Personally, I wouldn't have a physician who believed a mummified corpse is still alive and just meditating... if he's not breathing and there's no circulation, I would call that 'dead', not 'meditating'.
Quote from: BBC NewsMummified monk in Mongolia 'not dead', say Buddhists
A mummified monk found preserved in Mongolia last week has been baffling and astounding those who uncovered him.
Senior Buddhists say the monk, found sitting in the lotus position, is in a deep meditative trance and not dead.
Forensic examinations are under way on the remains, found wrapped in cattle skins in north-central Mongolia.
Scientists have yet to determine how the monk is so well-preserved, though some think Mongolia's cold weather could be the reason.
But Dr Barry Kerzin, a physician to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, told the Siberian Times that the monk was in a rare state of meditation called "tukdam".
"If the meditator can continue to stay in this meditative state, he can become a Buddha," Dr Kerzin said.
The monk was discovered after being stolen by a man hoping to sell him on the black market.
My money is on dead. Eating and drinking tends to correlate pretty strongly with living.
Umm O_O
yeah ok.
Wasn't there a sect of monks that would actually practice self-mummification? (http://io9.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564)
did anybody stick a pin in it?
Dead, alive, or meditating: The case is in Court. It involves some 160 million dollar worth of property. The Baba (Ashutosh Mahraj) propped up in a refrigerated room.
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/newsroom/img/mt/2014/05/gurumain.jpg/lead.jpg?n6eeg6