The Sokushinbutsu Monks

The Buddhist monks who practicedauto-mummification in Japan

The Sokushinbutsu monks of northern Japan practiced an extreme physical act of selfdeprivation, with the aim of preserving their body after death. They were mostly elderly
Buddhists monks of the Shingon, or "True Word" sect founded by the great Kukai.
These Buddhist masters would spend years preparing their bodies for selfmummification. The purpose was to disregard their physical self. The practice was
suicide. Those who were successful at mummifying themselves were considered by
their followers to be a Buddha. Their preserved bodies would be displayed in temples; a
symbol of the possibility of attaining buddhahood. There are only between 16 and 24
known successful cases.
Kukai, known posthumously as Kobo Daishi, was sent to China by the Japanese
emperor at the beginning of the 9th century. There, he became a disciple of Huikuo, a
great Buddhist teacher. When he returned to Japan he founded a monastery on Mount
Koya, beginning the Shingon school of Buddhism.
Shingon was founded on the belief in the three mysteries of Buddhism - body, speech,
and mind. It was thought that one could attain buddhahood through mastering any one
of these. Thus the foundation for believing that physically destructive acts lead to the
path of enlightenment, with the most extreme projection of this idea being the practice of
the Sokushinbutsu monks. It is said that Kukai himself is still sitting in the lotus position
inside the stone of Mount Koya, although the public are not allowed here.
The process of self-mummification was broken into three sets of one thousand days.
For the first thousand, the practicing monk would eat only the nuts and seeds that were
found around his temple. During this time he would continue his normal routing of
teaching, as well as following a regiment of strenuous physical activity. The point of this
was to deplete the body's fat stores, as fat decomposes easily.
For the next one thousand days, he would move on to an even sparser diet of bark and
roots from pine trees; called mokujiki. Towards the end of this time, the Sokushinbutsu
monk would begin to drink poisonous tea from the sap of the Urushi tree. Another name
for this tree is the Japanese Varnish tree. Its sap is cultivated as a lacquer. This diet
would dehydrate the monk, which would slow down his body's decomposition once he

was dead. The Urushi tree tea would make him vomit, sweat, and urinate frequently,
leeching almost all moisture from his body. It was also so toxic that it would prevent
maggots from feasting on the corpse.

At the end of this second period of one thousand days, the monk would lock himself in a
stone tomb, with just enough space for him to sit in the lotus position. He would neither
eat nor drink, but only sit in stillness, breathing from an air tube inserted in the tomb,
ringing a bell each day to let his fellow monks know he was still alive. The day that the
bell didn't ring signified that the Sokushinbutsu monk had passed on. The other monks
would then remove the air tube and seal his tomb for another thousand days. At the end
of this time they would open the tomb to see of the body was preserved. If it was, he
was a Buddha, and would be removed for the disciples to revere. If he was not
preserved, the tomb would be re-sealed, and the monk would remain in his stone tomb
forever.

There is only the question of why were a handful of these men successful at
mummifying their bodies, and so many hundreds of others not? There is a theory that
some of the monks drank a particular spring water that actually carried a high level of
arsenic. Arsenic never leaves the body, and is toxic to the bacteria that decomposes the
body. Whether from arsenic or enlightenment, either way they were considered to have
reached buddhahood. Today self-mummification is illegal in Japan.

References:
Eskildsen, Stephen. The Teachings and Practices of the Early Quanzhen Taoist Masters (Suny Press).
www.geocites.com/gabigreve2000/mummiesinjapan
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu
www.everything2.com/e2node/Sokushinbutsu

Questions
1. Q

Where we can find the sokushinbutsu monks?

in northern japan

2. Q

Who is The Great Kukai?

The founder of Shingon , or true world sect, . who was sent to China

by the Japanese Emperor at the beginning of the 9th century.

3.

What is Mokujiki?

Monks move on to an even sparser diet of bark and roots from pine

Sokushinbatsu is related to one of the religion in this world, what is it?

Buddha, especially the monks

What is Kukai posthumously known?

Kukai known posthumously as Kobo Daishi

What will practicing monks do in the first thousand days?

trees

4.

5.

6.

the practicing monk would eat only the nuts and sheet and were
found around his temple. During this time he would continue his normal routing of
teaching. as well as following a regiment of strenuous physical ability. The point of this
was to deplete the bodys fat stores, as fat decompress easily.

7.

What will monks do when the end of next thousand days coming?

The Shokusinbutsu monks would begin to drink poisonous tea from

the sap of the Urushi Tree. Another name of this tree is the japan varnish tree. Its SAP
A

is cultivated as a lacquer. This diet would dehydrate the monk, which would slow down
his bodies decompetition once he was dead. The Urushi tree tea would make him vomit,
urinate, and sweat, frequently. Leaching almost all moisture from his body. It was also
so toxic that it would prevent maggots from feasting on the corpse.

8.

Are the monks buried themselves alive?

Yes, at the end of the second period of one thousand days, The monk

would lock himself in a stone tomb with just enough space for him to sit in the lotus position.

He would neither eat or drink, but only sit in stillness, breating from an air tub, inserted in
the tomb

9.

How do the others know if the monks still alive?

The monk will ringing a bell each day to let his fellow monks know he

was still alive. The day that the bell didn't ring signified that the Sokushinbutsu monk had
passed on

10.

Why were a handful of those men successful at mummifying their

bodies and so many hundreds of others not?

A

Some of the monks drunk a particular spring water that actually carried

a high level of Arsenic

Andrea Wiwandhana
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