1,000 year old meteorite Buddha!
The interesting article below is about the discovery of a Buddhist statue made from meteorite dating back 1,000 years!
The statue has been identified as Vaisravana, or Namtösé in Tibetan. It is believed that Vaisravana resides in the lower half of Mount Sumeru, the center of the universe in Buddhist cosmology. He is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, guardian of the northern direction, and the leader of all the yakṣas who dwell on the Sumeru’s slopes.
The statue was found by a Nazi expedition in 1936, and weighs approx 10 kg. It was carved from the Chinga meteorite, which crashed in the area of what is now the Russian and Mongolian border around 15,000 years ago.
I find this very interesting as it shows that the people living in that time were already practicing Buddhism and even made statues of Buddhas and Deities. Do read the article below which have evidences and a photograph of Vaisravana.
Tsem Rinpoche
Discovered by a Nazi expedition in 1936, the incredible 1,000 year old Buddhist statue made from a meteorite
The Buddhist statue first found by a Nazi expedition in 1938. New analysis has found it is made from a meteorite.
- Researchers astonished to find priceless stature was made from rare meteorite
- 24cm tall, 10kg statue portrays the god Vaisravana
In a discovery that sounds uncannily like the plot of an Indiana Jones film, researchers have discovered that a 1,000 year old Buddhist statue found by a Nazi expedition in 1938 is made from a meteorite.
The findings, published in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science, reveal the priceless statue to be a rare ataxite class of meteorite.
The statue, known as the Iron Man, weighs 10kg and is around 24cm tall.
‘The statue was chiseled from a fragment of the Chinga meteorite which crashed into the border areas between Mongolia and Siberia about 15,000 years ago,’ said Dr Elmar Buchner from Stuttgart University, who made the discovery.
‘While the first debris was officially discovered in 1913 by gold prospectors, we believe that this individual meteorite fragment was collected many centuries before.’
The team was able to classify it as an ataxite, a rare class of iron meteorite with high contents of nickel.
The largest-ever known meteorite, the Hoba meteorite of Namibia, is an ataxite meteorite that may weigh more than 60 tons.
The statue, known as the Iron Man, weighs 10kg and is believed to represent a stylistic hybrid between the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist Bon culture that portrays the god Vaisravana, the Buddhist King of the North, also known as Jambhala in Tibet.
It was discovered in 1938 by an expedition of German scientists led by renowned zoologist Ernst Schäfer.
The expedition was supported by Nazi SS Chief Heinrich Himmler and the entire expeditionary team were believed to have been SS members.
Schäfer would later claim that he accepted SS support to advance his scientific research into the wildlife and anthropology of Tibet.
However, historians believe Himmler’s support may have been based on his belief that the origins of the Aryan race could be found in Tibet.
The Chinga meteorite field holds at least 250 meteorite fragments.
Fragments are common, and are often sold among collectors.
It is unknown how the statue was discovered, but it is believed that the large swastika carved into the centre of the figure may have encouraged the team to take it back to Germany.
Once it arrived in Munich it became part of a private collection and only became available for study following an auction in 2007.
Meteorites inspired worship from many ancient cultures ranging from the Inuit’s of Greenland to the aborigines of Australia.
Even today one of the most famous worship sites in the world, Mecca in Saudi Arabia, is based upon the Black Stone, believed to be a stony meteorite.
Dr Buchner’s team believe the Iron Man originated from the Bon culture of the 11th Century.
“The Iron Man statue is the only known illustration of a human figure to be carved into a meteorite, which means we have nothing to compare it to when assessing value,” said Dr Buchner.
‘Its origins alone may value it at $20,000; however, if our estimation of its age is correct and it is nearly a thousand years old it could be invaluable.’
*THE IRON MAN
The statue is is believed to represent a stylistic hybrid between the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist Bon culture that portrays the god Vaisravana, the Buddhist King of the North, also known as Jambhala in Tibet.
*THE CHINGA METEORITE
The statue is believed to have been chiseled from a fragment of the Chinga meteorite which crashed into the border areas between Mongolia and Siberia about 15,000 years ago.
The Chinga meteorite field holds at least 250 meteorite fragments.
Fragments are common, and are often sold among collectors.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2209017/Discovered-Nazi-expedition-1936-incredible-1-000-year-old-Buddhist-statue-METEORITE.html
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it’s really a very rare to discover a 1,000-year-old Buddhist statue found by a Nazi expedition in 1938. It seem a meteorite that crashed into the Earth about 15,000 years and it have been carved into a Buddha statue by Tibetans as claimed. With this it has proven that the people living in that time were already practicing Buddhism. 15,000 years ago, the Chinga meteorite crashed into the border area of what is Siberia and Mongolia today and this extremely hard material was later used to carve a Vaisravana statue is indeed astonishing. Thank you very much Rinpoche and blog team for this very interesting write up! 😍👍
Wow amazing discovery like Indiana Jones adventure. A rare 1,000-year-old Buddhist statue found by a Nazi expedition in 1938. It seem a meteorite that crashed into the Earth about 15,000 years and it have been carved into a Buddha statue by Tibetans as claimed. With this it has proven that the people living in that time were already practicing Buddhism.
With this discovery scientist had classified the statue as a rare class of iron meteorite. They mentioned that the meteorite must have fell to Earth approximately 15,000 years ago.
Interesting discovery . The priceless statue is believed to originate from the pre-Buddhist Bon culture of the 11th Century. It sounds like an artifact from an Indiana Jones film.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
15,000 years ago, the Chinga meteorite crashed into the border area of what is Siberia and Mongolia today and this extremely hard material was later used to carve a Vaisravana statue is indeed astonishing. The statue was more recently carved, compared to the age of the meteorite, but considering the tools and technology 1,000 years ago when the statue was carved, it must had taken extremely huge effort, hence, render this statue priceless. Thank you for this sharing.
That is interedting….a discovery of a 1.ooo years old meteorite Buddha by Nazi expedition in 1938.The people at Russian and Mongolian border already practicing Buddhism 15,000 years ago.It proved that Buddhism do exist during that time. The Buddha statue looks unique and amazing , not a easy task to crave on such a hard.raw meteorite.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
I just can’t believe that a 1,000 year old stone carved statue can be still in such a good condition. I believe that whoever has that statue is definitely very happy and would treasure it.
From this we can tell that Buddhism has been practiced for a very long time, and we should continue with our practices and have faith no matter what happens.
WOW… how interesting! The fact that it was chiseled some 1000 years ago in itself is rather astounding. The detail and mastery of the artistry is quite incredible.
The fact that it is in actuality a meteorite is really beyond words. I wonder if the person that carved it, knew it was something “fallen” from the sky! Could it be that very symbolism that inspired the carver to carve Vaisravana?
Thank you for sharing this interesting article. I bet the Nazis were sure confused when they saw the swastika on the Buddha statue. Hehe. This is really amazing as it shows the connection between the Buddhist and the pre-Buddhist Bon culture. It is super cool. I think it is also very cool that it is made out of Meteorite rock, I guess it’s value is priceless as there are not many meteors around other than the one that exploded recently in Russia.
Since the news of this sculpture emerged, it has been suggested that while the material of the sculpture is undisputed, the time and cultural background of the sculpture is under questions. According to The Guardian newspaper’s report, Nazi buddha from space might be fake, (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/oct/24/nazi-buddha-statue-space-fake)
“According to Buddhism specialist Achim Bayer, the statue bears 13 features which are easily identifiable by experts as “pseudo-Tibetan” – and which sit uneasily with speculation by researchers last month that it was probably made in the 11th-century pre-Buddhist Bon culture.
These include the 24cm-high statue’s shoes, trousers and hand positioning, as well as the fact that the buddha has a full beard rather than the “rather thin” facial hair usually given to a deity in Tibetan and Mongolian art. In his report, Bayer says he believes the statue to be a European counterfeit made sometime between 1910 and 1970.”
Personally, i think that the features of the sculpture looks more European than Asian. Whether or not it is meant to be of a Buddhist deity or not is subject to discussion but it is well known that whichever country or culture adopts a deity, it tends to make the deity look like their own race. For example, the Buddha in China looks Chinese when he was Indian, Jesus Christ in England looks English when he was middle eastern!
If this sculpture was a 20th century creation, an interesting question would be why would someone make this sculpture out of meteorite which would probably be expensive or rare. The source of the rock has been attributed to a meteorite which fell on the Siberian-Mongolian border which means that if the sculpture is European in origin, it would not have been easy to acquire the material.
Like everything on this blog – there’s always something to think about after reading a post!
Very unique statue of Namtose. Thanks for sharing Rinpoche!
What I find interesting and it’s actually a big proof to non-believers is that Buddhism was really very well practised in the past. It is a proof that Buddhas teachings were very pervasive.
To have a it carved in Meteorite … such a hard stone, I wondered how the people of those times 1000 years ago can actually have the skills to carve this with such intricate detail? It tells me of there must be a strong devotion of Vaisravana Buddha at that time and was practised.
The thing is why were the Nazis so interested in it? They didn’t know that the statue was made from a meteorite — so why did they bring it all the way back to Germany? And what were they doing in Tibet in the first place?
Did a little goggling and found this…
According to some experts, the statue is a stylistic hybrid between the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist Bon culture that portrays the god Vaisravana, the Buddhist King of the North, also known as Jambhala in Tibet. It also features an apparent swastika on the front — something that would have surely attracted the attention of the Nazis who discovered it.
The 1938 expedition to Tibet was led by renowned zoologist Ernst Schäfer (and no, it was not René Emile Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark). After the war, Schäfer claimed that the SS-backed expedition was to further his investigations into the wildlife and anthropology of Tibet. Historians, on the other hand, suspect that Heinrich Himmler — Chief of the German police at the time — supported the expedition for his own reasons.
And in fact, he forced all the archaeologists to become SS members in order to take part in the expedition. This was to ensure that Hans Hörbiger’s pseudoscientific theory of “Glacial Cosmogony” (a bizarre theory suggesting that ice was the foundational substance of all cosmic processes) would be adhered to. Moreover, he could use the expedition to further his interest in Asian mysticism.
Indeed, Himmler, who was fascinated by mysticism and the occult, was interested in finding proof of Aryan and Nordic superiority from ancient times. He suspected that some of this “proof” could be found in Tibet, hence the expedition. Nazi archaeology, such that it was, was rarely conducted for the purposes of genuine research. Instead, it was a propaganda tool used to perpetuate nationalistic pride in Germans and provide scientific justifications for conquest.
Eighteen years earlier, the Nazi party had adopted the swastika as their official insignia. It was an ancient symbol, one that dated back to the Neolithic period and was first discovered in the Indus Valley and India. It was later used in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism to symbolize good luck. Other meanings included “to be good,” “being with higher self,” and even “eternity.”
The Nazis, on the other hand, completely co-opted the symbol, using it to symbolize Aryanism, anti-semitism, and perpetual forward momentum. It has since become the universal symbol for hate and intolerance — a complete bastardization of its original meaning.
Looking back at the 1938 expedition, one can only imagine the Nazis’ delight when Schäfer’s team uncovered the ancient relic with a swastika adorned on its chest. Blinded by ideology and Himmler’s bizarre interpretation of history, they would have remained completely ignorant of the object’s true meaning and significance.
Which is actually really sad when you think about it.
http://io9.com/5946975/why-were-the-nazis-so-interested-in-a-statue-carved-from-a-meteorite
This shows if Buddhism is not preserved well, and not practised, if it falls in to the wrong hands… this is what happens. Hence this is why time and time again Rinpoche has always emphasized on our practice, and why it is more important to have quality practitioners then just filling up our Dharma centres with quantity in members that is easy, common, and what you see today. The difference is they don’t have a Lama that is there to guide them to apply the teachings but they show up once a year and everyone feels “bless”… sure cos no egos were challenged. But would these centres be able to continue preserving and spread the teachings after their Guru is gone is another question.
I’m believe this person put a lot of effort to carve on this meteorite , really nice and beautiful statue. And also prove that
they were believe and pray to Dzambala more than thousands years ago.
This Dzambala statue is unique,we have fortunate to view this photo ,really appreciate and thanks to Rinpoche for sharing with us.
Wow! The carvings on the statue is so neat! Like it was carved not so long ago. After so many years, the meteorite survived the weather and conditions. And thank goodness it is found and even during the war and thank goodness the Nazi’s did not destroy it! Good blessings for those who found it and saw it.
First come to my mind, what is the technology that used to craved this statue. From the article, this statue have age of 1000 years ago. From the photos, the statues was very fine in craving. From where they got the image of Dzambala Buddha that able them to crave like the statues. To me, this is a precious statue that proof that Dharma practice existed more than 1000 years ago.
I find it interesting that the Nazis would be the ones who found this statue as the actions of the Nazis is complete opposite from how a Buddhist should act. Both uses the same symbol with opposite meaning as well.
Buddhist swastika is almost always clockwise, while the swastika adopted by the Nazis is counterclockwise.
In Buddhism, the swastika signifies life, auspiciousness and good luck. In some countries, it’s a symbol of plurality, eternity, abundance, prosperity and long life. Again, complete opposite of what the Nazis swastika represents a symbol of hate, violence and death.
Wow, this is very interesting to have statue this old, and after so many years, Vaisravana is still widely practice by the many people around the world till today.
It is said that the black stone in Mecca is made by Meteorite as well, Although it has often been described as a meteorite, this hypothesis is still under consideration, because there is no way to test this hypothesis without removing and examining the Stone, which would not be permitted by its guardians.
Beside Vaisravanna and the mecca black stone, there are other deity images that is now located in every corner of the world which made by Meteorite too. I have listed down a few of it below:
Deity name – Country
Aphrodite – Paphos, Cyprus
Cybele – Rome
Astarte – Byblos, Lebanon
Artemis – Ephesus, Turkey
It is nice that this statue was discovered and later brought to the attention of public.
I would imagine that the meteorite must be a a piece of very hard object to do any sculptoring on. So for the one/those who did this it must have been a lot of dedication.
The relic bears a Buddhist swastika on its belly – an ancient symbol of luck that was later co-opted by the Nazis in Germany.
Meteorites have long been heralded as acts of God across many cultures, and early knives and jewellery were often carved from the remnants of space rocks. But tracing their exact origins has proved difficult for scientists.
Great findings!
Thanks for the sharing Rinpoche.Is really facinating that they could carve in to a piece of metiorite 1000 years ago and who could have done this.For the person who have created this mavel,he would wish to preserve this imeage of the buddha for infinity and to share it with others.Could there be another 3 to complete the set ?
What good karmic merits we must have to be able to set eyes on a statue of a 1,000 years old (though in the form of a picture). Said to represent one of the 4 heavenly kings, Vaisravana, the buddhist god King of the North, who is also known as Jambhala in Tibet and a leader of all yaksas. Carved out from the chinga meteorite which crashed in an area between Russia and Mongolian border around 15,000 years ago, it certainly would be the oldest meteorite out of this world. How meritorious are we to have this chance to witness the impossible otherwise, thanks again to our Guru of caring and sharing, Tsem Tulku Rinpoche.
Meteorite is very hard indeed hence not easy to be carved. He is wearing a Pandit hat! at his wight ear hw wear an big loop earring. He clothes that he wear look like a warrior. It must has took many many year to get this statue done. Beautiful work.
The world started from beginningless time, Hence there are many statues like this still undiscovered. The way the statue was carved represented the culture and life at that thousand year ago. It’s very interesting to know more.
I marvel at the fine work done on this meteorite that must have been very hard. Otherwise the statue won’t be known as Iron Man. Not sure if the Nazis had good imprint from finding the statue but we are lucky to be able to see it now, after its been hidden from public view for so long.
Quite amazing that something that old could have been preserved for that long! (and a fortunate connection for the Nazis to have found this image and gotten some imprints – they need all the “help” and blessings they can get!
Thanks for this interesting article. Just wonder if this would a more accurate depictment of Vaisravana since it is supposedly estimated at few thousand years old. Hmmm…