Sky burial

Sky burial is a funerary practice in which a deceased person’s body is exposed outdoors, traditionally for scavenging birds and other animals. In Tibet, it is commonly associated with Buddhist rites and the high-altitude landscape.

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Jhator: A Tibetan form of sky burial in which a body is prepared and offered to scavenging birds. This Tibetan practice is the best-known specific form of sky burial.
Tibetan Buddhism: A form of Buddhism that developed in Tibet and the Himalayan region, combining Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. Its teachings and ritual institutions inform many Tibetan sky burials.
Tibetan Plateau: A vast, high-altitude region of Central Asia that includes much of Tibet. Its terrain and climate help explain why exposed burial developed as a practical option.
Cremation: The reduction of a dead body to bone fragments and ash through burning. It disposes of the body through fire rather than exposure to scavengers.
Vulture: A scavenging bird that feeds mainly on carrion and helps remove animal remains from the environment. Vultures are the principal scavengers in many Tibetan sky burials.
Bardo: An intermediate state or interval, especially the period between death and rebirth in Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Ideas about the transition after death provide a religious setting for the funeral rite.
Tibet: A high-altitude region of Central Asia with a distinctive history, culture, and Tibetan-speaking population. The practice is most strongly associated with Tibetan communities and religious institutions.
Burial: The placement of a dead body in the ground, usually in a grave or tomb. Burial preserves or encloses the body instead of exposing it outdoors.
Impermanence: The Buddhist teaching that conditioned things are transient and cannot remain unchanged. The exposed body makes bodily transience materially visible.
Anicca: The Buddhist doctrine that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent. The rite can make the impermanence of the body tangible.