Perfectly Preserved Body Found of 1,000-year-old Buddhist Master Ci Xian

Something mysterious has been discovered at the Dinghui Temple in Wu'an in the Hubei province of China. A golden mummy, the preserved remains of Master Ci Xian that is over 1,000 years old, underwent a CT scan on July 8, 2017, that was witnessed by monks, media and prayers . To everyone's surprise, researchers found that he still had a complete brain and that his bones were also really healthy.

According to Dr. Wu Yongqing who conducted the scan:

"We can see his bones are as healthy as a normal person's...The upper jaw, the upper teeth, the ribs, the spine and all the joints are all complete...It's incredible to see this."

According to historical records, Master Ci Xian was a well-respected monk from India who had translated 10 major sutras into Chinese and traveled from India to the Kingdom of Khitan (which is in modern day northeastern China) in an effort to promote Buddhism. Some of his translations were carved into stone tablets that can still be seen today. After his death, Master Ci Xian’s disciples preserved his body well. But over the years, the body was somehow lost, never to be found until it was rediscovered in a cave in the 1970s. 

Master Ci Xian’s remains were worshiped at the Dinghui Temple since 2011, and in 2016 the temple covered his body in gold paint as a sign of respect. According to Master Du at the Ding Hui temple, elderly monks can feel when they are about to pass away and will instruct their disciples to either cremate or preserve their remains. If preserved, his remains would be placed in a massive ceramic jar filled with natural preservatives. If the spiritual level of the monk is high enough, or there is a lot of cultivated energy within the monk’s body, then it would be soaked in the liquid for about 3 years. After that, the body will be removed from the liquid and covered in rice paste.

This may seem really strange to a lot of people but it is believed that all monks are cultivators with the goal of reaching enlightenment. And as they are cultivating, they are generating energy within their bodies. As the energy grows, it will start to change the cultivator’s body from a fundamental level. Often times, when a monk cultivates to a high level, pearl-like substances are left behind his ashes when he is cremated. The pearls are called sarira and are considered sacred and precious. Throughout human history and its billions of cremations, it was only high level cultivators who were able to leave sariras behind.