The majority of Tibetans adhere to Buddhism, which teaches rebirth. There is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel. Birds may eat it, or nature may cause it to decompose. Thus, the function of the sky burial is simply to dispose of the remains. In much of Tibet, the ground is too hard and rocky to dig a grave, and, due to the scarcity of fuel and timber, sky burials are often more practical than cremation. High lamas and some other dignitaries may receive burials so as to honor them in death, but sky burials were standard practice for commoners.
(wikipedia)Drigung Monastery, Tibetan monastery famous for performing sky burials.
note: opted to edit out other images; too graphic for comfort. for the curious, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burialLinkback:
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