Last week in Mongolia police caught a man trying to sell the mummified body of a Buddhist monk on the black market in Ulaanbaatar. The mummy has been perfectly preserved and is believed to be about 200 years old. It had been brought from Western Mongolia, probably Khovd province. Self-mummification is a rare practice undertaken by Buddhist monks in Tibet, Japan and Mongolia. The purpose is to reach Nirvana, thus becoming a Buddha, and escaping from the cycle of death and rebirth . Many years of training are required even to attempt this, but a successful outcome is proved if the body does not decay after death. In order to achieve self-mummification the monk will severely restrict his diet, completely cutting out all fat and moisture, living mainly on nuts, berries and leaves. He may ingest some plants which are toxic to bacteria, thus inhibiting bodily decomposition after death. It is also thought that he may consume the sap of a tree, the resin, which acts like an internal em...