December 02, 2003

11:14 p.m.

Something interesting I've just read in the Fall issue of "Tricycle," a Buddhist magazine:

"Monk Mummy"

"Few things can surprise hardened mummy-investigators Ronald Beckett and Gerald Conlogue, cohosts of The Mummy Road Show on the National Geographic Channel. But they were unprepared for the sight of Luang Pho Daeng, whose body is on display at Wat Khunaram in Thailand. Nearly thirty years ago, the revered monk passed away while meditating, and to this day his body sits comfortably in the lotus position, having experienced virtually no decay. Visitors to the temple bow and make offerings to the mummified monk, who still sports his sunglasses and dentures. Among the investigators' discoveries: Nearly all the monk's internal organs remain intact, and a family of lizards has taken up residence inside the mummy's head. Beckett and Conlogue were so impressed they ended up taking meditation lessons themselves."