Bizarre practice of self-mummification of Buddhist monks

06. 05. 2020
6th international conference of exopolitics, history and spirituality

With the spread of Buddhism in Asian countries in past centuries and the contact of religion with many local cultures, various forms of Buddhist schools and teachings have emerged. Some Buddhist monks believed that all life was sacred, and their teachings said that they should move around the temple with the utmost caution and not inadvertently injure ants or other small insects. Other schools and teachings, in turn, professed relatively bizarre views and practices, such as self-mummification, which allegedly reached an advanced level of enlightenment. Typical mummies, similar to those embalmed in ancient Egypt, did not emerge in this way.

Attempts at self-mummification were recorded mainly in the northern Japanese prefecture of Yamagata between the 11th and 19th centuries, when the Japanese government considered them a form of assisted suicide. Even after this practice was officially banned, there remained believers who continued to practice it.

Obscure practice first saw the light of day thanks to a monk known as Kūkai, the founder of the early 9th century Buddhist school. It was more or less an esoteric school. Two centuries after Kūkai died, his hagiography appeared, stating that he had not died but had immersed himself in a special meditative state. When he returns in millions of years, he will help others reach the state of nirvana, it was allegedly also written here.

Yamagata Shingon monks are the most common today among those trying to become living Buddhas in their own bodies. Before entering the meditative state in their tombs, the monks were subjected to a strict regime. In the tombs, they let their lives die down and some of them became mummies - Sokushinbutsu.

Luang Phor Daeng Payasilo, a mummified monk at Wat Khunaram, Ko Samui, southern Thailand. Photo: Per Meistrup CC BY-SA 3.0

Before the mummification could begin, the monks had to undergo specific steps and processes. For example, each of them had to follow a strict diet, consisting only of raw food, which prepared the body for the whole process. The first special eating ritual lasted a thousand days, followed by another cycle of the same length. The goal was to dehydrate the body and, more importantly, rid it of all bacteria and worms that cause posthumous decay. Buddhist monks did not consider this process a suicide, but rather saw it as a path to ultimate enlightenment. If they managed to reach the form of Sokushinbutsu after the preparatory stages, and if their body was found intact a thousand days after their death, it meant that their spiritual path was fulfilled.

Thus, the preparation began with a strict diet, where the monks were only allowed to drink water and eat fruits, nuts, and seeds that were collected in the surrounding forests and mountains. Such a composition from a raw diet helped the body get rid of fat and muscle. In the next phase of preparation, they consumed food such as pine roots and bark. They also drank tea from urushi, the toxic sap of a tree called sumac.

In particular, this poisonous tea helped to cleanse the internal organs of all parasites to prevent the decomposition of body remains. When the preparation process was complete, the monks sat alive in their tombs, where they had just enough room to sit in the lotus position. A tube led to the tomb that allowed him to breathe, and a bell he rang every day to tell the others in the temple that he was not dead yet. As soon as the ringing stopped, the believer was presumed dead. The tomb was opened, the air tube removed, and sealed for another thousand days.

The graves were then reopened and the monks were exhumed to check for signs of decay. Some sources claim that there are about 24 "surviving" Living Buddhas whose mummification process has been confirmed as successful. Others say there were many more, but they got lost in the maze of time. If a mummy was found in the tomb, it was removed from it, dressed in lavish robes, and exhibited for worship in temples. The other monks, whose remains were decomposed, were given simpler honors; they remained buried, but were praised for their perseverance, resilience, and effort.

Sokushinbutsu (mummy) of monk Huineng in Shaoguan, Guangdong, China.

Only a portion of the existing mummies of monks can be seen in temples throughout Japan. And one of the most respected is Shinnyokai Shonina, who lived from 1687 to 1783. Shinnyokai submitted to Sokushinbutsu at the age of 96, reportedly after 42 days of complete abstinence. It rests in the lotus position and is located in a separate shrine in the Dainichi-Boo Temple, a place associated with monks who practiced self-healing. Shinnyokai is dressed in decorative clothing, which is regularly changed during special rituals. His old clothes are used to make amulets, which are then sold to visitors coming to the temple.

The last person to achieve Sokushinbutsu did so after the government banned this form of brutal self-harm in the last years of the 19th century. This is a monk named Bukkai, who died in 1903 and who was called a lunatic after his enlightenment process by his contemporaries. Its remains remained intact until the early XNUMXs, when university scientists eventually began examining them to find that they were in exceptionally well-preserved condition.

Today, Sokushinbutsu is a thing of the past, but interest in seeing any of them has never subsided. Visitors just flock to the temples that hold the mummy. In addition to Japan, these cases of priests voluntarily mummifying have been reported in other countries, such as China and India.

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