4/26/2006: Vultures feast in Tibetan burial ceremony

[nephtes]

Aaah, I've read about this. It's also called "Sky Burial" (Wikipedia info). I originally came across this in a book by the same, a true story about a chinese woman named Shu Wen who travels to Tibet to search for her missing husband. Wholeheartedly recommended -- I read it almost cover-to-cover on a flight from Montreal to Miami. Absolutely spellbinding.

But I digress. Getting back to the ceremony itself, the description in the book is somewhat at odds with the Wikipedia article, which emphasizes the purely pragmatic aspects. According to my recollection, the body must be completely consumed; even the bones are ground up for the birds. Any remains would tie the spirit to this world, leaving it prey to demons and preventing it from moving on to reincarnation or nirvana.

Hey, who's to say this is weirder than spending two grand on a mahogany coffin so it can rot in the ground?

- Steve