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Northern Japan is home to an ancient, esoteric tradition of self-mummifying Buddhist monks, little known to the outside world. Long after death, these ascetics continue to be revered as Living Buddhas. This first English-language work on the subject recounts the process by which these monks starve themselves for a decade, bury themselves alive with only a small breathing tube, and meditate until death. After three years, the mummified body is exhumed and displayed. The biographies of various monks are presented within, as is an examination of the religious beliefs involved, an amalgamation of three distinct religious traditions. Also explored is the role of asceticism in religion, and beliefs about life and death shared by the Buddhist sects involved in self-mummification.
Ken Jeremiah has written extensively about spiritual and religious phenomena. He lives in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and runs tour groups to Japan, Italy, and other countries yearly.
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Sacred Mountains and the Swamp of Immortals PART ONE. MUMMIFICATION AND IMMORTALITY1. Natural Mummification 2. Artificial Mummification 3. Incorruptibility 4. The Great Transformation PART TWO. SELF-MUMMIFIED MONKS5. Symbols of Contradiction 6. Honmyōkai Shōnin: The Samurai Who Mummified Himself 7. Shinnyōkai Shōnin: The Farmer Who Killed a Samurai 8. Tetsumonkai Shōnin: The Priest Who Loved a Prostitute 9. Myōkai Shōnin: The Boy Who Lost His Eyesight 10. Kōmyōkai Shōnin: The Unknown Self-Mummified Monk 11. Ch¨kai Shnin and Enmyōkai Shōnin: Two Monks Who Reside at the Same Temple 12. Tetsury¨kai Shōnin: The Monk Who Cut Out His Own Eye 13. Remnants of a Forgotten Age PART THREE. RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND SECRET TEACHINGS14. Buddhist Origins 15. Apocryphal Texts and Holy Wizards 16. Chinese Immortality and the Death of Buddhism in India 17. Kōbō Daishi and Shingon Buddhism 18. Magicians in the Mountains: En no Gyōja and Shugendō Faith PART FOUR. ASCETICISM AND THE PURSUIT OF DEATH19. Asceticism in World Religions 20. Japanese Ascetic Practices 21. Periods of Seclusion and Cave Meditation 22. Meditation Under Waterfalls and Cold Water Ablutions 23. Abstention from Cereals 24. Self-Immolation 25. Self-Mummification PART FIVE. DEATH AND IMMORTALITY26. The Nature of Life and Death Afterword Appendix 1. Self-Mummified Monks in Japan Appendix 2. Ch¨renji Lineage Appendix 3. Temple Contacts Appendix 4. Thirty-Two Bodily Marks of a Great Man Appendix 5. Sino-Japanese Character Glossary Notes References Index
“the first English language book on the subject of the self-mummifying Buddhist monks of Yamagata Prefecture of North-Western Japan...informative...for anyone with an interest in the sokushinbutsu this very interesting book contains a wealth of information...fascinating...essential”—Diverse Japan.
