Sky Burial In China

Tibetan Buddhist Celestial Burials Death is an issue for all cultures and religions around the world. Most people fear this thing we call death because it brings out emotions in us all such as fear, sadness, and worry. Any man or woman is fated to encounter death at some point in their lifetime. Sometimes death can be caused by a natural disaster like a flood or earthquake. Sometimes, though, it can happen through man-made disasters like war, traffic accidents, and murder. Though all these different scenarios could happen there is always one ultimate price at the end for everyone, and that is death. Tibetan Buddhism is a belief of many in China, but the celestial burial is a practice so many choose to participate in. Sky burial is a disposal

Her team arrived at Drigung Monastery where a dozen monks were chanting. Ahead of them were flagstones where a body lied in a white cloth and was carried there on a stretcher over an hour ago. The monks were praying over the body for a spirit who once lived in the body. It was the third day of visitation with this loved one and now the day comes for the disposal of the dead. After the monks stopped chanting, everyone walked up a path that was a long distance from the funeral party to do the last duty of departing the loved one. When they arrived at the location, vultures are swooping overhead and a few more are clustered on the ground just a little away from where the body will sit. Men dressed in long, white aprons come out and carefully unwrap the body from the white cloth that is naked and swollen. As the first cut into the body is made the vultures crowd closer, but three men with sticks shoe them away. Within a few minutes all of the deceased organs are removed and set aside for later for a different disposal. The cutters give a signal and the flock rushes in to the body. They cover the body completely for thirteen minutes as it is feeding time. And the only sound that anyone can hear is tearing flesh. When some of the birds start to seem gorged, the men pull out the remaining skeleton and wave away the rest of the birds.

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Logan, P. (n.d.). Witness to a Tibetan Sky Burial. A Field Report for the China Exploration and Research Society. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~pamlogan/skybury.htm

Sang, K. (2016, July 18). Sky Burial in Tibet ,Tibetan Funeral Customs. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from