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Immured Anchorite
An immured anchorite, considered by many to be a myth, is a Tibetan monk who has taken a vow to spend his life permanently sealed inside a small walled cell. The walled cell, only large enough for the monk to sit in meditation, has only a single stone that is moved to offer bread and water once a day. The cell has no windows and the monk spends his life in complete darkness. There have been Christian references to anchorites who have immured themselves seeking a life of prayer and meditation. Usually there would be two holes in their cell, one attached to the church in order to hear and observe Mass and the other on the opposite side for visitors. The concept of an immured anchorite was also used in the novel '' The Wheel of Darkness'' by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. See also * Anchorite * Sokushinbutsu * Stylite * Immurement Immurement (from the Latin , "in" and , "wall"; literally "walling in"), also called immuration or live entombment, is a form of imprisonment, usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchorite
In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of hermit, unlike hermits they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world, a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority other than the bishop. The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms of Christian monasticism. In the Catholic Church, eremitic life is one of the forms of the Consecrated life. In medieval England, the earliest recorded anchorites existed in the 11th century. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wheel Of Darkness
''The Wheel of Darkness'' is a novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child released on August 28, 2007 by Grand Central Publishing.(June 1, 2008Set sail for suspense in 'The Wheel of Darkness' '' Star-Banner'', Retrieved October 22, 2010Boisvert, Will (August 31, 2007The Wheel of Darkness (brief review) ''Entertainment Weekly'' This is the eighth book in the Special Agent Pendergast series. It entered ''The New York Times Best Seller list'' at number two on September 16, 2007, and remained on the list for five weeks.BEST SELLERS: September 16, 2007 '''' (debut at number two, with '' |
Douglas Preston
Douglas Jerome Preston (born May 31, 1956) is an American journalist and author. Although he is best known for his thrillers in collaboration with Lincoln Child (including the ''Agent Pendergast'' series and ''Gideon Crew'' series), he has also written six solo novels, including the '' Wyman Ford'' series and a novel entitled ''Jennie'', which was made into a movie by Disney. He has authored a half-dozen nonfiction books on science and exploration and writes occasionally for ''The New Yorker'', '' Smithsonian'', and other magazines. Life and early career Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts. A graduate of the Cambridge School of Weston in Weston, Massachusetts, and Pomona College in Claremont, California, Preston began his writing career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. From 1978 to 1985, Preston worked for the American Museum of Natural History as a writer, editor, and manager of publications. He served as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lincoln Child
Lincoln Child (13 October 1957) is an American author of techno-thriller and horror novels. Though he is most well known for his collaborations with Douglas Preston (including the Agent Pendergast series and the Gideon Crew series, among others), he has also written seven solo novels, including the Jeremy Logan series. Over twenty of the collaborative novels and most of his solo novels have become New York Times bestsellers, some reaching the #1 position. Child and Preston's first novel together, ''Relic'', was adapted into a feature film. Their books are notable for their thorough research and scientific accuracy. Life and career Born in Westport, Connecticut, but now a Florida resident, Child graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, with a major in English. Soon afterward, in 1979, he secured a job as an editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press. By 1984, Child had become full editor. While in this position, he edited hundreds of books, most titles being A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchorite
In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of hermit, unlike hermits they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world, a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority other than the bishop. The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms of Christian monasticism. In the Catholic Church, eremitic life is one of the forms of the Consecrated life. In medieval England, the earliest recorded anchorites existed in the 11th century. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sokushinbutsu
are a kind of Buddhist mummy. In Japan the term refers to the practice of Buddhist monks observing asceticism to the point of death and entering mummification while alive. Mummified monks are seen in a number of Buddhist countries. Only in Japan are they believed to have induced their own death by starvation. Especially in South-Asian countries the monks die through natural causes after which their bodies are mummified. There is a common suggestion that Shingon school founder Kukai brought this practice from Tang China as part of secret tantric practices he learned. During the 20th century, Japanese scholars found very little evidence of self-starvation of Sokushinbutsu. They rather concluded that mummification took place after the demise of the monk practising this kind of asceticism. Origin There is at least one "self-mummified" 550-year-old corpse in existence: that of a Buddhist monk named Sangha Tenzin in a northern Himalayan region of India, visible in a temple in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stylite
A stylite ( grc, στυλίτης () 'pillar dweller', derived from () 'pillar' and syc, ܐܣܛܘܢܐ ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure the salvation of their souls. Stylites were common in the early days of the Byzantine Empire. The first known stylite was Simeon Stylites the Elder who climbed a pillar in Syria in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later. Ascetic precedents Palladius of Galatia tells of Epidius, a hermit in Palestine who dwelt in a mountaintop cave for twenty-five years until his death. St. Gregory of Nazianzus speaks of a solitary who stood upright for many years together, absorbed in contemplation, without ever lying down. Theodoret claimed that he had seen a hermit who had passed ten years in a tub suspended in midair from poles. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Immurement
Immurement (from the Latin , "in" and , "wall"; literally "walling in"), also called immuration or live entombment, is a form of imprisonment, usually until death, in which a person is sealed within an enclosed space without exits. This includes instances where people have been enclosed in extremely tight confinement, such as within a coffin. When used as a means of execution, the prisoner is simply left to die from starvation or dehydration. This form of execution is distinct from being buried alive, in which the victim typically dies of asphyxiation. Notable examples of immurement as an established execution practice (with death from thirst or starvation as the intended aim) are attested. Women in the Roman Empire who were Vestal Virgins faced live entombment as punishment when they were found guilty of breaking their chastity vows. Immurement has also been well established as a punishment of robbers in Persia, even into the early 20th century. Some ambiguous evidence exists of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
