At the initiative of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia, the outgoing week is dedicated to the worship of the great Pandito Khambo Lamas of Buryatia
On September 29, in the village of Atsagat, Zaigraevsky district, a prayer service and illumination of Suburgan IX Pandito Khambo Lama Choydor Markhaev took place. On September 30, near the village of Povorot, Selenginsky District, in the town of Baraniy Lug, festive events were held dedicated to four Pandito Khambo Lamas, who came from these places. On October 1, similar events were held in the Shara Gol area near the Chelutai village of the Kyakhta region. This prayer service and festivities were dedicated to Damba-Darzha Zayayev. On October 2, near the village of Orongoy, Ivolginsky district, ritual events were held in the small homeland of Dasha-Dorzho Itigelov, near Itigal-dugan.
Today, on October 3, on the territory of the Ivolginsky Datsan, the newly erected magnificent Itigelov Palace will be consecrated. On this day, believers and guests of the Ivolginsky Datsan can bow to the imperishable body of Dasha-Dorzho Itigelov.
Dasha-Dorzho Itigelov was born in 1852 in Buryatia. Having lost his parents early, he tended sheep for five years, dreaming of going to study in Tibet. At the age of 15, the future lama reached the Aninsky datsan, known for a strong philosophical school, and for 20 years comprehended the teachings of the Buddha there. Becoming a lama, and then abbot of the Yangazhinsky datsan, he became famous as the founder of many Buddhist temples, an outstanding educator and healer. There are many legends about him.
In 1911, Itigelov was elected from 11 candidates by the XIIth Pandito Hambo Lama. During World War I, Itigelov organized the collection of funds, clothing, food and medicine for the front, collected gifts for the front-line soldiers for Easter, equipped front-line hospitals and, together with other medical lamas, treated the wounded. In 1917, Itigelov resigned as Pandito Khambo Lama and spent the last ten years of his life in the Yangazhinsky Datsan.
In 1927, with his students, he began to read the funeral prayer for himself. Before his death, Itigelov told his students to come to see his body in 30 years, and promised to return in 75 years. It is believed that Itigelov, in a state of meditation, went to nirvana.
The exhumations of the body of the lama, according to the data of the grand-niece of the XIIth Pandito Hambo Lama, were carried out in 1955 and 1973, and in both cases experts were convinced of his incorruption.
The last opening of the sarcophagus, as Itigelov bequeathed, took place 75 years after his death - on September 11, 2002. The body, which had lain in the ground for many decades, turned out to be the same as at the time of death. No signs of decomposition were found. Since then, the incorruptible body in the lotus position has been kept in one of the premises of the Ivolginsky Datsan in Buryatia.
Scientists are still struggling to solve the "Itigelov phenomenon". Immediately after Itigelov was removed from the grave, apart from submedical experts, scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences were involved in the study of the Itigelov phenomenon. They found out that his body is not a mummy. There could be no question of any embalming, since no cuts or punctures were found on Itigelov's body.
It was not suitable for defining the incredible state in which the body of the lama was, and the word "power" - after the analysis carried out by the specialists of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it turned out that the condition of his skin corresponded to its lifetime characteristics. Having accidentally damaged Itigelov's skin, the experts discovered that blood was leaking from the wound. It was much thicker than that of a living person, but in a corpse, as you know, blood clots, and blood flow from wounds is generally impossible.
Scientists without any hesitation admitted that Itigelov was in a state close to what is called "suspended animation" in science fiction novels, and "hibernation" or simply hibernation in medicine. Only this hibernation is special - incredibly long. Not a single living creature could be in a state of hibernation for several decades. The presence of non-clotted blood in the veins of the Hambo Lama suggests that he breathes only in a special mode - probably very quietly and / or very rarely. The most difficult thing from the point of view of modern medicine is to understand how he does without food, and, most importantly, without water. However, the fact remains that the “neither alive nor dead” state continues. How long it will last is still unknown to science. Scientists, like Buddhists, doubt that they will be able to reveal this secret in the foreseeable future.