https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huineng
I cannot say I understand how this is explained from Buddhism within, because I am not practitioner. But if such thing happens, it is usually viewed as some kind of wonder/miracle by the locals, and also means the monk has ascended to be Buddha.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10650278
(With a less catchy title)
This was less about enlightenment and more about pride and ritual, two powerful forces in all human cultures but, arguably, a greater force in medieval Japan than anywhere else, before or since.
As far as I know, this is false. The cycle stops repeating when one has reached enlightenment; to my knowledge, what happens after that point is irrelevant - one can't go back from enlightenment, and certainly not due to the body decaying (which is a major topic of Buddhist meditation anyway).
Is there any Pali canon source (I'm only interested in Theravada) that backs up the concept of no decay = no rebirth?
This idea, known in the text as annihilationism, was rejected by the Buddha as far as I know.
You mean the Christian religion, as neither Judaism nor Islam believe in eternal torture. Judaism has a 1 year maximum time limit, and opinions on the length vary in Islam.
I find it interesting that they believe that as long as the body does not decay the person is not reborn. In Judaism embalming is discouraged because it makes it harder on the soul to disconnect from the body since as long as the body is preserved the soul thinks it's supposed to stay there (but obviously can't).
Can they not embalm the person after a natural death though? Why does it have to be by this process?
The self mummification is one of his short essays.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Naked-Eye-Charles-Saatchi/dp/186...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Known-Unknowns-Charles-Saatchi/dp/18...
Boy, did that change. Now monks in Japan are all about extorting money from people for any kind of service, and ride in ridiculously expensive cars. Buddha would be proud.
