“Sokushinbutsu” refers to the practice of Buddhist monks who engage in
asceticism to the point of death and undergo a process of mummification while
still alive.
Background.
The term “Sokushinbutsu” literally means “to become a Buddha while still
alive,” capturing the unique nature of the ritual. This ritual was reserved
for a select few, the chosen ones who sought to preserve their flesh through
a painful and lengthy process of self-discipline that transformed their
bodies into half-dead shells, devoid of fat and the strength to move,
consisting practically of nothing but bone and skin.
This tradition was practiced mainly in northern Japan, particularly in
Yamagata Prefecture, between the 11th and 19th centuries by monks of the
Vajrayana school (Shingon Buddhism). It is believed that the foundations of
this ritual were inspired by Kūkai, the founder of that school, who spent his
final days gradually reducing his intake of food and water while meditating.
For these ascetics, the practice was not seen as suicide, but as the ultimate
act of discipline and compassion. Their goal in becoming “living Buddhas” was
to remain in this world to absorb the world's suffering and protect humanity.
This bizarre process, in which a human being mummifies himself, is extremely
slow and painful, lasting anywhere from three to ten years. The ritual has
varied over the nine centuries for which there is historical record, but there
are three main stages that have remained unchanged, each lasting 1,000
days.
The Ritual.
Phase 1.
The first phase consists of a period of 1,000 days during which the monk
follows a specific diet. He eats small amounts of wheat flour, walnuts,
hazelnuts, and nutmeg, which he must gather from the forest where he lives.
This diet serves to drastically reduce the ascetic’s body fat, since fat
decomposes more quickly after death; only by reducing his body fat to the
absolute minimum can he prevent decomposition. This stage is crucial because
if the monk carries it out properly, it significantly increases his chances of
successful mummification.
Phase 2.
In the second phase, during the second period of one thousand days, the
ascetic’s diet becomes even more restricted, as he subsists solely on roots
and pine bark. Physically, the monk appears even more emaciated because his
body contains almost no water or body fat. In this weakened state and with a
skeletal appearance, the ascetic fervently devotes himself to long periods of
prayer and chanting mantras. The key point in this phase is that the monk also
drank a poisonous tea made from the Urushi tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum),
whose sap is generally used for lacquer, jewelry, musical instruments, and
other items.
At this stage, the effects of the tea the monk drank take hold, and the person
begins to vomit, sweat, and urinate continuously, thereby further reducing his
bodily fluids. This aspect is one of the most important for mummification
because the monk’s body becomes poisonous to worms and beetles that would
otherwise attempt to consume the priest’s flesh after his death.
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| Planta Toxicodendron vernicifluum. |
Phase 3.
In the third phase, the ascetic, who is now severely weakened and suffering
great physical pain from the poison in the tea, finally enters the final stage
of his sacred journey. From this point on, an underground shelter is built
three meters below the ground, and a wooden coffin is crafted with enough
space for the monk to sit in the lotus position and continue his meditation
and mantras, while maintaining his rigorous diet of roots and pine bark. The
ascetic continues to breathe through a bamboo tube; in addition, he has a bell
that rings once a day until he dies, at which point it stops ringing. When the
bell stops ringing, the other monks remove the bamboo tube, bury the ascetic
completely, and wait another thousand days to exhume him; if the ritual was
performed correctly, the body will remain incorrupt and will not decompose,
becoming “naturally” mummified.
Veneration.
When the body showed no signs of putrefaction or any other signs of
decomposition, the monk’s corpse was taken to a shrine to be revered as a
living god. After attaining the status of a Buddha, the mummies were taken to
Kaikoji Temple, located in the Sakata region of Yamagata Prefecture, where
generations of Ato San monks have tended to the mummies with the utmost care.
At this temple, two very well-preserved Sokushinbutsu were found; in life,
they had been the ascetic monks Chukai and Enmyokai, both of whom share a
glass shrine. Surprisingly, this pair of deities remains seated in the exact
same position in which they were buried in 1755 and 1822, respectively, and
faces the direction of the sacred Dewa Sanzan mountain range, the site of
their pilgrimage.
This process of self-mummification was by no means reliable or safe, because
bodies decompose for numerous reasons. For this reason, monks who failed to
become Sokushinbutsu were buried in an ordinary grave, although they were
still held in high regard and admired for having tried.
Motives.
It remains a mystery why these priests subjected themselves to such a rigorous
ritual. Followers of esoteric Buddhism already lived lives of prayer,
asceticism, and pilgrimage; therefore, a death ritual would be the culmination
and the reason for their existence. The sacrifice and dedication of these
monks were always for the benefit of the rest of the people in their area,
whether to prevent droughts or diseases within their community. The monks
believed that their deaths would alleviate the suffering of the rest of the
population. A clear example is that of the famous monk Tetsumonkai, who gouged
out his own eye to prevent the spread of an eye disease to the rest of the
village.
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| Tetsumonkai. |
End of practice.
The practice came to an end in 1877 when the Meiji government, in its effort
to modernize the country, criminalized and banned the ritual, classifying it
as a depraved and anachronistic act and equating it with suicide.
There are currently 18 known Sokushinbutsu in Japan who achieved immortality
for a period of nine centuries. The first case occurred in 1081, and the last
recorded one dates back to 1903; most of these mummies can be seen and found
in temples in northern Honshu. Although not all of them are Sokushinbutsu
mummies, there are cases of standard mummification, such as the mummy of
Yasuhira Fujiwara at Chusonji Temple, whose head was severed by sword blows
after his death.
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