What is the celestial burial of Tibetans?

As we all know, there is a ceremony in Tibet called celestial burial. That is, after a person leaves, he is dragged to the holy mountain, and then the vultures flying in the sky come down to peck and eat them bite by bite until there is nothing left. This is a celestial burial. People in Tibet believe this very much, thinking that this can lift the zero muddy to the sky and return naturally.

Tibetan Buddhism celestial burial?

The core of celestial burial is the immortality of the soul and its cycle. Death is only the separation of the immortal soul from the old body, and it is a different transformation in different dimensions. Tibetans respect celestial burial, and think that feeding vultures with "skin" is the noblest charity, which embodies the highest realm of Mahayana Buddhism paramita-laying down one's life. Instead of the myth that "celestial burial can make the soul go to heaven" in online travel guides, there is no saying in Tibetan Buddhism that "people can go to heaven after death".

What is the celestial burial of Tibetans? What is celestial burial?

Celestial burial means feeding the dead bodies to vultures.

Eagles will fly to heaven after eating, while Tibetans believe that the dead can ascend to heaven smoothly. Celestial burial is held in celestial burial sites, and there are fixed places all over the country. After death, the body will be put in the morgue for a few days, and the Lama will recite the scriptures and be buried on the selected day. Funerals are usually early. A special person sent the body to the celestial burial master to burn incense for the gods. Vultures gathered around the celestial burial ground when they saw fireworks.

The celestial burial master immediately took off his clothes, dismembered the body and stripped the flesh and blood according to certain procedures. Mash the bones with stones and mix well with samba. Cut the meat into small pieces for later use. Finally, call the eagle with a whistle and feed it in the order of bone and meat until it is completely swallowed.

Relevant regulations

In 2005, the People's Government of Xizang Autonomous Region issued a notice on the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Celestial Burials. This is the third time after 1985 that the government of China has issued a special notice and notice on the protection of celestial burial in Tibet, which fully respects and protects Tibetan funeral customs with thousands of years of history. No organization or individual may engage in the following activities:

1. Onlookers, photos, videos, etc. at the scene of celestial burial activities;

2, through newspapers, magazines, books, radio, film and television, Internet and other media published, played, burned, reproduced rendering celestial burial activities related words, pictures, reports, etc. ;

3. Organize Chinese and foreign tourists to visit the celestial burial platform as a tourist attraction.

What is the celestial burial of Tibetans in Tibet?

Celestial burial means feeding the dead bodies to vultures. Vultures eat and fly to heaven, while Tibetans think that the dead have ascended to heaven smoothly. Celestial burial is held in celestial burial sites, and there are fixed locations in various places. After death, a few days later, the Lama was asked to chant Buddhist scripture and choose a funeral day. Funerals are usually early, and some people send the bodies to the celestial burial master to burn incense for the gods first. Vultures gathered around the celestial burial ground when they saw the fireworks. The celestial burial master immediately stripped the body of clothes, dismembered the body according to certain procedures, and stripped the bones. Mash the bones with stones, mix them in, and cut the meat into small pieces for later use. Finally, whistle for vultures and don't feed them in the order of bone and meat until they are completely swallowed.

Celestial burial is an ancient and unique custom in Tibet, and it is also the funeral method adopted by most Tibetans.

The funeral forms of Tibetans have undergone historic changes. According to Tibetan history books, during the "Seven Days" in ancient times, the king died "holding a rope to heaven" and "like a rainbow, without a corpse". This situation is related to the understanding of Tibetans at that time. At that time, Tibetans believed that their ancestors came from the sky and died.

In Tibetan, celestial burial is called "hanging the tiles alone", which means "near the cemetery". Also known as "Chado", it means "feeding vultures". In this paper, "QIA" is a vulture that eats carrion, which is called "Hare Turtle". Accordingly, this kind of "celestial burial" can also be described as "bird burial"

When the custom of celestial burial began, there is no specific and exact record. After Buddhism was introduced into Tibet, it had a great influence on the funeral customs in Tibet. In Buddhism, "giving" is the principle that believers follow. There are many kinds of giving, and giving life is also a kind of giving. According to the "Sacrifice Sutra" found in Dunhuang, it is to persuade people to separate their flesh and blood after death and give Tuolin a body. This custom existed before the Han Dynasty and Sui Dynasty. This custom may lead Tibetans who believe in Buddhism to have the same purpose. In Buddhist stories, there are also Buddhist stories of "the corpse king gives pigeons with his body" and "Mahasa _ devotes himself to feeding tigers", preaching "Bodhisattva gives her life to give alms" and so on.

A common burial custom of Tibetans is also called "bird burial". Used for ordinary farmers and herdsmen and ordinary people. Tibetan Buddhists believe that celestial burial is a wish to ascend to heaven. Every region has a celestial burial ground, that is, a celestial burial ground, and there are specialized people engaged in this industry. After death, people curl up, bow their heads and kneel down to form a sitting posture, wrap it in a white quilt, put it on the earthen platform on the right side behind the door, and ask the Lama to recite the sutra of crossing over. On an auspicious day, the undertaker carried the body to the celestial burial platform, first lit the "mulberry" smoke to the vultures, and after the Lama finished chanting, the celestial burial master disposed of the body. Then, vultures flew in, scrambling to peck, and eating them all was the most auspicious, indicating that the deceased was innocent and his soul had ascended to heaven safely. If you haven't finished eating, the rest should be picked up and incinerated, and at the same time, you should read it. Tibetans believe that vultures on the mountains around the celestial burial platform do not harm any small animals except eating corpses, so they are "god birds". Celestial burial ceremonies are usually held in the early morning. Before dawn, the family of the deceased will send the body to the celestial burial platform. The sun rose slowly and the celestial burial ceremony began. You'd better not read it without permission.

Celestial burial is the most acceptable and common funeral custom in Tibetan areas. Inferred from the ancient tomb sites in Tibet, celestial burial may have originated after the 7th century. Some scholars believe that this burial method was founded by the Deligong Kagyu School. In AD 1 179, Zhigongba people built Zhigong Temple in Zhigong, Mozhugongka County, which promoted and improved the celestial burial system at that time.

Regarding celestial burial, Tibetan Buddhism believes that lighting mulberry smoke is paving a colorful road, respectfully inviting Daku to board the celestial burial platform, offering her body as a sacrifice to the gods, praying to redeem the sins of the deceased while she is alive, and asking the gods to take her soul to heaven. The vultures attracted by mulberry smoke on the celestial burial platform do not harm any animals except human bodies. Tibetans call them "God Birds". It is said that this burial method is to imitate Sakyamuni's behavior of "giving his life to feed the tiger", so celestial burial is still popular in Tibet.

There is a corpse pool about 4 square meters in the middle of Dodoka Celestial Funeral Home, which is paved with pebbles. There is a rectangular stone 60 cm high on the north side of the pool, which is used to park the body during celestial burial. Outside the south gate of the Celestial Funeral Home, a prayer flag pole with a height of about 10 meter stands. There is a skeleton sculpture on the pole, and many faded prayer flags are hung on the top. Send the deceased to the celestial burial platform in Dodoka, curl his body, bend his head to his knees, and make him sit in a sitting position, wrapped in white. On auspicious days, the corpse carrier will send the corpse to the celestial burial platform, light mulberry smoke to attract vultures, and then conduct an autopsy. Because vultures like to eat meat rather than bones, the celestial burial procedure adopts flashback method, and the bones are fed first.