 Rotem Eldar - R Eldar | All Comments |
Comments | |
| 8th October 2009 Mell | - From: The real face of China What a nightmare! :( |
| 4th October 2009 kay | thanks - From: Datong, China Wow! Great pictures. I may have a short term teaching position there. Can't wait to see these wonderful sights. thanks a lot for sharing. |
| 25th September 2009 Choueang | The best teaching - From: Tibetan sky burial in China It's the last best gift from the dead to the livings. We need to comprehend who we really are- just a part of nature. And in the end we all return to nature. That's all what it's about. The core teaching of Buddhism; there're really no "you", just a mix of nature plus a "self" feeling. Life comes and goes just like that. When you stop holding on to the "self" feeling completely, then you'll be free from everything and that5's called "Nirvana" |
| 23rd September 2009 Quentin Quinn | Sky burial - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Neither barbaric nor brutal, simply: beautiful. |
| 16th September 2009 Mellin Huff | Video of ceremony - From: Tibetan sky burial in China About three years ago I viewed on Public Broadcasting the ceremony from beginning to end so it has been publicized. A truck brought a body up a mountain road, dumped it. One of two attendants cut a piece of flesh, waved it at the vultures backed away and waited until the bones were cleaned then crushed the bones, vultures ate the pieces. I would like to review the video but could not find it. |
| 3rd September 2009 Alexandra Parker | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Jeff Mertz and Kimball O'Hara are just sad people best left by the side of the road to wallow in their own bitterness. I have left notice in my will that this is the way I wish my remains to be disposed of. I have studied and practised Buddhism for over 20 years, and everything about it is blindingly logical. This, although not intrinsically part of Buddhism in general, no less so. fascinating. Thanks for the input. |
| 1st September 2009 sk | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Compared to being embalmed, stuck in a box, and paraded around town, this burial method doesn't seem so bad, except for the part where the monk goes and bashes up the bones. I can understand why, but really, that's gotta be one of the worst jobs ever. |
| 21st August 2009 Tibetan | My POV - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Hi, I am a Tibetan who grew up in India. After the Chinese took over the Tibetan government in 1959 and banned it's currency and flag etc lot of Tibetans had to leave home and so many of us grew up in India without experiencing much of our culture. I have heard of sky burial and it doesn't shock me at all. It's natural thing for a Buddhist. It seems insensitive to broadcast photos of dead people in any form but if the family didn't mind it then who are we to criticise. Personally I wouldn't want to have my loved ones' remains shown to the world but if others want to show it and there are people who want to see it I am not going to worry about it. But the comment by one obviously Chinese guy Eric Blair (IGeorge Orwell is definitly turning in his grave) set me thinking. The reason some Tibetans or Tibet supporters shy away from broadcasting the sky burial is for fear of being judged by narrow minded bigots like Eric Blair. If you think the custom of sky burial is so barbaric, what do you think of people who execute their prisoners half dead so that they can harvest the organs for sale. I guess when you wear rubber gloves to pull the organs of a half dead human it's more civilized than donating a dead body to hospitals or vultures.. |
| 23rd July 2009 Dorothy McHale | Yongji Terraces rice fields, China - From: Longji Titian rice terraces, China I am 82 years old and hiked up to the Ping An Guest House to see the rice terraces with two of my daughters. They sometimes had to help me, but I made it. We stayed overnight and the food was very good. Your pictures are great. I loved the village and its people. For 20 yuan a Yao woman undid her hair and showed us how to wind it again. the Zhuang people sure were trying to sell us things and we did bargain before we bought. Great trip! |
| 22nd July 2009 Sarah | Anthropology Student - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Thank you for sharing your experience from a Western Perspective. Not many can understand another culture nor process something such as you have witnessed. I would enjoy talking more if you would like to email me. I am currently being taught Anthropology of Religion- Death and Afterlife and today we talked about Sky Burials. Also I am a photographer who may travel to that area and have some questions. |
| 1st June 2009 jordan | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China That the family let you watch let alone take pictures shows the erosion of Tibetan culture and their disconnection to what is meant to be a very spiritual experience in the studies of Dharma. I was also lucky enough to experience a sky burial but I wouldnt have dreamed of taking photos. I cant believe you actually did. |
| 17th May 2009 nac | response to eric - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Eric: That's not true. First of all, I don't think it's savage or brutal. Most importantly, the method of internment was often determined astrologically and all the rituals cost some money. Of course, cremation was more expensive in places located above the treeline since the timber had to be brought in from elsewhere, so only richer people like rich lamas (there were poor lamas too) and rich merchants could afford it. This was taken into account for the astrological calculations. You're making it sound like sky burial some kind of a last resort for people who couldn't afford anything better and that isn't so. Several rich Tibetan lamas mummified themselves as they died. How's that a better way to die than sky burial? |
| 17th May 2009 nac | Lamas - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Believe it or not, some Tibetan Lamas willingly killed themselves by slow strangulation (or other means) when they felt death approaching. Corpses of the really famous ones were even shrunken, mummified and covered in gold plate to be worshiped as religious idols. Hah. Take that, Egypt! Come to think of it, even Japan has mummified monks. Don't believe me? http://www.sonic.net/~anomaly/japan/dbuddha.htm |
| 17th May 2009 nac | Burial in Tibet - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Tibetan for sky burial is jhator, (Vą BO|b ) which literally means "giving alms to the birds." It's about making one last compassionate act even after death, by offering one's own body to the birds. It originated because some places in Tibet are not only above the tree line, the ground is also hard and rocky. Thus making both cremation and burial impossible. Some Tibetans also practice burial, cremation, set the corpse afloat on a stream or place it under the roots or in the hollowed out trunk of a tree. I also heard these methods are named after the elements. Eg. sky burial is astrologically called "returned to the air". Similarly, "returned to earth, fire, water or wood." |
| 13th May 2009 dominique | so excited - From: Datong, China thank you so much for your blog...I will be visiting Datong in July and I now can't wiat... Happy travels ,,,, |
| 3rd May 2009 Rachel Cotterill | Vultures are amazing - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I've never been to Tibet, but I saw vultures in Cuba and was amazed by how quickly they could strip a carcass. I can only imagine what it must be like to see that happening to a human body, especially when it is your loved one; I have nothing against the idea (it's a very natural way of disposing of a body) but I don't think I could have watched. |
| 2nd May 2009 Suzanne | - From: Tidrum Nunnery, Tibet Your photos are great. I was in Tidrum and surrounding areas about 10 years ago. Not much seems to have changed! It was probably the best time of my life visiting those places. So tranquil and serene! At the time, it felt like real travelling in the sense, that there was no internet, no bus timetable and you could really go at your own pace! Thanks for uploading your pics, they remind me of good times. |
| 17th April 2009 liliram | great blog! - From: Datong, China Thanks for sharing. My friends will be going to Datong next month and I am passing this on to them. Thought this would help them appreciate Datong and serve as a good guide. |
| 16th April 2009 Alexandra | Great journal - From: All alone in China thank you for the blog and amazing pictures. I reallly enjoy reading your blog knowing that I can never be there. |
| 31st March 2009 Ben | Thanks for sharing - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Thank you very much for sharing this story and the photos. The ones who post negative comments seem to forget that karma is intrinsically linked to intent - If I perform what I believe Right Action, with Right Intent, I am in no way accumulating bad karma... |
| 18th March 2009 Allan | culture is not your friend - From: Tibetan sky burial in China thanks for posting your experiences, .....and to all who are "offended", get a grip,...the comparisom to the absurd western style of burial, the whole BS "industry$$$$$" associated with death, is just another example of how brainwashed, manipulated, and totally out of touch with reality you really are,...time to upgrade your operating system's, ...."Consumer Capitalism 1.0" is a dinosaur,....ditch it, and remember, you CHOOSE to be offended...... |
| 20th February 2009 anonymous | i think it's pretty cool - From: Tibetan sky burial in China i think that this is a really cool way to go. i am not buddhist but i think that it's better than being buried. i have thought of what i wanted done with my body, and i think going up in a space ship, thrown out, and being burned up in the atmospere would be the best. this whole entire thing really gave me a lot to think about. maybe the united states' way of doing things isn't the best. i think that being open to other cultures is very important. |
| 10th February 2009 Cello | beautiful - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I find this practice and others like it to actually be, in my opinion, a lot less morbid than being embalmed and stuck in a casket forever or brutally burned. When I die, I want whatever organs of mine that are usable to be donated and the remainder of my dead body to be given to the earth, just as I try my very best to give to the earth now in my living body. To each his own, as obviously, each culture has different ways of dealing with the loss of a loved one, be it through embalming, cremation, mummification, sky burial, or whatever, and it is really no place of ours to judge. And for whoever up there said that giving your body to science wasn't meaningful, you're truly mistaken. What could be more meaningful than giving someone - a child perhaps (though age really should be of no relevance, I think) - another shot at life? Or perhaps helping us better understand the most detrimental diseases facing us today or in the future? |
| 15th January 2009 Danielle | amazing pictures - From: Tibetan sky burial in China It's thanks to people like you that people get to see and learn from amazing and rare pictures like these. Thanks for the experiance :) By the way great pics... a little gruesome but awesome none the less....keep on napping those pics :) |
| 5th January 2009 R Eldar | A note on taking pictures of the ceremony - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Thanks for one of the comments here I can post this link: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,2406,0,0,1,0 It clearly says that photography banning is a Chinese law and not a Buddhist belief. The Chinese government doesn't like this ceremony to be known in the world, but the Tibetans are proud of it and see no harm in the pictures. i am glad I have this article to support my publication of these photos. R. |
| 28th December 2008 Anonymous | Wow. - From: The real face of China I know it's been a few years, but wow, what an experience! You should blog more often! Post pictures of the place if you have any. |
| 21st December 2008 Shanda | Thank you for sharing - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I've always been interested in the Tibetan culture, and I must admit, when I first heard about sky burials I was a little shocked. But western funerals have always been appalling to me. I think many people truly believe their loved ones are going to remain perfectly intact forever after being embalmed and placed in those elaborate (and expensive!) caskets. What a waste of money, resources, land space, and useless sentimentality. If I could be disposed of in a sky burial here in the U.S. I would, but I'll have to settle for cremation. |
| 19th December 2008 David Reeves | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China What better way to return the body to the earth! In all traditions the remains or body must be disposed of, and in some way return to the environment. The body is returned to Nature, nourishing the mountain while the spirit is released unto in. "When I want to see my Father, I look up into the mountain and know that he is there, still watching over us, his children and grandchildren and generations to come. I live in peace knowing my ancestors are still watching over their family." Make sense to me, better than being eaten by worms or having been wasted by fire. emitting smoke into the air. My children remember where they left me and, instead of a tearful trip to the cemetary, look up at the mountain. On days of rememberance they they spend a day in the high country with a picnic lunch while the grandkids go fishing & play and we have a day together. They know that while they released my spirit here, I'm running around down there with them. They're still trying to figure out which one I am. I'm there with all of them. Sky burials, while not so dramatic, were and are a part of the Native culture. Who would not choose to be left on a platform in a tree or on a high ledge to return to Mother Earth in a natural manner? i |
| 13th December 2008 Kris | Thank you - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Like many others, I want to thank you for posting this entry, including the pictures. You had the family's permission and it is only logical that when you take pictures you will show them to others. You shared with us your experience. That's the point of this blog. You were not trying to enlighten us to a full religious experience. To be irate over this is silly--it's like asking a life-long athiest to fully appreciate and explain a Catholic Mass to another group of people who are also not church-goers. And to those who are up in arms because you do not have the Tibetan flag posted with this entry, like it or not, Tibet is considered a part of China. When selecting the continent, then country (where Tibet is not an option to select) and then region (where Tibet is a selection option) the flag is decided by the website, not the author. BTW, where are your other entries? People keeop mentioning them. As a person hoping to travel that direction this year, I would have liked to have read them. |
| 4th December 2008 natalia | so what? - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Yes, it's practical. So what? Is practical always good? Culture is often the opposite of practical. Lots of things are good for nature and bad for culture and vice versa. Some cultural traditions do not deserve respect. Why should return to earth happen so quickly? What's the hurry? Even vultures can be patient, can't people slow down and wait for the circle of life to grind the bones of their relatives? |
| 4th December 2008 momo | there is poetry in this - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Much of what is wrong with the world is a result of us humans considering ourselves apart from the environment. The very term "environment" shows this -- it's something we just live *in*, rather a thing we are *part of*. To be born, and then to die; to eat and then be eaten -- this is just a natural part of things. Once we are dead, does it matter if we are eaten by worms or by vultures? You are still part of the great cycle of life. To me it is sadder to be hermetically sealed for all eternity in a little box in a mausoleum. |
| 2nd December 2008 drew orion smith | WOW lol - From: Tibetan sky burial in China i am a year 9 student and i think that this is amazing lol. this a very good way to naturally doispose of a body. lol soz im just a bit shicked. (shocked and icked), anyeways i reckon this should happen to my mycruel girlfriend georgia payne. |
| 24th November 2008 anonymous | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Respectful and ethical journalism refrains from showing photos of a sacred burial ritual, especially of human remains. Please remove the photos of the human remains, as this is both culturally disrespectful and against Buddhist tenets of treatment of the body after death. http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,2406,0,0,1,0 |
| 18th November 2008 Amazing blog! | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Twaddle is useless. Just let the S______ to decide. |
| 16th November 2008 anonymous | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Rotem- with all said and done, i want to know what have you learned from this experience? about yourself, your place on earth, your own life and death? |
| 4th November 2008 Candy Satterfield | Very good post - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I think that you did a great job with this, and you described the experience of any tourist pretty well with this situation. I would love to bear witness to this ritual, as I respect the process of life returning to the earth as they have done it. The sky burial is such a sacred experience for families, i actually think that it is awesome that they want to share the experience with some tourists and educational inquirers. Good going. |
| 4th November 2008 Darius Vidallon | Hi - From: A break from The Silk Road, China Hi! I was offered a job in Urumqi as a teacher. How is the place?Is it already a modern city? How about the standard of living?Is it costly to live there? Im sorry for all my questions but thanks a lot if you would be taking a time to answer all my queries. |
| 21st October 2008 vik | Differen thinking - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I read so many stupid comments, from many people who dont know anything about respect. but i think that you are priviliged by see mourining process, so in any culture who a traveled are invited to a mourning or wedding are considered to be special guest, more was allowed to take pictures. Thanks to show us the blog. |
| 20th October 2008 Mell | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Just reading your blog is making me feel faint. There are some sides of life that I hope I will only ever experience by reading about. Mel |
| 6th October 2008 Elaine | Refreshing to see - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I honestly like hearing about this. I worked with a girl, that said this is what she wanted to do when she died. I thought, that really sounds like the best thing. I think it makes much more sense than what we are doing. Of course, it's your own choice. Jeff and Anna, you're entitled to your, of the blog, but deep down, I think maybe you're just jealous, it's not you getting praise for the pictures. It's JUST a body. I think we should practice the same thing in the US. I really don't see why we don't? If you understood what happens when we die you really wouldn't be so upset with these pictures. It's not like they kill the body and THEN gave it to the vultures! He will come back to live again, just his BODY was eaten. I see no harm in sharing this with the less fortunate who have not seen it. Thank you for sharing your pictures, Rotem. It's refreshing to see, as I again, I think the Tibetan's have the right idea, sacrificing their bodies for the living. |
| 30th September 2008 Lama Jinpa | Stupidity - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Yes, there is no excuse, other than pure self-centered ignorance, for disrespecting ANY other culture, especially the religious and sacred traditions of a country. This material should be taken off the internet...But of course that wont happen, as the deeply pathological individual who posted will never likely have that kind of realization... One can hope of course, for the nearly impossible... |
| 21st September 2008 Wm. Webb | Provincial Thought - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Those who are offended by jhator, along with those put too much importance on it, are both deluded. To Tibetan Buddhists, the body is unnecessary after death, when the (soul) has departed. To dispose of it in a way that is not consistent with a respect for still-living beings would be wrong. Tibet is a country nearly devoid of ground suitable for burial, and the same is true of fuel that could be used for cremation. Giving the body back to living creatures who can use it is respectful both to the person who has died and to all living things. From a practical standpoint, it also solves a fairly serious health problem. Westerners, with our morbid preoccupation with death and our quaint ideas about resurrection, find this sort of thing disgusting, but consideration in a respectful, thoughtful way will reveal to most that it is, indeed, far more sensible than destroying a body's integrity with chemicals and sealing it in a container. There is a movement in the US and Great Britain toward natural burial in burial "parks," to allow the constituents of the body to return to the earth and nourish its beings. That, to me, is true reverence. So is jhator. It is the common Western practices that are barbaric. |
| 13th September 2008 c moore | - From: Tibetan sky burial in China it never ceases to amaze me the difference in our cultures. I see nothing wrong with you posting these pictures. First I've heard of this. Thanks for the education. |
| 4th September 2008 kathy | Photos - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I think you were perfectly correct in the photos you choose to post. I didn't see any nude body being ripped apart; the pulverized skeleton was a little disturbing, but no longer recognizable as a person. We all have to remember that at that point the body is just an empty vessel. The vultures looked healthy and beautiful. In the Zorastrian tradition the body is left alone for in a 100 ft tower, called a tower of silence. After time goes by, nature (vultures, ravens etc.) takes it's course. This is still practiced in India, but because of the toxins in many human bodies has lead to a significant decline in the vulture population. The vultures are loved for all their qualities -primarily their patience in waiting and never attacking anything still living. |
| 24th August 2008 Claudia | \"Sky Burial\" Author:Xinran - From: Tibetan sky burial in China I recently finished reading a memoir of a Chinese woman searching for her husband in Tibet for 30 years. It is a very intriguing and "eye opening" read. The title is "Sky Burial" by Xinran. I highly recommend this read of a beautiful and complicated country. |
| 21st July 2008 Bhaswati | - From: A break from The Silk Road, China Found it very useful. I am planning to visit Heaven Lake in October. |
| 26th June 2008 Simon | Sensativity - From: Tibetan sky burial in China Regardless of the situation, weather you're invited to a ceremony such as this(or wether you intrude) people should be very carefull about how they act. This is a facinating cememony and I was glad to read about it, but is taking photos really needed. How would you feel if a picture of a body of your loved one appeared on a webiste. Tourists/travelers have a very important role to play when it comes to cultural sensativity and I think you've crossed it. |
| 19th June 2008 tsering sonam | thank you. - From: Tibetan sky burial in China you are the man who know about tibet and limi village.tashi delek go head..i will be with you.. |
| 8th June 2008 Eddy | sky burial - From: Tibetan sky burial in China In traditional Tibetan Buddism in Tibet (NOT CHINA BY THE WAY) the sky burial was seen as the last act of absolute charity. Giving your body for others to feed on. In this culture even a worm or a bird could have been your Mother in a previous life and the body is nothing more than a sacred vehicle so giving it as a last act to support others is the ultimate in selflessness. |
| 7th June 2008 jirina | kora Kailsh - From: The kora of Mt. Kailash, Tibet Hi, I made kora around Mt.Kailash 3 times - twice in 1992 and ones in 1995, I think it was in August. All this done without drivers, yaks, porters, permits. I hitchhiked with lokals all the way from Lhasa, slept in the tent or with the pilgrims. It was very hard time , I will never forget it. |
