Tibetan Sky Burial
The sky burial is a funerary practice in which the body is cut up and fed to the vultures
The body parts are left in the Tower of Silence for a year, exposed to the elements and birds - men and women are placed in different sections
The donation of human flesh to the vultures is considered virtuous because it saves the lives of small animals that the vultures might otherwise capture for food
Local lamas walk past the Tower of Silence after a sky burial
Tower of Silence
A Vulture taking part in the Sky Burial
A Closer look
The majority of Tibetans and many Mongolians adhere to Vajrayana Buddhism, which teaches the transmigration of spirits. There is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel
Sky burial is the usual means for disposing of the corpses people who are not high lamas