In 2002, a sensational report spread around the media. It stated that the results of a study of the imperishable body of Lama Itigelov were obtained. After 75 years in a burial state, the samples taken showed the following. The organics of the hair, nails, and skin of a dead person had no difference from the organics of the living. This was announced at a press conference by G. Ershova, professor of the RSUH, doctor of historical sciences.
The phenomenon of imperishability
It was about the imperishable body of Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov, a religious figure who stood from 1911 to 1917 at the head of East Siberian Buddhists. Earlier in the Buddhist world there were only a few rare cases when a similar state of human flesh was achieved. Here are some examples.
The body from China belonged to Jae Tsongkhapa, a reformer of Tibetan Buddhism who founded the Galug school. He went down in history in connection with his spiritual and intellectual achievements, and also because of his extraordinary kindness to the people of Tibet.
Tsongkhapa passed away at the age of sixty, in 1419. As his disciples testified, at the time of death his body was transformed into the young body of Manjurshi (a buddha teacher and spiritual father of bodhisattvas, the embodiment of higher wisdom). It became beautiful and exuded a rainbow of light. This was an unmistakable sign that Tsongkhapa had reached nirvana. His imperishable body was not preserved. When the Ganden Serdun Monastery was barbarously destroyed in Tibet in 1959, it disappeared.
Rector of a monastery in Vietnam
An imperishable body in Vietnam is not in very good condition. A few kilometers from Hanoi, in the courtyard of the Dau Temple, for almost 300 years, the mummy Wu Khak Ming has been in the lotus position. According to legend, Abbot Ming at the end of his earthly journey plunged into strict fasting and prayer.
After a hundred days, he turned to the monks surrounding him: “The time has come for me to leave this world. Wait a month after my spirit flies from the body. If the smell of decay appears, then bury me according to the rite. If corruption does not show up, then leave me here so that I can always offer prayers to the Buddha. ”
After Wu Khak Min died, the body was not affected by decay. The monks coated it with silver paint in order to protect them from insects. He was left in a sitting position in the niche of the chapel, on a small elevation. Following Vietnam’s independence, Ming’s body was X-rayed. The contours of the skeleton appeared on the screen, and the doctors were convinced that in front of them was human flesh, not a statue.
As a result of research, it was found that the body is not embalmed, and the brain and internal organs are not affected. It has been preserved in the tropics, where humidity is close to 100%. The remains of Min at the same time dried out, but not moistened. When they were examined in the hospital, their weight was only about seven kilograms.
Rainbow over the grave
Among all the khuruls (Buddhist temples) located in the Kalmyk steppe in the 19th century, the most revered was the one who stood in the tract Chapchachi, in Iki-Tsokhurovsky ulus. He was the poorest of all and did not have precious relics. And he became famous thanks to his rector - Bagsha Dangka.
Legends circulated about his wisdom, kindness and compassion. They strictly obeyed the commandments of Buddhism, which he demanded from other clergymen and urged the laity to follow the teachings of Buddha. Dangke died in the middle of the 19th century, but the parishioners did not forget him for many years.
The abbot of the khurul Kalmyks was called an old teacher. Amazing was not only his life, but also the circumstances of death. After he was buried, over his grave, local residents began to notice the glow and the appearance of rainbows. At the direction of the lamas they turned to, it was decided to open the grave. When this was done, the imperishable body of the saint was discovered, who lay on his side and seemed to be sleeping, with his hand under his head. Llamas called this position the pose of a leopard.
The remains of the teacher were placed in a special sarcophagus under the glass in a separate wagon. A special chapel was later built. Until 1929, believers went there to bow, and the imperishable body remained unchanged. But when the time of militant atheism came, officials representing the Soviet government decided to stop, as they said, "worship of the mummy." At their request, in 1929 the chapel was destroyed, the sarcophagus was broken and the body was removed from it. According to rumors, it was sent to Leningrad in order to conduct scientific research. His further fate remained unknown.
But the most remarkable case is the phenomenon of the incorruptible body of Khambo Lama Itigelov, which will be discussed below.
Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov: 90 years in the lotus position
Those who do not believe in miracles at all should go to Buryatia, to the Ivolginsky datsan. An imperishable body, which is located there in a lotus position under a glass hood, belongs to a man who died back in 1927. His back is straight, it is not supported by anything. Scientists can not understand why the body is not something that does not decompose, but even exudes a fragrance.
And also it is not clear for what reason the most recent skeptics, being here, are in awe and at the same time a surge of mental strength. Buddhists know that the revered Hambo Lama has returned to the living world, as he once promised to his disciples, and continues to work miracles.
Pilgrimage from around the world
There is an opinion that, having arrived in this sacred place, you can be healed of diseases thanks to the miraculous gift that an imperishable body in datsan possesses. It is located in the temple of Pure Land, attracting pilgrims from all over the world.
According to legend, the Hambo Lama, at a very mature age, took the lotus position, and then his soul left the body in 1927. He bequeathed to be taken out of the grave 75 years after the burial, which was done. Today, 90 years after death, Lama Itigelov is still in the lotus position. On strictly designated days, one can observe the longest lines of those who wish to touch the shrine.
How alive
Some researchers believe that the described phenomenon is one of the cases of energy and information transformation, which is achieved due to the highest level of practice of physical and spiritual self-development.
The results of expert studies indicate the presence of signs inherent in a living person. These include soft skin, mobile joints. Weak brain activity is also noted. About once every six months, the body loses or adds about half a kilogram of its weight.
Next, a few words should be said about who the Khambo Lama Itigelov is.
Earthly existence
As noted above, from 1911 to 1917 he was the head of all Buddhists in Eastern Siberia. However, people came to him, not only adhering to Buddhist beliefs. An interesting fact is that he was visited by Tsar Nicholas II himself, accompanied by his family. Even the glory of the healing abilities inherent in Dasha-Dorzho Itigelov even reached St. Petersburg.
Possessing the gift of foresight, he exhorted the servants of Buddhism to leave Russia in order to escape from the upcoming persecution. At the same time, he was in no hurry to leave and was in a state of complete calm. He said that they would not have time to take it.
Lama Itigelov was a highly educated and versatile person. He has written many works on Buddhist philosophy. He studied Tibetan medicine well, writing an extensive treatise on pharmacology. All Buryats longed for his blessings. There is evidence that those soldiers who went to the Russo-Japanese War and received a blessing from Itigelov returned safe and sound. And he also possessed a number of abilities such as walking on water and moving through the air. And as it turned out, he was able to subdue time!
“I'll be back in 75 years”
In 1917, Dashi-Dorjo relinquished the authority of the Hambo Lama and began to perfect his spirit. This went on for ten years, and in 1927, on June 15, he called the students together and told them to come to him after 30 years and look at his body. “And after 75 years I will return to you,” the teacher added. The monks were very surprised by these words.
But their surprise increased when, sitting down in a lotus position, Itigelov turned to them with a request - to read a prayer called "Good wishes to the departing." They refused to do this, since it is read only in front of the deceased. Then the teacher read it on his own, and immediately after that he stopped breathing. His body was placed in a cedar box and buried.
After 30 years, secretly from the authorities, the remains were dug up. The monks saw the incorruptible body of the Hambo Lama, performed the appropriate rites over him, changed his robe and buried again. For the second time, Buddhist monks became convinced of the body's integrity in 1973. Itigelov was finally removed from the underground in 2002, September 10, that is, 75 years after his death, as the teacher predicted.
Experts are amazed
To examine the body during exhumation, a commission was created consisting of highly qualified forensic experts. Their surprise knew no bounds; they had never encountered anything like it before. Lama was not just recognizable in appearance. All the basic attributes of a living being have been preserved.
The body was warm and the skin soft and supple. A person who had been in a coffin for 75 years had such parts of his body as eyes, ears, eyelashes, eyebrows, teeth, fingers in place! Without exception, all joints bent well!
In addition, in the protocol of the external examination of the imperishable body of the llama, it was recorded that its covers are light gray in color, they are dry and malleable when pressed with fingers. Any traces that could indicate that the body cavities had previously been opened to preserve or balm it were not found. There are no traces of brain extraction, incisions, injections and the like.
2002 Research
After the study of skin particles was made, scientists made sensational conclusions. It turned out that llama cells are not only living, they continue their division. In other words, evidence was found that all life processes in the body did not stop flowing, they only slowed down millions of times.
According to one of the experts, V. Zvyagin, the case of such an unprecedented preservation of the body is the only officially documented and scientific explanation so far. Of course, there are cases when embalming and mummification of bodies have taken place. So, in St. Petersburg it became fashionable at the end of the 19th century. The famous surgeon Pirogov independently prepared a solution for storing his own body. Today it has been preserved under Vinnitsa for more than 120 years.
However, for this procedure, internal organs are removed, special chemicals are used. The discovery of bodies in permafrost is not uncommon, but at the same time they quickly decay due to contact with the external environment.
Science is unable to explain the riddle
Today the Ivolginsky datsan for every pilgrim has turned into a coveted place, and his visit - into a dream. You can get to the imperishable body only several times a year, on major Buddhist holidays. By tradition, women are not allowed there. Our president V.V. Putin visited the datsan twice.
Currently, scientific studies of the described phenomenon are discontinued. In 2005, the incumbent Pandito Khambo Lama, the head of the Buddhist sangha of Russia, Ayusheev, issued an order banning any medical and biological research. In addition, Itigelov’s imperishable body is not allowed to be taken. Until the end, the reason remains unclear. It was officially said that science has no way of explaining a mysterious phenomenon.