There is a practice in Tibet of offering the deceased to vultures as a final act of compassion. Sometimes this is done in a ceremony with a lot of Monks and such present. Other times it is a simple affair for family to take care of.THIS is one of the best galleries for sky burial I have ever seen. Warning: It is Graphic.
Wow.
ReplyDeleteThat's beautiful! I'd like my remains disposed of that way (insofar as they could be called 'mine'), but I'm pretty sure it's illegal everywhere in the US.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they do with the bones afterward?
ReplyDeleteTheir vultures look like they could beat up USA's turkey vultures. cool vid
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate the beauty of this ritual. It does give whole new meaning however, to letting your spirit soar!
ReplyDeletesky burials make sense to me. quiet, efficient, sane, & compassionate to person & environment. i have yet to see any sense to internment, especially given restraints to living & crop space. the vultures are impressive birds!
ReplyDeleteI myself would LOVE sky burial and all the rites associated with it.
ReplyDeleteThe Bones typically get made into dharma tools like the Kapala, Kangling, Damarus, Malas, etc.
I myself would LOVE sky burial and all the rites associated with it.
ReplyDeleteThe Bones typically get made into dharma tools like the Kapala, Kangling, Damarus, Malas, etc.
wow, that's beautiful and terrifying all at once. Beautiful because of the scene, and the awesome of nature. Terrifying because those vultures are thorough. I think I would like to be buried in that way, or in a nice, bright funeral pyre. But that's just the scandinavian blood within me.
ReplyDeleteFor some, I think it may be shocking, but when you really think about it, how different is it from traditional burial. Unless one chooses above ground interment, eventually our bodies decompose and/or become a meal for other living things. We just don't witness it. This is so powerful and rich in it's symbolism.
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering, Jason. I'm glad they do something special with the bones as well. Quite a beautiful ritual.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow (er, vulture), that is really amazing!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I want to become buzzard food but I would like to be cremated out in the ocean on a viking long boat.
ReplyDeleteI was giving it some thought on the way home from school today. I really dig this Sky Burial thing and I dig the idea of my body, in a sense, being flown away out of this world.
ReplyDeletePretty cool stuff!
If given the choice I think I would choose to have this Sky Burial done as well. It just seems more serene, just and altogether beneficial than anything else that could happen to my remains.
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