Crazy Fascinating Things You Didn't Know About Sky Burial
Sky Burial Is a Meaningful Buddhist Ceremony
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So, what's the point of leaving a body out in the open? One might think it's disrespectful to the corpse, but the truth is that a sky burial, also known as a celestial burial, is actually a highly noble Tibetan ceremony which allows the body to be returned to nature as a gift.
After death, the body is no longer required, and thus, would certainly go to waste. Instead, as a final act, it is returned back to nature as an act of compassion, one of the main virtues of Buddhism.
And that's where the vultures come in.
The Corpse-consuming Vultures Are Considered Holy
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To most of us, vultures are seen as grotesque and gangly abominations of the bird world. Scavengers that are more akin to grave-robbers, they are known to let nature run its course (or let someone else do their dirty work) and simply bide their time, waiting to come upon an already-dead animal to find their meal.
Not so in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Here, practitioners believe the vultures are similar to angels. Referred to as Dakinis (or, "sky dancers"), the vultures are said to help escort the deceased's soul into heaven -- after they rip, rend, and devour the rest of its flesh, entrails, and bones, of course.
The Pre-burial Ritual Lasts Three Days
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Although the act of leaving a body to be devoured atop a mountain certainly sounds cruel on the surface (and would likely get you arrested in virtually any other part of the world), there is actually a solemn ritual that goes along with it.
For three days, the corpse is left untouched while a lama (a Tibetan Buddhist instructor), recites prayers to help the soul migrate onto the next life. But on the day before the burial, the body is wrapped in white cloths and set into the fetal position.
The idea behind this? Go back to the form from whence we came.
The Corpses Are Dismembered so They Can Be Folded and Transported
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Following the quiet and solemn ritual to prepare the soul of the deceased, the time has now come for the actual burial - and this is where things get violent.
After the body has been properly prepared for three days, it's now time to bring it to the burial site, called a dürtro, at the top of a nearby mountain. The problem is, most corpses are very difficult to carry even a small distance, let alone vertically.
The solution? The corpse's spine is broken, allowing it to be folded into a more manageable shape for easy travel. Sort of like a nifty piece of collapsible luggage that can fit into any tight overhead space.
After the body is led to the dürtro, several monks, called ropyagas, or "body breakers", prepare the body for consumption by the vultures.
Using hatchets to dismember limbs, cleavers to flay off skin, and knives to slice the hair from the scalp, the monks then carve the body into smaller pieces. Everything from the flesh to the internal organs to the bones themselves are prepared as a meal -- and occasionally ground into pulp and mixed with barley and flour -- for the vultures, now ready to descend.
The Dead Person's Loved Ones Are Supposed to Watch the Vultures Eat the Body
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Once a body has been properly placed atop the mountain, it is only a matter of time before the circling vultures begin to feed. Tibetan families are then encouraged to watch the vultures in their act as a way to confront death itself.
This is said to help individuals grow accustomed to the inevitability of death. As another cornerstone of Buddhism, the acceptance of our passing is to be met with an open mind and without fear. Thus, watching the vultures feast on the deceased's remains is not meant to be a morbid display of brutality, but rather a way to find comfort in the fact that our mortal shell is no longer in use, and the spirit has moved on to the next part of its journey.
Sky Burial Originally Began out of Necessity
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Not to say that people needed to be devoured by a swarm of vultures, but rather that the geography of Tibet provided few options in the way of traditional burials.
At an altitude of nearly 17,000 feet, the grounds of a typical Tibetan settlement almost literally do not allow for graves to be dug. Up here, the ground is so cold and rocky that it's nearly impossible to dig through. Not to mention the fact that the surroundings are almost entirely mountainous, providing very little in the way of graveyard real estate.
Cremation wasn't much of an option either, as there are very few trees with which to construct a proper funeral pyre. And so, the remaining option lent itself perfectly to the inherent concepts of Buddhism. Our bodies are no longer needed after death...so why let them go to waste?
Sky Burial Helps the Spirit Migrate
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According to Tibetan Buddhists, once the body officially dies, it becomes nothing more than an empty vessel. The consciousness however, moves on to the next life, and, in some beliefs, to a previous one.
There are rules though: a person's karma in this life controls where their consciousness will end up in the next. And in this, there are six possible realms of existence: Animal, Human, Jealous God, God, and Preta, which literally translates to "hungry ghost", and is the group which receives many earthly offerings.
The vultures are said to help take the soul into the heavens, where it will await its next destination.