Tibetan Sky Burial

The Chinese government instituted new rules governing this practice in 2006. In cases of diseased or infected bodies or where there was some question as to the cause of death and also to protect the vulture. Tibetans practice a form of Buddhism called Vajrayana which teaches that there is no need to preserve the physical body because it is only an empty vessel.

Very wise people.    But don't  these people believe in a life after death?

SpiritVoices wrote:Very wise people.    But don't  these people believe in a life after death?

In Buddhism, Buddhists believe that people are continually re-born into the world unless they have achieved freedom from "samsura"  which means "Liberation" of the continuous process of birth, death and re-birth....re-born here is not to be taken as "born again" in the same sense as Christians use the word. Being born again is a spiritual rebirth in that sense as they are becoming Christians.


The "samsura" I spoke of above is the goal of all Buddhists to be free of the continuous cycle of life.


Make sense?


Might also add that "Phowa" in Vajrayana Buddhism  is a meditation practice and may also be referred to as "practice of conscious dying" or transfer of consciousness at the time of death.

Yes,I do.    I had an uncle who was very interested in Buddhism.   He was in the RAF based in India....took an interest in the religion there.   Came home and studied it.....I remember having a large Buddhism statue on a table in his lounge.
As a child it fascinated me.....

He gave me many books on the religion,I read them and what took my interest was that they believed in reincarnation.   I remember asking my uncle what Reincarnation was....
He explained in simple words about the lives we live again and again.
Didn't understand then but I do now..

Azrael wrote:

SpiritVoices wrote:Very wise people.    But don't  these people believe in a life after death?

In Buddhism, Buddhists believe that people are continually re-born into the world unless they have achieved freedom from "samsura"  which means "Liberation" of the continuous process of birth, death and re-birth....re-born here is not to be taken as "born again" in the same sense as Christians use the word. Being born again is a spiritual rebirth in that sense as they are becoming Christians.


The "samsura" I spoke of above is the goal of all Buddhists to be free of the continuous cycle of life.


Make sense?


Might also add that "Phowa" in Vajrayana Buddhism  is a meditation practice and may also be referred to as "practice of conscious dying" or transfer of consciousness at the time of death.

Wow..... 

That's very interesting.

Well let's see...the vultures in Tibetan Sky Burial are known as  "dakini's"....these are the Tibetan's equivalent of angels. In Tibetan the name means "sky dancer"...these Dakinis or vultures are said to take the soul to heaven which in Tibetan is thought to be a very windy place where supposedly past souls await to be reincarnated into their next lives.. While Tibetan Sky Burial may appear barbaric to some Tibetans believe that feeding human flesh to vultures is a virtuous act  because in the long run it saves other smaller animals that they might prey on.