The body of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Vuk Kak Minh (Ribhaja Mdachaja Rdhadada) who breathed his last while meditating about four hundred years ago has been preserved until now.
Monk Vuk Kak Minh has died in the Padmasana position and the presence of the undecayed body in the Padmasana position has been a mystery that medical experts cannot solve.
Scan tests have revealed that the skeletal system of the body in the Padmasana posture is the same as that of a living body.
Also, the body has not been embalmed in any way and the scans have confirmed that the internal organs are inside the body.
The uncorrupted remains of Vuc Kak Minh lie in a glass chamber inside the Buddhist temple of Duc, located about 23 kilometers from the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
The immortal remains of Vuc Kak Minh are considered a national treasure of Vietnam. However, in the last few years, it is said that steps have been taken to scientifically secure the remains of Wuk Kak Minh Thero, as abscesses have appeared on the skull and one of the legs. Monk Vuc Kak Minh breathed his last in 1639 while serving as the head priest of a temple in the village of Duc, about twenty-three kilometers from the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
With the intention of attaining nirvana, he began a hundred days of meditation. Calling his students and other monks, Vuk Kak Minh Thero told them to come back after a hundred days and asked them to seclude themselves to join in the meditation. Accordingly, leaving him alone, the group dispersed.
A hundred days later, when the student monks came and looked, they found the lifeless body of Vuk Kak Minh. But the people were surprised to see the dead body in the Padmasana posture.
Then they wrapped the body in a thin strip of silver leaf after smearing its inside with red liquor several times. They also took steps to bury the body wrapped in silver leaf in a glass room inside the temple building. The body has remained the same since 1639, when he breathed his last, except for the scratches on his head and leg.
In 2001, after cracks appeared on the body's head and leg, the body, which is considered a national treasure in Vietnam, was looked into for safe keeping for a longer period of time.
Although the scans revealed that the body's skeletal system and organs are still in their proper places, the scientists have concluded that due to the scratches, measures should be taken to protect them.
The decision was made after ten years of close study of the remains.
Buddhist and cultural authorities in Vietnam began the process of securing the body, deciding that it should be done while the body was still in the temple, rather than being moved to another location.
The process of preserving the body also included the addition of biocidal agents to the body. Also, the exploding areas of the body were filled and repaired using the lacquer that was used in the first instance. Since this type of red lacquer was not available anywhere else, they also worked to produce a type of lacquer with the same chemical composition as the previous type of lacquer.
The project to secure the remains was estimated to cost 360 million Vietnamese dong (US$24,000).
Prof. Nguyen Lat Kumbang, Director of Anthropology of the Hanoi Institute of Archeology, who expresses his opinion about the preservation of Vuk Kak Minh's body for more than three centuries, says that the body has been subjected to natural drying.
"The body has not been embalmed in any way. It has the skeletal system as well as internal organs such as the brain, heart, liver, etc. It is not the type of mummy (Thabathathara) found in Egypt and Latin American countries. Also, no embalming chemicals have been found."
Vuk Kak Minh's body weighed only seven kilograms.
While doctors and scientists are unable to conclude the reason why the body of Vuk Kak Minh has not decomposed like this, some say that the reason for this mysterious miracle is that Vuk Kak Minh has reached a high spiritual level.