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| Mummified Monk (Photo by Per Meistrup) |
In today’s medically-oriented societies, death is often approached with fear and resistance. In order to quell these existential anxieties, drugs such as morphine are administered.
Some centuries ago, highly advanced practitioners meditated rather than medicated. Live
Science reports that “aging Buddhist monks would slowly starve themselves to eliminate decay-producing fat and liquid, while subsisting mainly on pine needles and resin to facilitate the mummification process.”
They would then “be buried alive with just a breathing tube to keep them holding on so they could meditate until death.” Although
some may argue that this is outright suicide, is it qualitatively that much different from, say, certain types of end-stage care? If these aging monks chose to die a conscious dignified death (as opposed to a stupefied one) is that morally wrong?
Of course, there may very well be other viable alternatives. Rather
than embarking upon a self-mummification process, couldn’t a dying person simply focus upon meditation while lying in bed and awaiting a more natural cessation of breathing?
After all, these mortal coils will be shuffled off one way or another. Is
it not ultimately the soul’s journey that takes precedence after bodily death?
Resources
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0224/Inside-a-Buddha-statue-a-surprise-mummy
Copyright February 24, 2015 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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