Das Mysterium der sibirischen Mumie (360° - GEO Reportage)

It began in 1927 in a Buddhist monastery in Siberia: Shortly before his death, the Chambo Lama Itigilow wrote his legacy. He commanded the monks to retrieve him from his grave in 30 years. He then died meditating, upright in the lotus position. When the Buddhist priests rescued him from his grave decades later, they found his body virtually intact. "360° - The GEO Reportage" follows two men – a scientist and a monk – who, in very different ways, set out to trace the mysterious mummy. A film by Ute Gebhardt © 2004, Licensed by MedienKontor / ARTE Subscribe to wocomoTRAVEL: https://goo.gl/tIk2Qc Follow us on Facebook:   / wocomo   Press release: In the middle of the Siberian steppe, near the Mongolian border and only 100 kilometers from Lake Baikal, stands the Ivolginsk Monastery. It was the only Buddhist monastery where the monks were able to practice their faith even during the Soviet dictatorship. They managed to keep a secret that has only now become public knowledge. Inside their temple, they keep the body of the Chambo Lama Itigilow. What's special about it: The high Buddhist priest died over 75 years ago, but his body has not decomposed to this day. Two men now want to solve this mystery – each in their own way. The 27-year-old monk Bair grew up in a small town during the Soviet era. Although Buddhism was suppressed at the time, his parents raised him religiously. For four years, Bair has lived in the Ivolginsk Monastery, where he is being initiated into the secrets of Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan healing arts – and is also dedicated to researching the life and death of the Chambo Lama Itigilov. The pathologist Yuri Tampoleev is also trying to solve the lama's mystery. He was allowed to examine the body a few years ago and wants to find a scientific explanation for its good condition. The young monk Bair, on the other hand, travels the country in search of Itigilov's life and finds people who can tell him about Itigilov and his work there. In doing so, he is not only interested in the past of the Buddhists in Siberia but also in his own future. For Itigilov has long since become a symbol of the resurrection of Buddhism in Siberia.