A Chinese monk is to be made into a golden Buddha after remaining in the lotus position three and a half years after he was placed into a cylinder, following his death age 94.
Monk Fuhou's mummified body was removed from a vat at the Puzhao temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province on Sunday, having been placed there in 2012. His body was said to have been preserved as a "mark of respect". He had practiced Buddhism for 81 years.
Monks who attended the "open cylinder" ceremony on Zimao Mountain noted monk Fuhou had not rotted, while being contained in the sealed vat.
After being cleaned the monk will be covered in a gold substance and made Buddha statue.
In February last year high level buddhists claimed that a 200-year-old monk found mummified in Mongolia, was not in fact dead, but rather he was in a deep state of meditation.
The body was confiscated by police after a man attempted to sell it on the black market near the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.
Dr Barry Kerzin, physician to the Dalai Lama, and a Buddhist academic said at the time that the monk was in a state of tukdam, one step away from reaching enlightenment and becoming a Buddha.
Gankhüügiin Pürevbat, the founder of the Mongolian Institute of Buddhist Art at Ulaanbaatar Buddhist University, told the Siberian Times at the time: "The lama is sitting in the lotus position vajra, the left hand is opened, and the right hand symbolises of the preaching Sutra.
"This is a sign that the lama is not dead, but is in a very deep meditation according to the ancient tradition of Buddhist lamas."
The identity of the individual is unclear, but some speculate it may be the teacher of Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov, who was also found mummified in 2002.
Monk Fuhou's golden tribute
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Open Image ModalMonks stand by monk Fuhou's body which was placed in a vat in 2012, then opened January 10, more than three years after his death at Puzhao temple on Zimao Mountain in Quanzhou, Fujian Province of China (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalWorkers open the vat in which monk Fuhou's body had been placed three and a half years ago (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalWorkers clear the dust on monk Fuhou's body which was found not to have rotted after being placed in a vat (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalWorkers remove the monk from the vat (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalMonks stand by monk Fuhou's body after it was removed from the vat (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalMonks gather to photograph Fuhou's mummified body (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalWorkers clear the dust on monk Fuhou's body at Puzhao temple (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalThe dead monk's body is examined and cleaned (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalThe body of monk Fuhou is placed on display (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalWorkers use scissors to cut away materials off the monk's mummified body (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalMonk Fuhou's body is put on display, while draped in a robe (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalMonk Fuhou's body is put on display at the Puzhao temple on Zimao Mountain (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalA worker cuts a robe off monk Fuhou's mummified body (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalThe monk body was said to have not rotted, more than three years after it was removed from the vat (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalWorkers clear dust and debris off monk Fuhou's mummified body (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalThe vat in which monk Fuhou's body had been placed in 2012 following his death, age 94 (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)
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Open Image ModalPeople come to pay their respects and take pictures of the mummified remains of monk Fuhou (credit:ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)