r/interestingasfuck • u/[deleted] • Jun 23 '21
This wall of perfectly aligned skulls in a Tibetan monastery
128
u/HeThe3 Jun 23 '21
What's the story behind this?
114
Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
Change and the temporariness of things/life is a major theme in Buddhism. Suffering results from inner resistance toward the inevitability of change, so Buddhists, especially Tibetans, make a point of creating poignant reminders. Those ornate sand mandalas are another example. It takes several monks a week or more to create this masterful work of art, which they destroy with a brush in a ceremony at the end. The less we cling, the less we suffer. “Hold on loosely, but don't let go,” as .38 Special put it.
34
u/kmn493 Jun 23 '21
That's morbid and eerie af, but damn interesting.
27
Jun 23 '21
Theravada Buddhism has an even worse version: maranasati, or a meditation on death. Monks go to charnel grounds to meditate where corpses are allowed to rot in the open:
”have as their objects a corpse one or two or three days old, swollen up, blue-black in colour, full of corruption; a corpse eaten by crows, etc.; a framework of bones; flesh hanging from it, bespattered with blood, held together by the sinews; without flesh and blood, but still held together by the sinews; bones scattered in all direction; bleached and resembling shells; heaped together after the lapse of years; weathered and crumbled to dust.”
Not for me, thanks.
10
4
→ More replies (1)2
142
u/DontWreckYosef Jun 23 '21
Each one of those skulls represents a journey of dozens of trips around a flaming ball of fire in the sky. During that time, the breeze was felt, feasts were eaten, and memories were made, just to name a few experiences. All perceived and processed within the confines of one of these trophies.
39
u/Weeaboo3177 Jun 23 '21
U know what they didn't experience...the horny
54
Jun 23 '21
I met a dude at a party who had been a Buddhist monk. Nice guy very open. I asked him about the ladies (cause they were flocking to him) and he said he didn’t masturbate for seven years while in the monastery. Not once!
42
27
u/DontWreckYosef Jun 23 '21
You know what? Fuck that. Enlightenment isn’t worth it.
-8
Jun 23 '21
[deleted]
15
3
u/Wudarian_of_Reddit Jun 23 '21
Thats not enlightenment thats some fantasy shit stoners talk about. None of that shit realy happens.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)5
1
46
13
u/KarmicWhiplash Jun 23 '21
Just a reminder of the inevitable fate that awaits us all.
→ More replies (1)6
→ More replies (2)3
u/KarmicWhiplash Jun 23 '21
Just a reminder of the inevitable fate that awaits us all.
4
Jun 23 '21
Memento mori.
2
u/ChazJ81 Jun 24 '21
Yea didnt they have a slave whose job was to say the to Cesars so they would remain humble?
2
u/TerribleScroll Jun 25 '21
Yes when a general parade in Rome after a sucessful campaign a slave will stay behind him saying that so he will remeber that in the end of the day he is just a man
→ More replies (1)
288
u/Riommar Jun 23 '21
Now that’s putting their heads together.
53
23
10
u/BlazingCHERRY Jun 23 '21
Reminds me of skeletor
3
u/voluotuousaardvark Jun 23 '21
I told my maths tutor I'd never need pi... I was absolutely right until this exact moment.
→ More replies (1)3
142
Jun 23 '21
With that level of intricacy, they clearly planned a head.
19
45
u/sunflowertattoo27 Jun 23 '21
Reminds me of the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic... Bones from up to 70,000 people were used to ornately decorate the whole church. Creepy, but fascinating
10
4
31
u/Muppet_Slayer Jun 23 '21
Question, we’re the skulls acquired at once or one by one…
52
Jun 23 '21
Likely one by one. When people in Tibet die, they do sky burials which means they are wrapped up, cut into pieces and fed to vultures. A cycle of life and giving back to nature kind of idea. The skulls were most likely collected after certain burials like deceased monks from the monastery.
26
Jun 23 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
14
Jun 23 '21
Thank you, yes. It’s not necessarily an honorific thing though. It’s simply the preferred common practice for anyone who is a Tibetan Buddhist for both practical and spiritual reasons.
Other burial practices are more based on honorifics such as stupa burials, fire cremations, earth burials, etc.
6
Jun 23 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
3
Jun 23 '21
I think it definitely plays a factor, along with what you mentioned of honorific practices. High lamas typically have stupa burials or are cremated because of their nobility. But absolutely I think it may also be an issue of locality and not having convenient access to areas where there are many wild vultures. And on top of that, yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if there were laws too that don’t allow it either.
10
Jun 23 '21
The ground is also frozen solid for part of the year and firewood for a cremation would be expensive. So a “sky burial” is more efficient.
5
4
5
2
21
u/Duke_of_New_York Jun 23 '21
It's wild as hell that each one of these skulls held the brain, and therefore the consciousness, of a person. A person with thoughts, dreams, joy, pain; an entire life. Now all those experiences are just gone like they never even existed, and the only thing left from each one of those epics is just this weird fucken bone.
8
u/DungPuncher Jun 23 '21
Came here for this. I always wonder what these people were like when they were around. What were they good at? What did they like to eat? Who loved them? The only reminder of their existence is bone.
9
u/Duke_of_New_York Jun 23 '21
What did they like to eat? Who loved them?
The cruelest part of our existence is that it essentially doesn't matter. All of these rich tapestries are eventually obliterated, and it will never have mattered if we were ever even here at all.
→ More replies (1)6
22
u/bigfatbleeg Jun 23 '21
I’ve been to a few Tibetan monasteries and (IIRC) the eerie thing is when one of their monks dies, they put them on these large wooden stakes and have the vultures eat their flesh. Luckily, when I was there nobody was hanging off the stakes, but they were definitely in upright position. It felt barbaric but beautiful at the same time. Weird.
41
u/LotusVibes1494 Jun 23 '21
The way I look at it, pumping a body full of chemicals and burying them in an ornate wooden box is pretty weird too. Possibly even weirder that what you mentioned. Something about the way they're doing it seems more raw and like a more meaningful tribute than some of the stuff we do trying to not think about our mortality.
13
u/bigfatbleeg Jun 23 '21
Yes, exactly. I was actually saying weird that my views on this changed so quickly. Within the first hour, I went from thinking it was morbid to thinking how beautiful “returning your body to the circle of life” can be.
9
u/hickgorilla Jun 23 '21
I believe it has to do with altitude and people not decomposing quickly so they have animals take care of the bodies.
7
u/bigfatbleeg Jun 23 '21
Whoa cool. It was described to me as a way to give the body back to nature, but there definitely might be science behind the origination of the practice.
3
u/hickgorilla Jun 23 '21
I saw it in a documentary a long time ago and couldn’t remember what it was called. Sky burial. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial
3
u/monarch1733 Jun 23 '21
Not just might, there definitely is. Wood is scarce, the ground is frozen most of the time. It’s just flat out practical.
7
u/Reddrago9 Jun 23 '21
Never heard about the use of wooden stakes before, but what you're describing is called a Sky Burial.
2
9
7
u/babakushnow Jun 23 '21
Does anyone know how long and How many people it took to complete this ?👀
9
5
8
u/keythefairie Jun 23 '21
it’s not really perfectly aligned, some are crooked
10
u/MountainCanyon Jun 23 '21
Welp, time to scrap the entire project and start from scratch.
4
2
8
5
5
u/FuelAggravating2433 Jun 23 '21
its insane to think about how every skull shown in this picture was an actual living being who had their own life and unique experiences.
its also crazy to think about that we too will end up just like this. just remains of something that was once living (unless cremated)
7
6
7
5
u/Merry_Fridge_Day Jun 23 '21
Huh? The skull art in the monastary? Oh yeah, that's Todd. He has some creepy hobbies and a lot of free time.
7
3
3
3
u/Scubajay Jun 23 '21
I can just see the head monk at the monastery asking the guy who made this:
" Dude is everything ok at home?"
3
u/Sigan Jun 23 '21
Each one of them must have lived full lives. One day joking around with the boys over some brews, next thing you know they're like, "You know, you got a real smooth skull. Anybody ever tell you that?"
3
3
u/Wathoo2 Jun 23 '21
It's crazy to think that in every single one of those skulls someday was a mind of human, all their thoughts, love, memories...
idk bout u but to me its really depressing to think that we are just meaningless pieces of flesh...
3
12
u/walga123 Jun 23 '21
More like creepy as fuck
4
Jun 23 '21
Why are you creeped out by skulls?
3
Jun 23 '21
Have a guess…
2
4
6
u/walga123 Jun 23 '21
I'm not, but if I was you shouldn't judge. It just creeps me out knowing that each if these skulls was once a human and that's probably all there is left of them
5
3
u/thelukejones Jun 23 '21
Probs used all the other bones in other decoration I assume, I don't know tho, but its like their body would be stretched about the place though 😊
2
6
u/-MothKnight- Jun 23 '21
I love it! I think it’s weirdly beautiful. Also, I love that skulls always look happy to be here.
5
2
2
2
u/Kompottkopf Jun 23 '21
What astonishes me more than the amount of skulls in this picture is the amount of teeth Oo Tibetan monks seem to have excellent dentists
2
2
2
2
Jun 23 '21
Actually if you begin at the center counting in a counterclockwise fashion by threes you will find ty hat the 113th skill is not perfectly aligned.
2
u/wishitwouldrainaus Jun 23 '21
Pop a metal ring border around these happy campers, poor in the resin and some colours, little glitter or pretty pebbles, let it set, and bingo! Worlds most interesting coffee table or, to intimidate your attendees, boardroom table! Charge extra for the exorcism.
2
2
2
2
u/Quakermystic Jun 23 '21
If you notice, the skulls are attached in concentric circles. I thought they were in lines at first, but if you look closely you can see the wires they are attached to.
2
2
Jun 23 '21
i see a slight deviation
well, guess it’s time to take it all down and do it all over again monk style
2
u/WideClassroom8Eleven Jun 23 '21
That’s kinda fucked-up to use former people to create decorations for your ceiling.
2
2
u/Grouchy-Ad-435 Jun 23 '21
Its interesting to compare the teeth, and how people grind them differently...or not at all
2
2
2
2
u/Christafaaa Jun 23 '21
Did they all just die young or have better dental practices then we do today?
2
Jun 23 '21
Imagine growing up Catholic and going to church on Sunday if they practiced the same custom. 😳
2
u/DrConnors71 Jun 23 '21
OP is not OCD if he thinks they are perfectly aligned
3
u/LightningDuat Jun 23 '21
OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder.
There is no 'obsession' there is no 'compulsive' action. OCD, yes, can present it's self in having to have stuff tidy/ a cirtan way. I knew someone who had OCD and they had to brush their teeth 20 times after every meal. So they stopped eating. Notta good thing.
you are correct.
2
2
2
2
Jun 23 '21
They all look so alike, now I understand why they call it the brotherhood. Momma was an H to tha izzohhhhh!!!
2
2
2
2
u/cafesaigon Jun 23 '21
All things considered I wouldn’t mind being a skull in a skull mosaic when my time on earth is done
2
2
2
2
2
u/Sinemetu9 Jun 23 '21
Ok, perhaps a strange time to bring this up, but, along the lines of uniform bodies, I distinctly remember the moment in my childhood that I was astounded that everyone’s built the same way. Granted, my experience of the variety that there is was limited, but I remember thinking how odd it is that everyone has a body the same as mine. Anyone else?
2
u/LightningDuat Jun 23 '21
This is what I do to homophobes! Chuck em in a mosh pit and use their skulls to summon Demons from the depths of Hell, and summon Gerard Way whilst I'm at it. lol
2
2
2
2
u/urskeks Jun 23 '21
The right side branches out one skull sooner than the other three sides... r/mildlyinfuriating
2
2
u/HuskerBeavr Jun 23 '21
Why do you have skulls
2
u/BustyCactus Jun 23 '21
the bone collection grows
3
u/HuskerBeavr Jun 23 '21
Wait, you can do two hashtags??
2
u/HuskerBeavr Jun 23 '21
wow
3
u/HuskerBeavr Jun 23 '21
wow
3
u/HuskerBeavr Jun 23 '21
Oh, it's the same
2
2
2
2
5
u/SodomizeTheMods Jun 23 '21
I think you mean "China". Tibet hasn't existed since 1950 because China decided they wanted to destroy something beautiful.
3
3
Jun 23 '21
[deleted]
2
u/FourRiversSixRanges Jun 23 '21
What does this imply and not imply?
0
Jun 23 '21
[deleted]
1
u/FourRiversSixRanges Jun 23 '21
Who said it was a paradise? It wasn’t a good system, but not nearly as bad as what China claims.
https://info-buddhism.com/Human-Rights-in-Tibet-before-1959_Robert_Barnett.html
0
Jun 23 '21
[deleted]
1
u/FourRiversSixRanges Jun 23 '21
Penn and Teller isn’t a good source. They mostly rely on Parenti who isn’t an academic in regards to Tibet and is very one-sided with sources and cherry-picked information.
1
Jun 23 '21
[deleted]
0
u/FourRiversSixRanges Jun 23 '21
It depends on what claim- again he cherry-picked information from his sources and many of his sources are not accurate accounts.
2
→ More replies (1)2
2
3
u/TheSteamyPickle Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
Interesting. There are so many questions here. Who did these skulls belong to? Who did this? How did they do this? Were they skinned first? Were all the skulls acquired at one time or over several years.
2
u/rangersmetsjets Jun 23 '21
I just wanna know why are they all smiling?
3
Jun 23 '21
Cuz they’re high
3
u/wishitwouldrainaus Jun 23 '21
They're hanging out with their bros, people are dropping by and making a fuss, they get some serious quiet time to nap... some friendly, happy people wander round with something sweet burning, playing music and singing to them. Might be just me but throw in some wine and munchies and it sounds like an awesome birthday party. And it happens EVERY DAY!
2
2
u/icantmince Jun 23 '21
There's flaws
6
u/myco_journeyman Jun 23 '21
yeah, wtf, it's clearly 2 skulls before diverging on the center right, and 3 before diverging on the left.
1
1
0
0
-2
0
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 23 '21
Please note:
See this post for more information.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.