Sokushinbutsu of Dainichi temple
The Self-Mummified Monks of Japan
Category Relics and Reliquaries, Mummies, Rites and Rituals
Scattered throughout Northern Japan are over two dozen mummified Japanese monks known as Sokushinbutsu. Followers of Shugendu, an ancient form of Buddhism, the monks died in the ultimate act of self-denial.
For three years the priests would eat a special diet consisting only of nuts and seeds, while taking part in a regimen of rigorous physical activity that stripped them of their body fat. They then ate only bark and roots for another three years and began drinking a poisonous tea made from the sap of the Urushi tree, normally used to lacquer bowls. This caused vomiting and a rapid loss of bodily fluids, and most importantly, it killed off any maggots that might cause the body to decay after death. Finally, a self-mummifying monk would lock himself in a stone tomb barely larger than his body, where he would not move from the lotus position. His only connection to the outside world was an air tube and a bell. Each day he rang a bell to let those outside know that he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the tube was removed and the tomb sealed.
Not all monks who attempted self-mummification were successful. When the tombs were finally opened, some bodies were found to have rotted. These monks were resealed in their tombs. They were respected for their endurance, but they were not worshiped. Those monks who had succeeded in mummifying themselves were raised to the status of Buddha, put on display, and tended to by their followers. The Japanese government outlawed Sokushunbutsu in the late 19th century, though the practice apparently continued into the 20th.
Although roughly 28 of these Sokushunbutsu remain, only 16 of these self-mummified monks can be visited. The most famous is Shinnyokai Shonin of the Dainichi-Boo Temple on the holy Mount Yudono. The majority of the monks who underwent self mummification did so near this temple. It has been shown that a local spring had high levels of arsenic and this may have helped the monks in the mummification process. Others can be found in more banal locations such as in Nangakuji temple, in the suburbs of Tsuruoka, and at Kaikokuji temple in the small city of Sakata.
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- Website http://adventures-of-a-wetware-hacker.blogspot.com/2007_12_01_archive.html
- Address Mount Yudono, Dewa, Japan
Comments
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Anonymous
October 30, 2009
While this may seem kinda weird to most people, this is, in itself, a practice that gives off a kind of power and a kind of beauty to it. While Buddhism teaches about not clinging too close to the material world, this ritual feels like a testament to such a belief- And it is a fitting way for a Buddhist to die, to relinquish your own flesh and bone to free your soul from this world, when you know your time has come. Again, it gives off a sense of beauty. -
Anonymous
October 21, 2009
Yes, this would seem to be contrary to the central Buddhist concept of impermanence
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Anonymous
June 17, 2009
It would be interesting to read an explanation for their motives. What was the purpose of preserving oneself?
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Totally Awesome!
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