The body in the Buddha
source link: https://www.economist.com/1843/2017/05/04/the-body-in-the-buddha
Go to the source link to view the article. You can view the picture content, updated content and better typesetting reading experience. If the link is broken, please click the button below to view the snapshot at that time.
The body in the Buddha
Is the mummified monk who disappeared from a Chinese village 22 years ago the body in the Buddha that turned up unexpectedly in Amsterdam? John Hooper and Ted Plafker investigate
Around the time that William of Normandy was conquering England, the Buddhist master Zhang Qisan decided it was time to die. Or rather, he felt it was time to begin the next stage of his existence by transforming himself into a living mummy.
Qisan was born in the tiny hill village of Xukeng where even today most of the inhabitants have the surname Zhang. His family had the unusual tradition of giving their children numbers as forenames. “Qisan” means 73 – his grandfather’s age when he was born. When he was a boy, he wandered far and wide before deciding to enter a monastery. The profound knowledge of herbal remedies he acquired there won him fame and affection. He was so pious that he earned the honorific title of “Gong” (Lord) and became known as Zhang Gong. He was – and is – considered a bodhisattva: one capable of attaining nirvana, but who chooses to remain in the physical world out of compassion for humanity.
Already have an account? Log in
Spark something new with 50% off
Manifest a brighter new year and save on an annual subscription. Cancel at any time
View subscription options- Distinctive global analysis with more than 100 articles a week on The Economist app and economist.com
- An immersive world with podcasts and digital newsletters
- Intelligent debate with a global community in subscriber-only digital events
Recommend
About Joyk
Aggregate valuable and interesting links.
Joyk means Joy of geeK