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{{short description|Self-mummified Buddhist monk in India}}
'''Lama Sangha Tenzin''' was a [[Buddhist monk]]. He is thought to have died in the 1500s. His remains are preserved as a [[mummy]], which was discovered in 1975 in [[Gue Village]], a small town in the Indian state of [[Himachal Pradesh]]. Tenzin's tomb was established in the village near the [[Line of Actual Control]] (LOC) in the [[Spiti Valley]]. HIs body is the only mummy of a [[Buddhist monk]] in India that was [[Sokushinbutsu|naturally mummified]] (self-mummification).<ref name="The Better India 2018">{{cite web|date=2018-03-12|title=Skip Egypt and Go To Gue, the Spiti Village With India's Only Natural Mummy!|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/133903/sangha-tenzin-lama-mummy-gue-spiti-india/|access-date=2021-05-04|website=The Better India}}</ref><ref name="Venkatraman 2013">{{cite web | last=Venkatraman | first=S. | title=Go away to Gue | website=The Hindu | date=2013-03-29 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/travel/go-away-to-gue/article4561440.ece | access-date=2021-05-04}}</ref><ref name="Vallangi 2015">{{cite web | last=Vallangi | first=Neelima | title=A 500-year-old mummy – with teeth | website=BBC | date=2015-05-01 | url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20150501-a-500-year-old-mummy-with-teeth | access-date=2021-05-04}}</ref> However, the mummy was buried in an [[earthquake]], leading the body to be rediscovered by [[Indo-Tibetan Border Police|ITBP]] personnel in 2004 when they were constructing roads in the area.<ref name="Amar Ujala 2015">{{cite web|date=2015-05-05|title=545 साल पुरानी 'ममी' जिसके आज भी बढ़ रहे नाखून और बाल|url=https://www.amarujala.com/photo-gallery/shimla/550-years-old-mummy-gew-village-lahaul-spiti-himachal|access-date=2021-05-04|website=Amar Ujala|language=la}}</ref> When found, the body was naturally preserved in a thick glass box without the use of chemical preservatives.

Originally from [[Tibet]], Sangha Tenzin came to Gue for [[meditation]] when he was 45-years old.

== Folklore ==
According to [[local folklore]], Tenzin sacrificed his life for the survival of the village from scorpions. Legend says the mummy is alive and hence became known as "living Buddha". Legend claims that the hair and nails are still growing. The mummy is self-mummified, meaning that it was not artificially preserved or exposed to chemical preservatives, making it a "natural mummy".<ref name="The Better India 2018" /> It belongs to a [[15th-century]] [[Vihāra|Buddhist monastery]].<ref name="Vallangi 2015" />

Some local people worship the mummy as a "living God".<ref name="Amar Ujala 2015" /> It is believed that when Tenzin's soul left his body, a rainbow appeared in the sky and the village was freed from [[scorpion]]s forever.<ref name="Venkatraman 2013" />

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenzin, Sangha}}
[[Category:Buddhist pilgrimages]]
[[Category:Buddhist relics]]
[[Category:Mummies]]

Sangha Tenzin - Revision history

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