Lots of people have a statue of Buddha decorating their home, but not all of these statues are the same, one in particular had a surprising secret.
A CT Scan proves most revealing
A CT Scan carried out on a 1,000 year old statue by the World Museum in Rotterdam revealed that it contains the remains of a mummified monk believed to be that of Buddhist master, Liuquan. Researchers have suggested that the finding may be the result of self-mummification.
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For 1,000 days, the monks undergoing this process ate nothing but nuts, seeds, fruits and berries and exercised to remove their body fat. For the next one thousand days they existed on bark and roots. Next they drank poisonous tea which acted as a preservative. Lastly, they locked themselves in a stone tomb and meditated in the lotus position without moving. The monks rang a bell daily to let others know they were alive. When the bell stopped, the tomb was sealed. A thousand days later the tomb was opened to see if the process had worked. If so, the monks were raised to the status of Buddha and their bodies were taken to a temple where it was revered. If the body had decomposed, the monk was resealed in his tomb and respected for his endurance, but not believed to have become a Buddha.
