Seda Sky Burial Platform

The grand sky burial platform was solemn and dignified. Zhaba and Jiumu circled the white pagoda again and again, praying for the Buddha's blessing on the living and the dead. At this moment, the vultures on the hillside sometimes flew by in groups of three or two, sometimes in groups, which was very shocking! (Starting from 14:00 to 15:00) Not long after, the sky burial master finished the preliminary work and opened the curtain. The vultures rushed to the sky burial platform in a crowd. The shocking scene made people stand on the hillside, with complex expressions on their faces that were difficult to describe. Without the noise, people left silently, perhaps because they had a different feeling about life, or perhaps they felt the distance between existence and extinction. Without much words, they just wanted to grasp this moment.

The sky burial platform is located halfway up a mountain, 6 or 7 kilometers away from the Buddhist Academy. Usually after 2:30 p.m., the sky burial platform is surrounded by barbed wire, and people can only watch from afar through the fence. It is basically impossible to see the whole process clearly.

The indispensable protagonist of sky burial is the vulture. Tibetans believe that if the sacred bird eats up the corpse completely, it means that the deceased had no sins in his life and his soul can ascend to heaven. Unlike other eagles, the vulture never eats living things, so it becomes the messenger between mortals and gods and Buddhas. This is why Tibetans admire and choose it.

As the time approached, the vultures seemed to smell the blood and began to gather from all directions, one, two, ten, dozens... densely packed on the hillside around the sky burial platform. They seemed to have been trained, lining up in an orderly manner, staring ahead with eager eyes, waiting for another free meal to come...

The sky burial ceremony is usually held between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. every day. It is recommended that you arrive early to occupy a place with a better view.

Also, remember to wear a mask, because during sky burials the air is filled with the smell of blood and corpses, which is disgusting and difficult to accept, so you must be mentally prepared.

In the face of our Tibetan compatriots' indifference and calmness towards life, shouldn't we also reflect on our own attitude and mentality towards the world and the pursuit of fame and fortune in this life? Only by letting go of everything, letting go of life and death, and learning to be liberated can we have more.

Note:

1. When watching a sky burial, please do not take photos of the corpse. Be sure to respect the deceased and local customs.

We turned left and went to the sky burial platform. The road up the mountain is a gravel road, which is rugged and uneven. It is more convenient to park the car before the sky burial platform. It is necessary to climb a long mountain if you park halfway up the mountain. Our driver is experienced and drove directly to the burial platform to park. We arrived early and there were still a few parking spaces. The Tibetan sky burial regulations stipulate that tourists cannot be organized to watch sky burials, so there are no tickets or explanations here. Watching sky burials is completely a personal behavior, and everyone knows it tacitly. If Tibetans do bad things, they lie on this stone slab to repent. Han tourists should not lie casually, as it is a bit unlucky. The big mouth here can climb in. The roof inside is made up of countless skulls. Women and children should not go in, as they will have nightmares. This child was curious and had to go in at the door of the big mouth. He was scared and cried and wanted to go out just after climbing in. No zuo no cry. At the sky burial platform, monks chant sutras here to help the dead, and then cut the dead into pieces and wait for vultures to peck at them. Only the family members of the deceased can enter the burial platform to watch the whole process. At about one o'clock, the monks began to chant. The vultures heard the sound and gathered in front of the sky burial platform. They have developed a habit and will not come up to eat meat before the chanting stops. They all stop in front of the sky burial platform and wait. A few who break the rules will be driven away by two staff members who are in charge of the gate. The monks chanted while cutting the bodies of the deceased. The smell was very bad at the scene. I had a slight cold so I couldn't smell the bad smell. Instead, it was a blessing in disguise. According to other people who smelled the smell, this smell is unforgettable. I specially chose the lowest position to watch the sky burial. The high position can see the bloody scene of handling the corpse. I still don't want to see such a bloody scene. At about two o'clock, the chanting stopped, and the vultures swarmed up. A strong wind suddenly blew at the scene, and the crowd of onlookers dispersed. Tibetans believe in reincarnation. This life is to accumulate blessings for the happiness of the next life. Death is not the end of life, but the separation of the soul and the body. After reincarnation, they will be reborn and have a happy life. The highest level of charity is the donation of one’s body. Using one’s own body to nourish other living beings is the highest gift, and also accumulates blessings for the next life.

Regardless of the weather, several bodies are brought to the cemetery for sky burial every day. Before being brought to the sky burial platform, the bodies are first sent to the Buddhist Academy, where monks will chant sutras for the deceased. After that, a special corpse transporter will bring the bodies to the sky burial platform. The whole process of sky burial is still accompanied by the long chanting of lamas. When the sky burial begins, the sky burial master will dismember the body of the deceased into pieces of flesh and bones. While the sky burial master is wielding a knife to dismember the body, the hillside a few meters away from the sky burial platform is already filled with densely packed vultures staring at them. In Tibetan Buddhism, vultures are the incarnation of the Dakini, and offering the body of a dead person to the Dakini is a supreme merit. When the sky burial master has finished dismembering the body, with just one command, the vultures will swarm over to enjoy their feast. During this period, some large bones cannot be bitten open by the vultures, so the sky burial master will wield a knife again to divide the bones into small pieces and feed them to the vultures. In just a few dozen minutes, all the flesh and bones will be eaten up, and the body will eventually return to dust. The cleaner the food is, the cleaner the soul is. In fact, people are all the same flesh and blood under different skins. What is the difference between a human corpse and an animal corpse?



During the whole process, the family members just watched quietly from the side, without crying or pretending to be strong and calm, but just calmly watching the souls of their relatives and friends ascend to heaven, which is a kind of open-mindedness of fully accepting death. Death, like life, is just a node in the journey of the soul. There is death when there is life, and there is no death when there is no life. They are both opposite experiences.

There are some things to note when watching a sky burial:

1. There is a strong stench of corpses during sky burials, so remember to wear a mask.

2. Do not take photos during a sky burial. This is disrespectful to the deceased and to Tibetan culture.

Before the sky burial begins, you can visit the area near the sky burial platform. There is a landmark building, Yanluo Mountain, which is full of skulls, showing people the meaning of death and impermanence. There is also a tower full of hair, which are all real human hair. After the sky burial is over, the owner's skull and hair will be left behind.

As time got closer, at about 2 o'clock, four vehicles slowly drove up the mountain with corpses. After a Tibetan dies, the corpse will be kept in a red room next to the Buddhist Academy for three days, and then the family will take it to the sky burial platform. After the vehicle stopped, the family carried the corpse to the sky burial platform, circling the white pagoda clockwise, and they were not allowed to look back.

After the corpse was transported to the courtyard of the sky burial platform, the sky burial master, wearing a mask and red gloves, took a large butcher knife and began to sharpen it and chant sutras to pray for the soul to be liberated. After the incense smoke rose, the vultures on the surrounding mountains flew over the sky burial site.

The chanting became louder and louder. The sky burial master chanted something while skillfully dismembering the body with a knife, separating the bones and flesh, smashing the bones with stones, chopping the flesh and mixing it with tsampa. By this time, there were more and more vultures, and they consciously sat in a row in front of the curtain.

After the body was completely decomposed, the sky burial master lit several tsampa fires and blew a whistle to invite the "sacred eagle" to eat it. The "sacred eagle" is a vulture. When the vulture saw the fireworks, it immediately flew to the sky burial platform and ate up all the body parts in just a few minutes. At this time, we started to walk down, and I happened to see a vulture in the yard, holding a long intestine in its mouth. The whole scene was not very bloody because most of the scene was blocked by the courtyard wall.

The family members will not cry. If they want, they can leave the parts they want for their family. Here, death is another rebirth. The cycle of life and death is here. If the family members cry, it will only make the deceased drift between life and death, and not be reincarnated. All Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism. They regard ascending to heaven after death as their greatest wish. Some people on the Internet say that only people with status can enjoy sky burial, but I learned from chatting with local Tibetans that they usually have sky burials after death.

We arrived at the sky burial platform and the Buddhist college at one o'clock. The two places are very close. Since the sky burial usually starts after 1 o'clock, we went to the sky burial platform after lunch. I was a little hesitant and scared before going. I didn't know if I could accept the scene. Later I found that I thought too much. The place where tourists can watch is on the hillside some distance away from the sky burial platform, and the sky burial platform is surrounded by a wall, so you can't see it very clearly. But it's best to prepare a mask. Some people say it smells. Anyway, I kept covering my nose and mouth. Sky burial is said to be the highest level of Tibetan funeral, and only some people have this treatment after death. The dead are separated from the flesh and bones by the sky burial master and fed to vultures. When we arrived, the sky burial master was already in the sky burial platform. He pulled open a piece of cloth to separate the sky burial platform from the hillside behind. At about the same time, I saw four people carrying things wrapped in white cloth into the sky burial platform, circling the white tower a few times, and then carrying them into the sky burial platform. The sky burial master began to chant. At the same time, as if they had received some signal, vultures flew in groups from behind the mountain, circled over the sky burial platform, and landed on the hillside behind. At the end of the ceremony, the vultures crowded towards the sky burial platform, but were driven back by the staff. Finally, the ceremony was over, the sky burial master pulled open the cloth, and the vultures swarmed in... Because of respect for the deceased, no scenes of vultures sharing the food were filmed...

The sky burial platform is separated by barbed wire, and tourists can watch from outside the wire. Although you can watch, this is not a performance, but a funeral for the deceased, which should be a solemn occasion.

The area blocked by the tarpaulin below is where the sky burial ceremony is held. In fact, it is where the dead are eaten by vultures.

There were more and more vultures. The people below were still dismembering the body with knives. Some vultures were impatient and went in, but of course they were chased out. When the curtain was drawn, the vultures waiting outside rushed in as if they had seen the yellow smoke coming out of the starting gun.

There was indeed a fishy smell at the scene, just like the smell of frozen carcasses of animals transported, because the bodies were also frozen, and the sound of the people chopping with knives was like chopping wood. Because it was far away, the smell was not strong, and it was not even easy to smell it casually. The so-called fishy and disgusting smell is mostly caused by human psychology, so it is a correct advice for those who mind it to be careful.

The lone vulture wanted to get in and help, so it ran down from the top and tried to get into the isolation net. I wondered why it didn't fly over? Maybe it was injured and couldn't fly, or maybe it was too nervous in the emergency and forgot its instinct.

There are few tourists now, but the vultures below are still densely packed there eating. Tibetans believe that vultures are messengers of the gods, and if they are eaten by them after death, they will be guided to the paradise.

The Sertar Sky Burial Terrace is located on a hill near the Buddhist Academy. Although the terrace is a place for funeral ceremonies, the newly renovated Sky Burial Terrace is more like a cemetery park.

Many sculptures are displayed in the park square to present the origin and story of Tibetan Buddhism. Going up the steps, you can gradually see a series of ritual-related functional areas. A pagoda, behind which is a corridor like a stone forest, a skull pagoda in the shape of an open-mouthed statue, a three-meter-high prayer wheel made of hair... Walking along the way makes your back cold. There is a seating area on the hillside for hundreds of people to watch the sky burial ceremony. Many tourists have come here early to wait. The sky burial ceremony is usually held at noon. The exact time is not fixed. The number of people who will be buried in the sky is also arranged according to the application of the surrounding Tibetan families.

When I was in school, I was surprised when I heard about sky burials. I couldn’t believe that humans would bid farewell to their loved ones in this way. So at this moment, I was sitting on the observation deck watching the process of vultures eating the body. As I became a witness to a stranger’s funeral, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

For Tibetan families, this ritual is universally recognized and sacred. They not only bring their loved ones to the ritual platform, but also guard the platform while the vultures eat the body. Conquering the fear of death, I didn't expect to face death directly. I may have briefly thought about the anxiety of death before, but I may have avoided talking about it and escaped.

Now thinking back, becoming food for vultures, or turning into ashes and becoming nutrients in the soil, this may be the calculation of the energy being exhausted and returning to zero after the departure of loved ones.

The sky burial ceremony lasted for nearly an hour. The most intuitive feeling on the observation deck was the depression when vultures flew overhead.

There are two main attractions in Seda, one is the sky burial platform and the other is the Buddhist Academy. None of my fellow travelers wanted to see the sky burial, but I went to the sky burial platform for the purpose of exploring the wonders.

Arriving at the sky burial platform, you must have a certain psychological endurance. The sky burial platform surrounded by yellow walls, the Yama Cave full of skulls, and the revolving wheel full of hair all give people strong psychological pressure. There is also a strange smell in the air. From my mind, I can't understand a funeral as an entertainment, so I stayed at the sky burial platform for 10 minutes and then left.

I was looking forward to watching the legendary sky burial. I thought it should be a solemn and grand scene. I thought it would start at 1 o'clock, but I stood on the viewing platform and waited until 2 o'clock. The vultures stood quietly waiting with us early in the morning. The scene was that we stood on one side to watch the excitement, and the vultures stood on the other side to wait for food and survival. It was harmonious and irrelevant. A group of people and a group of vultures waited quietly for two hours under the sun.

It started at 2 o'clock. The place where the bodies were placed was blocked by a cloth. There were 5-6 bodies in total. They were all applied for by the family members in advance, and then transported from other places when the sky burial was about to start. The family members first held the bodies and walked around the white tower for many times, and then carried them to the sky burial platform. People standing high seemed to vaguely see the lamas using knives to cut up the bodies first, put them on the ground, and then opened the curtain. The vultures that had been waiting for a long time swarmed up and ate them. It felt like raising chickens in the countryside when I was a child and feeding them at night. There was not even the scene of chasing and snatching food in the African savannah. It was really boring. The legend was a bit exaggerated. It was a complete waste of 3 hours of waiting. It is not worth recommending to watch.

We drove all the way to the parking lot below the sky burial platform and arranged to have lunch in a shabby tent next to the parking lot. Unexpectedly, the food tasted quite good, much better than the rubbish group meal we had the day before. Although it was also some home-cooked food, it tasted very good.

After dinner, the bus drove to the middle of the mountain, and the driver refused to go forward. In fact, many private cars had already driven up. So it took a long time to climb the slope and stairs, and the altitude was high. After climbing, I was out of breath and my calves were sore.

The actual site of the sky burial platform is not at the top of the mountain. It is said that it was not completely fenced off originally, but later some tourists disregarded customs and did things that were disrespectful to religious etiquette, so now the most "bloody" part is basically blocked.

The actual sky burial ceremony takes place between 1pm and 3pm, but the exact time is not certain. We arrived too early, so we wandered around, and the tour guide talked about some customs, including the process of sky burial.

There are many murals under the sky burial platform, depicting the three realms and six paths, the hungry ghost path, the animal path, the human path, the asura path, the heavenly path, etc. It feels like a setting that is often seen in novels, but every author will have his own private setting.

Around one o'clock in the afternoon, vultures began to fly in from afar and gather on the hillside. At first, there were only two or three of them, but later more and more of them gathered, forming a huge crowd and covering the sky and the ground.

There was a sense of overwhelming the sky, with vultures circling all over it. At least at that moment, the sky above my head seemed to be obscured.

Vultures that came from all directions to eat gathered on the small hillside and stayed only in a small area without grass. The tour guide said that it was because of their trampling over the years that not a single blade of grass grew.

Once the animals in the enclosure have been dissected, the gate will be opened, and the vultures will rush into the small enclosure. You will see the vultures jumping down in rows.

The small room was filled with ferocious-looking birds like vultures, which were fighting fiercely for food, like waves. It made one's scalp tingle.

I also saw a vulture, probably of a lower status, break into the flock and snatch a piece of what I think is intestines, and fly to the periphery. Then a few other birds come over and try to snatch it away.

All in all, the scene wasn't particularly bloody, but it gave off a weird, disgusting feeling.

As I followed the large group moving down the mountain little by little, I took a glance and saw the surging vultures rolling like waves, like a group of zombies patrolling.

My friends in the same car said that they wanted to watch the sky burial together. At that time, I was a little hesitant about whether to go or not, worried that I couldn't bear it. But when I actually went there, I felt okay, but some of the girls in the same car couldn't bear it. One of the trips this time was to find marmots. The driver took us to a place where marmots were said to be seen. The driving assistant asked us to bring sweets and look for places with holes in the mountains, saying that there would be marmots there. But the 20 people in our car searched for a long time and didn't see any. When we went there, we found that there were food at the entrances of many holes. I guess the marmots were full and didn't want to come out.

The sky burial ceremony is a special sight in Seda. It usually takes place between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. every day, so there is no need to get up so early and stay in the sun for 2 hours.

The sky burial platform is located halfway up the hill, and the viewing area is quite far away. The viewing area is enclosed by wire, and tourists can only watch from a distance through the railings.

If you climb up to the sky burial area, you can see groundhogs. They are not afraid of people at all and are very fat.

We started at about 1:30 this time, and more and more people gathered in the viewing area.

More and more vultures circled in the air, and then gathered in an orderly manner on the hillsides around the sky burial platform, waiting.

When watching, you must respect the customs of the locals and remember not to take photos or videos. In fact, many people do not abide by the rules during the actual viewing process, make loud noises, and like to take photos. In fact, this behavior is disrespectful to others and to yourself.

Tibetans advocate sky burials, using "skin bags" to feed vultures. This is the most noble charity and a great merit. It is also the last good deed in one's life, reflecting the highest level of Mahayana Buddhism's paramita, "self-sacrifice charity". As recorded in the Buddhist scriptures, Mahasattva once sacrificed his body to feed a tiger, and then reincarnated as Buddha Sakyamuni. Tibetans' belief in Buddhism never stops until death.

Due to the understanding of funerals by our own people, this is a very heavy place. However, the opening show of the kind and cute groundhog and the human flesh feast participated by the overwhelming vultures made you forget that this is a funeral.

Sky burial platform, respecting customs, so I only took a photo of the vultures, it was quite shocking, but those with low psychological tolerance can just watch from a distance, there will be a strange smell if you get close. I arrived at 1:30 pm, but I heard that it actually started at 10 am. When I went there, the vultures had already started. Life will eventually return to nature

Seda Sky Burial Platform



The most important thing is to wear a mask (emphasis)

Because the bodies of the deceased are placed on the sky burial platform on a chosen day, there will be a strong smell

You will see the whole sky is filled with vultures more than one meter tall, they are like trained ones waiting for the instructions of the sky burial master.

The scene is very spectacular

There are basically 5 to 20 deaths every day.

The entire Tibetan area is here

And not everyone can go to the sky burial platform

To have prestige and status, one must die of old age

There are heads all around 360 degrees inside. Tibetan people are patient and pious. Three steps and nine kowtows.



The placement of each head is consistent with the basic size.

It is said that this position reflects the status of the deceased Tibetans.



Popular Science Knowledge about Sky Burial:

For Tibetans, sky burial is a glorious journey that must be taken to take the afterlife to heaven. The relatives of the deceased carry the body of the deceased in a bag onto the sky burial platform. After the sky burial master's skillful dismemberment, a swarm of vultures also land around the sky burial platform and "take the body back" to the sky. The sky burial in Seda, Tibet is open to the public. To witness a sky burial requires not only courage, but also awe of the deceased!

Sky burial is a unique form of burial in Tibetan Buddhism. The only place in the world where Tibetan Buddhist sky burials are still allowed is Seda.

This is a very sacred place. Visitors who come here should have at least some respect for the sky burial master and the deceased. When you know the meaning of sky burial, you will feel that it is worthy of respect. Just like us Han people, we donate our organs after death.

Tibetans have unique and ancient customs and habits. Everyone is equal in the face of death.

This is the only sky burial platform open to the public in Tibet. Watch it from a close distance. The timid ones should stay away from it.

Seda Sky Burial Platform... Good and worth recommending

Compared to the sky burial platform, I prefer the nearby mountains. Every frame looks like a Windows desktop. It is quite spectacular when vultures circle in the sky. However, I still cannot accept watching the sky burial.

My feelings after watching the sky burial: I don’t know what words to use to describe my feelings at that time. I was deeply shocked and had a heart full of respect.

The wind always carries a faint smell of dampness and decay. Sky burial is to feed the body of the deceased to vultures, which will then fly into the sky. Tibetans believe that the deceased has successfully ascended to heaven.

Unspeakable, inexhaustible, a place worth visiting in a lifetime

If you want to watch the sky burial, it is best to go early to queue up. There were so many people when we went there. Standing at the back of the mountain, you can hardly see anything. You can only listen to the people with good eyesight next to you excitedly describing that the vultures ate your hands, ribs, legs, etc., and then I mainly rely on imagination... Prepare a mask. I heard that the bodies were left for 7 days before being transported. I didn't smell any rotten smell that day, maybe it was because I stood too far away, or the weather was cold?

The sky burial platform is between the Buddhist Academy and Seda County. The sky burial platform is not far from the entrance of the Buddhist Academy. The chartered driver drove us there and arrived at the sky burial platform at about 2 pm.

There are a lot of people watching the sky burial, and it seems that many of them have strong tastes!

Until now I still can’t explain why I wanted to watch it. Many people say that they went to watch sky burials to gain insights into life and death or something like that, but I don’t think that’s the case.

The only regret is: a complete human being was completely carved up by a group of vultures...

I went to the sky burial platform in advance, before the autopsy was done, mainly because I was afraid of vomiting.

You can go and have a look when you have time. I respect all kinds of beliefs and believe that existence is reasonable, but I am not very interested in this kind of thing. I still prefer the magnificent and vast natural scenery.

Seda! Red Buddhist Academy! A very famous place in the world. The dividing point between the soul and the body on the sky burial platform. I said it in a simple and easy-to-understand way! Forgive me!

Watching sky burials requires a certain level of endurance, and I hope you can maintain a sense of awe. It is a close experience of life and death. Suddenly I feel that we are born small, with small lives and small struggles.

The sky burial platform in Seda is about 15 minutes away from the Buddhist Academy. When the ceremony was about to begin, a large number of vultures flew down from the top of the sky burial platform and lined up on the hillside waiting. These vultures are raised by special people. Tibetans believe that vultures are sacred eagles and cannot be hunted. I witnessed 5 corpses wrapped in cloth or in rectangular iron boxes or square wooden boxes. They were sent to the wooden door of the sky burial platform by relatives and carried on the platform by the sky burial master. The corpses were placed on the sky burial platform. After the sky burial began, the sky burial master stripped the corpses of their clothes, turned the corpses upside down to expose their backs, cut open the bones from the back, dismembered the corpses, and separated the meat and bones. The bones were crushed with stones and mixed with tsampa, and the meat was cut into small pieces and placed aside. Finally, a whistle was used to call the vultures, and they were fed in the order of bones and meat until they were all eaten. The skulls were stored in the Silence Tower and the hair was hung on the high platform. After watching the sky burial, I felt a little heavy. Tips: 1. Because the bodies in sky burials are usually rotten after being left for 3-5 days, there will be a strong smell, so you must wear a mask.

2. During the sky burial ceremony, you are not allowed to take photos or videos. This is to show respect for Tibetan culture and the deceased. Please follow this. But there are still people who take photos, record videos and discuss loudly. I really don’t understand!

The normal sky burial ceremony starts at 1:30, and we arrived at the ceremony site at 1:00, listening to the tour guide explaining the necessary background knowledge of sky burial. We watched the whole process of sky burial, the rituals of the sky burial master, the prayers of the students of the Buddhist Academy, the reverence of the deceased's relatives, and the natural living state of the vultures. We did not feel any fear, excitement, surprise or any other feeling, as if we were only feeling the harmony and nature of the unity of man and nature.

At 13:30, we watched the sky burial. This was not a tourist attraction performance or anything. It was a funeral held by the local Tibetans when someone really died. I felt a little uncomfortable after watching the sky burial. I was in a bad mood and had a lot of insights.

I feel that the sky burial here is more in line with the trend of modern tourism, and people are curious about this culture. It has become particularly ritualistic.

There were quite a few people watching, but out of respect for the deceased and awe for this culture, no one took too many photos.

I tried my best to shoot the vultures flying around with my phone, so it was worth the trip.

I had only read some introductions about sky burials before, but only when I saw and smelled it with my own eyes did I feel the real feeling. If you don’t have a strong mental state, I suggest you don’t go.

When we went there, the sky burial was about to start. The parking lot was full and there were a lot of people. There was a sign saying "Do not occupy the parking space for corpses", which made me feel uncomfortable. We just found the spot and saw the vultures rushing down. At this time, a foul smell spread out unexpectedly, and I almost vomited with a three-layer mask on. I wanted to go back, but the road was full of people. I could only move to the car with snot and tears, and I felt terrible.

There are sky burials at the Seda Sky Burial Platform almost every afternoon. The specific time is not fixed, depending on the number of deceased. When we arrived, the steps were already crowded with people. There was some tension, curiosity and fear in the air. The family members carried the body around the white pagoda three times, and then placed the body on the sky burial platform. The Seda Sky Burial Platform is a small courtyard with three walls and one side covered by a curtain. The monks and the sky burial master performed the last ceremony, and the vultures had slowly landed on the hillside next to the sky burial platform. The family members finally said goodbye to the body, and the sky burial master dismembered the body for the vultures to eat. The vultures had already covered the hillside, waiting for the daily ceremony. When the curtain was slowly pulled open, the vultures seemed to have received instructions and swarmed up, also covering the body, reducing the cruelty and horror of the whole process. For Tibetan compatriots, sky burial is a sacred funeral culture and ritual, and the soul rises to the sky through the vultures. I hope everyone will not judge with their own inherent thinking and values. Curiosity is allowed, but blasphemy is not allowed. Facing death and funerals is always a heavy thing. But if you don't dare to face death, it is difficult to thoroughly understand the meaning of life. Born naked, leave naked, life is nothing more than that. The process of visiting sky burial is not to satisfy curiosity, but to alert your heart, treat life well, and face yourself sincerely. Since dust will eventually return to dust, all you can do is to live a wonderful life, don't chase those illusions, and nourish and enrich your heart. When the fire of life wilts, you can leave calmly.

The sky burial had begun, and we hurried over to watch the end. I didn’t take any pictures of the bloody scene or the vultures with huge wings all over the hillside, I just watched them.

The sky burial platform is open to the public and is open to visitors. It is admirable and respectful to make funeral culture public.

The cave is filled with skulls of the dead, real skulls, densely packed together, showing people the meaning of death and impermanence.

There were 14 bodies carried in, but there were too many people and there were barriers outside the courtyard. Through the telescope, I saw the sky burial master holding a big knife... The rituals for all the deceased had not been completed yet, and the vultures could not wait to lift the curtain and rushed into the sky burial platform. We had to send people to stand there to stop them. Vultures have food every day, so they will not attack living people.

The stench permeated the entire hillside. I stuffed tissues into my nose and put on a mask, but the pungent smell was still unstoppable.

Everyone in the corpse-dismembering yard stuffed tissues into their nostrils and gradually left the yard. When the sky burial master was the last one to leave, the curtain on the hillside was lifted, and crazy vultures rushed in, the stench was everywhere, and blood and flesh flew everywhere...

At that moment, I was filled with awe of death! I left the sky burial platform with a heavy heart.

A sky burial ceremony is held at the sky burial platform every afternoon, and visitors are still allowed to watch the ceremony.

Before the sky burial started, the hillside of the platform was already crowded with people. Six or seven relatives of the deceased carried the bodies to the platform. As the sky burial master began to chant sutras to pray for the souls to be reborn, vultures from all over the mountain circled down and began to line up to wait. These vultures seemed to be well-trained, waiting for the sky burial master to sharpen his knives and dismember the bodies. As the Buddhist chants sounded, the vultures swarmed in.

The sky burial process is not scary. The dismemberment is covered by a curtain. When the ceremony officially begins, people can only see a group of vultures. What really scares me is that many tourists take photos and videos of the deceased! At least they should have some basic respect for the deceased and their families. In fact, sky burials in Tibet are no longer open to the public. I implore people who have the opportunity to watch the ceremony at the Seda sky burial platform not to be "hooligans with cameras on their backs"

There is no need to say much. The last section of the dirt road is still a bit torturous. It will be better if the road is improved. The view and scenery of the hillside next to the sky burial platform are good. You can go for a walk after watching the ceremony.

Sky burial should be solemn and dignified

The souls of the dead cannot be desecrated

However, there are still many tourists taking photos of the sky burial site. Here I would like to remind everyone to respect the deceased and respect the local customs, which is also respecting yourself!

Imagine how you would feel if it was your own family member's funeral and a group of people were taking pictures of the body of your family member!

This should not be open to the public, but Master Rinpoche opened it to the public in order to allow more people to deeply experience life and death and understand the mystery of life.

If you are still complaining about this or that, you can choose not to go. If you are going, please respect others!

There is a circle of relief walls in the sky burial platform square, where you can feel the impermanence of life and the meaning of life. Before the sky burial begins at noon every day, many Han monks will tell the history of the cemetery for free to the travelers who come here, explain the mystery of sky burial, and experience the changes and impermanence of the cycle of life and death.

The huge entrance of King Yama's Cave is quite intimidating. I crouched down to get into the cave and looked up to see densely packed skulls. The tour guide said that the ones in this room are all models, and the ones in the inner room are all real ones, but tourists are not allowed to enter the inner room.

Outside the Yama Cave, there is a sculpture of a deceased person, surrounded by statues of vultures and wild animals. Tibetans kneel here and pray by lying on their legs, chests, heads and other parts of their bodies. No one explains and we don’t understand the meaning, so we can only walk around it tiptoe and in awe.

Next to the Yama Cave is the Skull Palace, where the ashes of the deceased are stored. The palace is covered with monsters and human skeletons.

Next to the Skeleton Palace is a huge "prayer wheel". The "prayer wheel" is actually a hair tower, which is covered with the hair of the deceased. When the wind blows, it represents the salvation of the dead. The hair tower is surrounded by metal fences and tourists cannot touch it directly. From time to time, people throw hair into the base of the prayer wheel to pray for blessings and eliminate disasters. On the other side of the King of Hell Cave is a group of rockery. The master said that the rockery is a place where monks practice in seclusion, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter. The relief wall under the rockery tells people the history of the eight major cemeteries. Under the sky burial platform, there is a statue of a girl holding a flower and crying on the monument. Although you can't see the sad face, the picture is shocking and sad.

The sky burial ceremony started at around 1:30 pm. Before that, the family members had already brought the bodies of the deceased to the sky burial platform. Before handing them over to the sky burial master, the family members had to lead the deceased to pray around the white pagoda in front of the rockery. After the prayer, the sky burial master would handle the body. While the sky burial master was handling the body, the "sacred eagle" vulture was watching everything from the blue sky.

Out of respect for the deceased, no filming is allowed during the entire sky burial process. Although there are warning signs on the cemetery square and the master specifically reminded people not to take photos or film during the explanation, there are still many tourists who use "cannons" or mobile phones to take photos and record videos.

When the sky burial was almost over, the sky suddenly darkened, making us feel even more depressed. If you can see through the world and become indifferent to money and fame when facing the densely packed redwood houses of the Buddhist Academy, then experiencing a sky burial in person may make you open-minded about life and death.

Go to the sky burial platform and climb to the highest point by yourself to see hundreds of vultures gathering, swooping down, and eating the bodies of the dead. There are so many vultures here that they do not eat any other animals except the bodies of the sky burials.

The sky burial platform and the Buddhist College are in the same direction. There were a lot of cars and people. While waiting, the sun was very strong and hot. I was wearing clothes and applying sunscreen but still got sunburned.

Here I want to talk about the vulture. I used to dislike it, but this time I found it to be a very magical bird. It has a body as strong as a giant eagle, but it does not prey on small animals, but only eats dead animals.

After watching the entire sky burial, I actually didn’t have any special feelings.

It's not as bloody and scary as others say.

In fact, it is birth, aging, sickness and death

The way death is handled is different.

The biggest feeling during the whole process: Stinky

"Sky burial" is a sacred Tibetan culture. The belief in the immortality of the soul and the cycle of reincarnation has led to the continuation of this practice. When the activity began, the vultures that had been waiting on the mountain flew down in large numbers in an organized manner. It was a spectacular sight! Although it was cold, it could not stop the tourists from enjoying the view.

Shocking ~ It makes people feel the greatness of life ~ Thinking about life and death is a problem ~

A place that makes people both want to visit and fear it. Although the sky burial platform is built magnificently, it is not a tourist attraction, and the daily sky burials are not a "performance" for tourists from all over the world. It is a part of the vivid and real life of the local Tibetans. Under the strange eyes of others, the Tibetans complete the reincarnation of their bodies and souls in the way left by their ancestors.

The sky burial platform is on the hillside next to the Buddhist Academy. There is a parking lot at the foot of the mountain. Because it is a dirt road, it is very slippery once it rains or snows. Be careful when driving in. From the foot of the mountain, you can choose to take a minibus to the middle of the mountain and then walk to the sky burial platform area, or you can climb up the hill directly from the foot of the mountain. It seems that private cars can also go up, but the number is controlled. However, you basically have to walk down the mountain because there are many cars and it will be very congested.

There were already a huge crowd of people, so we could only line up at the back of the slope, which was relatively far away. Later it turned out that being far away was a blessing for us. I was even asked to hold the baby up to watch, but when the time came, I put the baby down.

I won't go into the details. Respect tradition and respect the deceased. You can search online. Even if I was so far away and only saw a few scattered details, I would never forget it and would not want to come again. The general process is as follows: At about 1 o'clock, with the police car leading the way, the relatives drove the body to the sky burial platform; the monk in charge began to implement the sky burial procedure. Because of the curtain blocking the view, it is usually difficult to see the scene inside, so it is best not to watch; hundreds of vultures, smelling the smell, began to fall from the sky with the breath of death. They gathered on the slope and waited; when the lama was ready, he lifted the curtain, and the vultures swarmed up, followed by a diffuse unpleasant smell (so masks must be worn), and the process could last for more than half an hour. And the closest viewing position, curious viewers will also change in waves.

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and the sky burial site was crowded with onlookers.

The scene was quite shocking when I saw more than a hundred vultures circling overhead waiting for food.

After dinner, we went to the Sky Burial Platform. The time was just right. From a distance, we could see many vultures circling over the Sky Burial Platform, which was quite chilling. Since the weather was still hot during the day in mid-September, when we approached the Sky Burial Platform, the faint stench of corpses came towards us. The closer we got, the more obvious the smell became. Friends with sensitive noses must prepare masks. Sky burial is no longer a ritual where lamas cut meat on the spot with vultures by their side (maybe there are too many vultures and it is inconvenient to operate or the scene is too bloody and they are afraid of causing panic to tourists). They will first perform the ceremony in a rockery-like place next to it, and then put the meat in a fixed place for vultures to eat, but the scene still shocked the audience... After the Sky Burial Platform, we went to the place where groundhogs live 10 minutes away by car to see groundhogs. The expressions are really cute! However, we went too late, and the groundhogs were full and hid in the cave and didn't come out. Cry~~ In the end, we still saw a groundhog who wanted to have a meal. I was happy.

This is where Tibetans from near and far come to pray for the souls of their deceased loved ones, and it is also crowded with curious tourists.

The sky burial ceremony starts at about 1:30 pm every day and lasts for about 1 to 2 hours. You will see hundreds of vultures flying in the sky, and there are also scenes of vultures fighting for food around the sky burial platform. You must have a certain psychological endurance when watching, and you must take good care of your camera and respect the deceased and the ceremony itself.

The shock of sky burial is enough to leave me with an unforgettable memory for a lifetime.

Before the sky burial began, vultures circled slowly in the sky. They flew very high at first and came in small numbers. As time went on, their numbers grew and they came closer and closer. Then, one by one, the vultures flew to the hillside on one side of the sky burial platform like swooping bombers, and stood in a row, waiting for the luncheon carnival.

The sky burial ceremony is not allowed to be filmed, and everyone must not film it, because it is disrespectful to the deceased and insulting to the deceased's family. But the process, even if it is not filmed, is unforgettable.

The family members and the sky burial masters carried the body into the sky burial platform in a box and placed it behind the curtain. After the sky burial master recited the scriptures, the curtain was pulled open. Hundreds of vultures rushed down like crazy, and the body was submerged before it was revealed. Then there were the screams and fights of the vultures, and life completely dissipated in the madness. The crowd left shortly after the ceremony began. However, our group of seven stayed to watch. Many vultures left contentedly after eating, and the sky burial platform gradually became less noisy. At this time, the details became clearer. Two vultures tore a piece of human skin, and four or five vultures shook a complete skeleton into pieces. Before I came, I thought sky burial was peaceful, and Tibetans quietly returned their bodies to nature. After watching it, I realized that the real nature is still cruel, and death is just a part of the hustle and bustle of life. The Tibetans gave themselves to nature, gained a new life again, and returned to this crazy world.

The overall atmosphere of the sky burial platform is very strange, for example, the room is full of skulls.

It's a very good choice to understand life and death. Maybe you will be more open-minded when facing life.

The mulberry and cypress wood had been lit, and the lama had begun to recite scriptures. Vultures flew in from behind the mountain, circling above the sky burial platform with their wings spread, looking intimidating from a distance.

We went to see the marmots first. They were so cute! I found that they really like to eat cookies! I almost got bit by it in order to take pictures. In order to occupy a favorable position, I arrived two hours early. After watching the sky burial, I had a deep understanding of life. One life, one reincarnation. I sighed at the piety of the Tibetan people and their beliefs!

Before we reached the sky burial platform, we saw a sky full of vultures circling in the sky.

"We're here!" The driver's words brought me back to my senses. A huge building suddenly appeared in front of me. After getting off the car, the air around me seemed to become solemn. The sky burial platform was very large, and the buildings were decorated with skulls or vultures, exuding a sacred, solemn and eerie atmosphere.

Tibetans believe that sky burial is a form of almsgiving, offering one's body to vultures, just like the Buddha cut his flesh to feed eagles and gave his body to tigers. They use their own strength to protect weak creatures and allow their souls to be sublimated and transcended. Although I do not believe in reincarnation, I believe in karma. The charity in Buddhism deserves our admiration.

Under the scorching sun, tourists on the mountainside began to stir, and the sky burial ceremony began. Family members of the deceased carried the bodies up the mountain one after another, one of whom was a minor. Some bodies were packed in large plastic barrels, and some were directly put in white woven bags. According to the tour guide, the bodies will be left for 7 to 10 days, waiting for the bodies to start to rot. After chanting sutras to pray for the soul to be reborn, the bodies will become soft, and the bodies will be curled up like babies and put into the bags.

Surprisingly, the deceased's family members did not cry. Their faces were calm, focused, pious, and full of respect. According to reports, seven days after a person's death, the soul leaves the body and goes to the afterlife. The relatives' grief and crying will affect the deceased's reincarnation.

The deceased will be placed on the sky burial stone for blessing first, and then walk around the white pagoda several times. Then follow the passage leading to the Western Paradise, turn right and enter the sky burial area. After that, the lama will start chanting to liberate the souls of the deceased. After the chanting, the sky burial master in full dress will enter the sky burial platform and start sharpening the knife to prepare to dismember the body. This process is very fast, only about 10 minutes.

After the corpse was processed and the flesh and bones were separated, the sky burial master opened the curtain, and hundreds of vultures swarmed over in an instant. On the entire sky burial platform, only the heads of vultures could be seen rising and falling. In less than a quarter of an hour, the corpse was eaten up without a trace left. The vultures, full of food, took off one after another, carrying the lost lives and starting a new cycle of reincarnation.

Faith has always been something that cannot be expressed in words. When the sky burial platform was being performed, a large curtain was set up around it. It was difficult to see the process clearly, and photography was not allowed. All I could see were hundreds of vultures circling in the sky. The air was filled with a strange smell, and I could smell it even with two layers of masks on. I almost suffocated, and I had no appetite for meat for the next two or three days.

The scene of sky burial is very cruel, which we may not be able to understand, but for Tibetans, it is a lofty ritual of salvation.

When it was almost 3 o'clock, vultures came from nowhere and swarmed in. Looking up at the sky, they were really dense. They all landed in one place and waited. When it was almost time to start, the sky was half clear and half cloudy. It was sunny near the sky burial platform. Some people may have seen auspicious clouds before.

I was so excited that I was shaking... I don't know why, but when I saw the vultures lined up in an orderly manner, I started to cry... The narrator asked us to chant "Amitabha" silently for the dead and pray for the souls of the dead... I told you not to take pictures, so don't take pictures. Please respect them, okay?

When we arrived, the sky was full of vultures. The sky burial started at 2 o'clock, and vultures flew over one after another. There were hundreds of them. It was said that they would eat more than 30 people that day, in 4-5 times. They were waiting here.

After the sky burial platform below was prepared, the vultures rushed down as soon as the curtain was opened. They could not see anything and there was nothing to be afraid of.

I saw people carrying corpses around the white pagoda, and then placing them on the sky burial platform, dividing them into pieces. Vultures flew in from all directions and waited in an orderly manner on the slope... Out of respect, I only took pictures of the vultures circling in the sky, and did not take pictures of the direction of the sky burial platform. I sighed at the local customs, the friendliness to the ecological environment, and the cycle of life and death...

There were really a lot of vultures. I was a little out of breath when I climbed to the top. After all, the altitude was 3,800 meters, so I didn't dare to be too happy. There were a lot of people, so we squeezed into a relatively front position and waited for the sky burial ceremony to begin.

In order to respect their customs, I stopped taking photos after the ceremony began. Vultures are very smart. There is a leader, and after the ceremony, the leader goes up first, and then the other vultures rush to eat. The scene is spectacular.

The Buddhist Academy and the sky burial platform are very close, and it only takes about 13 minutes by car. Maybe because I haven't recovered from the long journey, I didn't feel the heaviness of watching the sky burial at all. I arrived at the sky burial platform in a daze. From the beginning to the end of the sky burial, the most memorable thing was the scene of hundreds of vultures swarming in and the increasingly strong stench of decaying flesh even with a mask on. (Although the process was really fast, I think it is a very meaningful thing to watch a sky burial once in a lifetime. Maybe it's because I am curious about this sacred act...)

I put my head into the hole and looked up to see a lot of skulls. It was really scary.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Guru Rinpoche spent so much effort to rebuild this charnel ground, hoping that all visitors would have a deep understanding of life and death. Perhaps in this way, we will have a correct understanding of this life and make the right choices for the future.

——Larung Gar Charnel Ground

It started at about 1:30. The bodies were carried up one by one. As soon as the smoke was released, vultures flew over in large numbers and waited in fixed positions! Soon, someone started to decompose the bodies. From the site where tourists were standing, you couldn't see how they were decomposed. There were wooden boards blocking the way. Maybe it would be better this way, otherwise I couldn't guarantee that I could watch it safely. The vultures were already eager to move and couldn't wait. There was a curtain to prevent the vultures from passing by. As soon as the curtain was opened, the vultures swarmed in and started to snatch! The scene was still a bit shocking! It didn't take long for it to be over! Life is short, cherish it.

The Sky Burial Platform is very close to the Buddhist Academy. You can choose to go to the Buddhist Academy in the morning and come to the Sky Burial Platform in the afternoon. You can drive directly to the scenic spot by following the navigation. Many people started waiting here at 11 o'clock. It started around 2 o'clock. You can come a little earlier. There are many tourists. If you want to see it clearly, you have to find a seat by yourself. I really didn't dare to. I found a position very far up and far away, so that I wouldn't be panicked. It doesn't really matter whether you can see it clearly or not. What you feel is the atmosphere. The smell of corpse decay is not strong. You still need to wear a mask. You can't see the body parts but you can see the body carried in. You can't see anything during the whole process. You can only see a black mass of vultures. I think those who have poor psychological endurance should not go to the Sky Burial Platform. It shouldn't be said that this is a tourist attraction. I just want to understand the local folk customs. This is a place of faith.

The Sky Burial Platform seems to be under construction. After all, the Chinese-style pavilion at the back has not been completed yet, and it is likely to become a paid attraction. Moreover, sky burials may not always be viewed by tourists, so it is better to see it as soon as possible if you have the chance.

The center of the sky burial platform is filled with densely packed skulls, which are said to be collected after the sky burials. At first glance, it makes people feel terrified. But after getting used to it and taking a closer look, they are full of geometric rhythm, as if these are no longer scary skulls, but a pile of well-arranged artistic shapes.

The time of sky burial is usually around 12-2 noon. The time is not fixed every day, but around 1 o'clock, vultures will fly over from afar and stay in front of the sky burial platform, waiting for the instructions of the sky burial master. The scene is spectacular.



At around 2 o'clock, as the sky burial master pulled back the canvas covering the corpse, the vultures immediately rushed over to eat the corpse. In less than ten minutes, all that could be seen on the sky burial platform were scattered pieces of meat and bones, and a strong pungent smell of blood. The tourists also began to disperse one after another. It was just like the saying "all the people in the world come for profit, and all the people in the world go for profit".

In fact, in addition to sky burials and vultures, there are many cute groundhogs on the hillside of the sky burial platform. This is the point~ These groundhogs are fat and not afraid of people. When they see food, they will open their mouths in front of you, which is very cute~

After the death of Tibetan people, while the body has not yet hardened, the deceased will be naked and wrapped with ropes, and then placed in a special morgue for a period of time. When the body begins to rot and smells foul, the family will carry it to the sky burial platform, and then the sky burial master will dissect the body. I don’t know if the family members need to take the bones back, but I didn’t see it. At the beginning, the sky burial master cut and cut and gave a pile of white things to the family members, and then the family members threw the pile of things into the container for the body. I thought it was bones at the time, but now I think that the pile of things should be the ropes used to tie the body, because when the sky burial master gave the pile of things to the deceased, there was no blood and it was very clean. Then when all the bodies of the day arrived, the sky burial master began to dissect and dismember them. After the sky burial master finished the dissection, he would let the vultures eat them.

We watched until the end, when there were no more people, so we could get closer. Then there was a breeze blowing, and the smell was indescribable. Then we could vaguely see vultures eating meat, and we saw some red limbs, intestines, etc. In the end, the vultures would eat only human skin, because human skin cannot be torn apart, and then the sky burial master would go in and cut the human skin into smaller pieces with a knife and feed them. We also witnessed this scene, a whole piece of white. Watching the sky burial is still a bit depressing.

Sky burials in Seda are held every day, usually starting at around 1 p.m. Even before this time, the earthen slope above the sky burial platform is already crowded with people, and tourists with a curious mentality are waiting for the arrival of the mysterious moment.

We went there very late, and there was no gap on the hillside to squeeze in, so we could only watch from the white tower under the sky burial platform. Due to the location, we could only see the bare slope that had been trampled by vultures and the wall of the sky burial platform. The red signboard was the place that said "No entry except for relatives of the deceased", and the group of people waiting were probably relatives of the deceased. As the wind blew towards us, a foul smell came to our noses from time to time.

Probably the ceremony on the sky burial platform came to an end. The vultures that had gathered and waited on the platform swooped down to eat, and most of the relatives waiting outside also began to leave. There was no sign of sadness on their faces. Perhaps for them, death was nothing more than the soul entering the next reincarnation, the beginning of another life, or perhaps the crying of relatives made the soul of the deceased unable to bear to leave.

Only when the crowd had almost dispersed did we find a place on the hillside where we could barely see the sky burial platform. On the rectangular sky burial platform surrounded by a wall, there was a platform on the east side, on which the tools used by the sky burial master were placed; the situation on the west side could not be seen due to the obstruction of the fence. We have no way of knowing the original ceremony of sky burial. Judging from the conversations of people on the scene, it seems that it is not as complicated as described on the Internet. At this time, the body had been almost eaten by vultures, dragged everywhere, bones scattered all over the ground, and a small skull was pecked by vultures and rolled everywhere. After a while, the sky burial master came in with a knife, sharpened the knife, and cut the remaining bones and flesh on the sky burial platform so that the vultures could eat them.

The sky burial area is 3,880 meters above sea level, which is a bit high. Many people who have never been to a plateau will feel dizzy.

At first I was worried that eating too much and watching the sky burial would be too disgusting. In fact, it was not at all, because you could only see vultures fighting over the corpses, and there was no obvious blood. We arrived at the sky burial area at 1:30 after dinner, and waited on the mountain until 14:30 before the event started. It was so hot.

Watching sky burials is not scary at all. Even if you see a corpse, it looks like pork, red and nothing special.

There are so many vultures. They look majestic and huge when they fly in the blue sky.

The sky burial time is from 1:30 to 3:30. About 2:00 is the time for vultures to eat the corpse. Although there is a sign saying "Please do not take photos during the sky burial process", many people still take mobile phone cameras to take pictures. The scene is indeed very exciting, but not particularly scary. After all, the tourist area is quite far from the sky burial site, and you can only see the flocks of vultures from a distance. The corpse cannot be seen in the audience. Later, we walked over and really saw some amazing scenes. I won’t say more here, let everyone imagine it. Let me tell you one more thing. There are groups of marmots on the mountain behind the sky burial platform. They are not afraid of people and are very greedy. They will clasp their hands and beg you to give them food. They are very cute, so you must bring snacks when you go. If you just want to see them, you don’t have to go to Yaowangshen Mountain to see them.

Tibetans believe that life is the beginning of death, and there is no need to cling to the body. The platform for the sky burial in Seda will soon be built into an AAAA-level scenic spot, and it is already under construction. Arriving at the sky burial platform around 1:30 p.m., it was already full of people, and groups of vultures flew in, waiting for their "delicious food". As more and more tourists came, the platform was fenced with simple boards, and the sky burial master could not be seen handling the corpse. After the sky burial master finished handling it, the curtain was opened, and thousands of vultures swarmed down, the scene was spectacular... The speed of eating was quite amazing.

In fact, the partitions blocked most of the sky burial platform, so the sky burial master could not see it when he was disassembling it. All he could see was a dense mass of vultures coming from nowhere and gathering on the sky burial platform. When the staff pulled open the curtain covering the sky burial platform, the vultures began to swarm over it.

During the whole process, I only saw a lot of vultures fighting for food, and I didn't see the bloody scenes that were mentioned on the Internet. I was a little disappointed and a little relieved. Of course, my relief far outweighed my disappointment. After all, I was so timid that I just wanted to experience this ceremony and didn't want to observe more scenes. Some of my group members could see the vultures fighting for intestines and flesh.

I heard that every time there is a sky burial, something mysterious will happen, auspicious clouds will appear, or it will rain every time, but when the sky burial begins, the sky will clear up. Therefore, when watching a sky burial, an umbrella and raincoat are necessary to protect you from both rain and sun.

The sky burial platform is about a 15-minute drive from the Buddhist College. There is a section of bad road, so friends who drive there are advised not to drive up.

Aerial photography is also prohibited at the sky burial platform, and you cannot take photos of the bodies of the deceased. If you go to watch the ceremony, you must respect the customs and do not take photos at will.

The ceremony started at about 1pm, and visitors could only stand in the designated area and watch from a distance. There were not many vultures at this time, only a few in the sky.

At about 1:30, after the circumcision ceremony began, a large number of vultures flew over from the back mountain, and the scene was quite spectacular. Some of the vultures circled in the sky, and some landed on the empty grass next to the sky burial platform to gather. The place where the circumcision was performed was covered with a curtain, so tourists could not see the place where the ceremony was performed.