HANOI (AFP) - The corpse of a Buddhist monk sitting in a lotus
position has been uncovered in a pagoda in northern Vietnam over
280 years after he died, a museum official said.
The body of the monk, Nhu Tri, who died in 1723 in a tower at the
Tieu Pagoda in Bac Ninh province, was covered in a layer of special
preservative paint.
His internal organs remained intact but one eye socket was damaged
and his arms were broken off at the elbow, according to Nguyen Duy
Nhat, deputy director of the Bac Ninh Museum.
The corpse was first discovered around 30 years ago during the
Vietnam War but local authorities were not in a position to
preserve it.
"In early 2002 a delegation of high ranking monks from the Truc Lam
and Yen Tu Monasteries visited the pagoda and read the inscription
on the tower. They asked for it be opened up and preserved," Nhat
said.
On March 5 this year, the Ministry of Culture and Information's
heritage department granted a licence to the Buddhist Church to
restore the corpse, and a week later it was moved to Bac Ninh's Due
Khanh Pagoda for the work to begin.
