Tibetan Buddhists perform celestial burials in the mountains of Tibet, signifying the beginning of a new life for the deceased who is "buried". Sky burial is a ritual practiced only by Tibetan Buddhists and different from many other rituals around the world. Throughout history, Tibetan celestial burial has been considered a unique practice in terms of its meaning, the process and the reasons behind practicing the ritual. The Tibetan celestial burial process begins with the death of a person. According to Tibetan Buddhists, death is not the last stage of a person's life. Death is just the beginning of a new stage in that person's life (Birth, Death and Rebirth: Heavenly Burial and the Cyclical Cosmos of Tibetan Buddhism n.pag.). “Tibetans believe that the spirit of the deceased is more important than the body. After death, the body should not be touched for three days, except possibly at the top of the head, through which consciousness, or namshe, exits. Lamas guide the spirit in a series of prayers that last seven weeks, as the person passes through the bards, intermediate states that precede rebirth” (Logan n.pag.). Tibetan Buddhists believe that after a person dies, the soul leaves the body, leaving an empty corpse to be disposed of. The person must not be touched so that the soul can leave the body and enter its new life in the afterlife. Reincarnation occurs after the vultures leave their droppings. The soul is in the excrement and it will live as a part of the earth. After the “burial”, the soul is now in the birds. The soul then leaves the body after the bird leaves its droppings. The soul is transmitted from birds to drop...... middle of paper ...... are also intriguing. Sky burial is an incredible part of Tibetan culture that differs from countless traditions in other countries around the world. Works CitedBirth, death and rebirth: burial in heaven and the cyclical cosmos of Tibetan Buddhism. e University of Missouri. Internet. 2014 February 2014. Ciolek, Matthew. Tibetan Studies - Tibetan Religion - Burial in Heaven. October 20, 1990. the web. February 12, 2014. Goss, Robert. “Tibetan Buddhism and the resolution of grief: Bardo-Thodol for the dying and the bereaved.” Studies in Death 21.4 (1997): 377-395. Internet. February 24, 2014. Laribee, Rachel. A Tibetan student of Heavenly Burial witnesses reincarnation. July 2, 2004. the web. February 23, 2014.Logan, Pamela. Witness a Tibetan celestial burial. September 26, 1997. The web. February 11, 2014. Secter, Mondo. Tibetan Buddhist "Burial of Heaven". October 11, 1999. the web. February 23 2014.