the most productive way to deal with your self’s
Dear Rinpoche,of course I agree with you that it is gross but it is no different when people chop off an animal like a cow or anything else. The Tibetans do it for a purpose and that purpose is for the cycle of life to continue. Why waste when animals can get their nourishment through bodies that would decompose anyway. Now I don’t know if this practice would work the same if they let the whole body out in the open so for the animals and insects to feed instead of choping it off lol Thank you for posting these very very interesting. As always much love and respect to you!! Blessings!!
Am thinking when i die how people should “take care” my body. I remember i signed up as a organ donor 12 years ago. In the column they asked, what are the organ you wanna donate out, i thick all the columm, that time i think we die already; what is our body going to use for? In Malaysia,we do not have this kind of meaningful ceremony, thus, by donate out the organ i guess is the same. Well, certainly i do not want to be buried and kept underground, i rather burn and my ashes put to the sea or gone with the wind. Anyway, Please do organ donation.
Hey Freon, that’s a fantastic idea to to do organ donation. That would be the next best option for people who aren’t in a country that would allow sky burials. I guess the purpose would be the same – that you leave your body (or as many parts of it as possible) to benefit other beings, as your last act when you die. All of us are going to die anyway, so we might as well make something good of it, that it could help another life or go towards medical / scientific research to help countless more lives in the future.
Thanks for the reminder 🙂 Here’s more info for all Malaysians: http://www.organdonation.com.my/
On n’est bien peu de chose , c’est mon amie la rose qui me la dit ce matin…
If we can’t bear to see the pictures of a dead human body being cut up, imagine how the animals feel in the slaughter house – watching their families and friends being butchered alive and knowing their turn is just next in line !!!
I agree to your post yoke fui.
Oh dear! That’s quite true. A lot of the farm animals when they see their friends get slaughtered one-by-one will go into a frenzy and some would be so dejected, they would just cry. This shows that they have affection for each other and they can feel the same emotions that we humans experience as well. The only difference is the fact that animals are unable to verbalize their feelings. It is really sad because we as humans with the superior intellect chooses to ignore and even disassociate ourselves from what these animals are feeling.
This negative energy would eventually catch up with us either in the form of karmic retribution. This is not punishment but a natural order of the universe in which we receive the same energy we put out into this world. If you believe in karma, we create tremendous causes to either be reborn as animals or receive the same sort of treatment. If we don’t believe in karma, the chemicals and hormones that gets released into the body of these animals that die in fear is apparently toxic. The years of eating meat will built up in our bodies where some experience cancer and other deadly diseases.
That’s what I have read and just looking at these pictures evokes the same sort of revulsion we should have towards the slaughtering of animals for our food. If we can feel like that towards a dead old man being cut up, why can’t we feel it towards a LIVE animal being cut up, right? So, the choice is ours. To ignore this and disassociate ourselves from the suffering of animals or to just go vegetarian.
Very nice to see what the organs really look like. In cadavers the color changes due to preservation methods, so I haven’t seen this before. These pictures would be horrifying if it were someone I was attached to, I figure when I see death in people I don’t know it will bit by bit prepare my mind for when people I love die.
Thank you Rinpoche
Dear Rinpoche,
Why the family members are asked to see the organs that are taken out from the deceased’ body?
Thank you so much Rinpoche. Thank you for allowing us to see this sacred ritual. I am amazed how compassionate those people’s faces are to be doing such a difficult task with prayer and respect. It does require special people, and they are not even wearing the gloves. Thank you.
not sure I concur with every little thing, then again you mention some good issues.
This is better than getting buried or getting cremated. I really would want to get to have a sky burial when I die because I would be in a way helping a sentient being even after my death by feeding them my flesh.
The human body is actually just like a zombie. We are walking corpses. The body is just a vessel for our mind. When we die, we just get reincarnated into another vessel, either in hell or as a ghost, animal, human, demi-god or god.
I personally also do not know Chinese but I can slightly understand how sky burial is done from the pictures.
Your blog is so useful and so helpful to understand what is really important to work on now, in this life.
With my deepest gratitude!
This ritual is better than cremation, and equal to burial in a coffin, in my opinion. Cremation doesn’t allow the flesh to feed other beings, what a waste! At least the maggots and worms can eat you if you’re buried in a coffin! I don’t want to be cremated… I want to feed animals with my corpse. Much better than wasting the flesh in the incinerator to preserve my ‘honor’. Look I’m dead, DEAD, I don’t need honor, I need to help end suffering of other beings hungry belly by feeding them!
I guess if it makes my family feel nice and comforted to burn my corpse and stick me in a jar, whatever. Whatever helps the beings who are still alive is okay, because I will be long gone.
It’s a win-win situation really. Although I will guarantee you, the Tibetan method is the most cost-effective, and burdens your living relatives in the least possible way!
It is very difficult to watch esp the first time. This posting and the posting on the monks helping to cremate the dead after the earthquake gives a strong message that what is certain is death, uncertain is time of death. The difference in the two posting is that the sky burial is a decision made by the dead individual or the family members. Both postings shows naked body, a shell we leave behind when we die. It is also believed that the sky burial is practiced in Tibet because trees are scarce and the ground is hard, so cremation or burial is difficult to arrange and that in offering the body to the vultures represent the final offering. This teaching is esp poignant as Rinpoche has chosen to share this on his birthday.
Thank you very much Rinpoche for this teaching.
with folded hands,
janice
We humans cut up bodies of animals, we seasoned and prepared their meats in my different ways and we say that the meats are delicious, nutritious and tasty. If animals can be sent to slaughter houses when they are alive to be killed for our consumption, at least in this case, our bodies are only cut up when we are dead. We will not feel any pain or fear as compared to the animals as our consciousness had already left our body and what remains is just a piece of junk.
I used to not being able to stand seeing this kind of pictures at all but I managed to scroll down all the way from top to bottom.The explanations which Rinpoche wrote before the pictures began really helps,thinking that this body or our body for the matter of fact is really not ours to have permanently,we are just bones and flesh in the end,borrowed temporary to do something useful or not will be our choice,what matters most is our mind.Thank you very very much Rinpoche for this wonderful teaching.
I’ve seen corpses before in funeral and in documentaries. Most of them are much intact, other than those in wars (e.g. vietnam wars, etc) whereby only parts of the bodies remained intact. This is my first time viewing the sky burial process in this life time, and the process sends a very strong message of impermanance. Our body is nothing but pounds of flesh after death. It contradicts most of the ads run in tv nowadays, that induce and influence people to indulge and cherish their bodies more as they age, without realising that our bodies are not meant to last forever.
All this pictures reminds me on Impermanence. Everything will vanish,our body, possesions, family, friends,… So we are attached and are sufferning from something which is not even ment to last. How sad.
It makes no sense to cut them up. Simply leave them to the birds, the maggots, etc…
Cutting them up is grotesque and disgusting. It’s like promoting murder in sense and does seem disrespectful for your last memories of them to be their head rolling across some rocks as some birds devour them… its more something you see in cases of war when civilians and military bodies are left to rot in the sun.
They are cut up, pulverized and mixed with barley flour and then fed to the birds. The reason for that is that the Vultures do not get a taste of ‘direct’ human flesh hence perhaps attacking children later. Also pulverizing the bodies leaves no remains behind for animals to drag to villages.
The practice mirrors the the mahamudra chod practice- what they do here is a physical manifestation what normally can only be done in meditation: the process of giving the flesh of the body- which is chopped up by dakinis in the meditation practice–to be fed in a banquet to benefit the spirits. It is a complex way of taming your attachments and inner demons by breaking attachment to the body and cultivating the habit of generosity and kindness and compassion, even in the face of great terror and evil (even the scary spirits are objects of your compassion in the practice). You can’t do the practice literally while living- but as a funeral practice it works. So the chopping up also has deeper spiritual meanings which are important and which have deep roots.
I don’t see how it promotes murder at all. This process is something these people have agreed upon to happen after their natural death and is deeply ingrained in their culture. The western practice of pumping a body full of chemicals to preserve it is much more disturbing to me, even though that is my culture.
At 1st glance at the pictures of dead bodies being chopped up looks so grouse. And I can feel like my body is being chopped up into pieces too. You will have to look again contemplate and analyse deeper with Tibetan Dharma teachings in mind. Then you don’t see it so bad after all. The logic is there and its understandable. Tibetans practice this culture and its alright for their people. I don’t think cultures of other races in the world can accept this type of practice. The Chinese believe in cremation and burial for their loved ones which has to be done properly as a sort of respect for the dead and not cut their bodies up to be fed to the birds.
Dear Anila, please allow me to share this. Even in cremation, what is left behind is the bones and the skull cap. The immediate family members have to go after the cremation, each family “collect two bones” and put it in a vase. Once all the family members have done that, the cemetery worker will pick up the rest of the bones and the ashes, the skull cap last and if all doesnt fit in the vase, it is crushed and then the lid closed on top of the vase. As Rinpoche says what we do for the dead affects not so much the dead, but the living. Thank you
Very, very, very grounding post Rinpoche. I thank you for these images that show us the true result of our lives in the end.
Even in death we can cause soo much suffering for our families and loved ones, with our sometimes elaborate procedures of funeral parlours, coffins, time off work, catering, etc… just because someone has died. Yes they may have had a great life when they were living but now its just a shell we are looking at.
What a way to go out? chopped up and fed to the birds. Compared to highly attained beings whose bodies either don’t decompose, or emit odours or even sometimes totally disappear.
There is truth to the uncontrolled rebirth when we see soo many of these recorded masters of the past who showed us the complete opposite. I know i’ll probably have your typical funeral with all the expenses. But to have something like above would be a tribute to the fact our lives are impermanent, and our bodies are just carcasses after we have departed.
What sticks out is being the person who cuts up the bodies, day in day out… We are just like the many animal videos Rinpoche has posted before showing humans cutting up cows, chickens, pigs.
Here we are above, what makes us soo special.
Thank you Rinpoche
Excellent! Nothing like seeing that the body is just meat. It is a vehicle while alive and food for the worms or the vultures once we are through with it. How better to truly understand how precious and temporary life is!
Thank you for posting this.
I am especially grateful that you headed with a respectful warning. I hope you might do the same for the dog eating video?