Sokushinbutsu

Sokushinbutsu (即身仏) refers to a practice of Buddhist monks observing austerity to the point of death and mummification. This process of self-mummification was mainly practised in Yamagata in Northern Japan between the 11th and 19th century, by members of the Japanese Vajrayana school of Buddhism called Shingon ("True Word"). The practitioners of sokushinbutsu did not view this practice as an act of suicide, but rather as a form of further enlightenment.^[1] Those who succeeded were revered, while those who failed were nevertheless respected for the effort.

It is believed that many hundreds of monks tried, but only 24 such mummifications have been discovered to date. There is a common suggestion that Shingon school founder Kukai brought this practice from Tang China as part of secret tantric practices he learned, and that were later lost in China.^[2]

Today, the practice is not advocated or practiced by any Buddhist sect, and is banned in Japan.^[3]

The practice was satirized in the story "The Destiny That Spanned Two Lifetimes" by Ueda Akinari, in which such a monk was found centuries later and resuscitated. The story appears in the collection Harusame Monogatari.

See also

• Buddhist mummies
• Śarīra
• Rainbow body
• Sallekhana
• Suicide in Japan

References

Further reading

• Hori, Ichiro (1962). "Self-Mummified Buddhas in Japan. An Aspect of the Shugen-Dô ("Mountain Asceticism") Sect". History of Religions 1 (2): 222–242. doi:10.1086/462445. ISSN 0018-2710. JSTOR 1062053.  |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
• Hijikata, M. (1996). Nihon no Miira Butsu wo Tazunete. [Visiting Japanese Buddhist Mummies]. Tokyo: Shinbunsha.
• Hori, I. (1962). Self-mummified Buddhas in Japan: An aspect of Shugendō (mountain asceticism) sect. History of Religions, 1(2), 222-242.
• Jeremiah, K. (2010). Living Buddhas: The Self-Mummified Monks of Yamagata, Japan. North Carolina: McFarland Publishing Company.
• Jeremiah, K. (2009). Corpses: Tales from the crypt. Kansai Time Out, 387, 8-10.
• Jeremiah, K. (2007). Asceticism and the Pursuit of Death by Warriors and Monks. Journal of Asian Martial Arts, 16(2), 18-33.
• Matsumoto, A. (2002). Nihon no Miira Butsu. [Japanese Buddhist Mummies]. Tokyo: Rokkō Shuppan.
• Raveri, M. (1992). Il corpo e il paradiso: Le tentazioni estreme dell’ascesi. [The Body and Paradise: Extreme Practices of Ascetics]. Venice, Italy: Saggi Marsilio Editori.

External links

• Daruma Forums - photos and descriptions of travelling to see Sokushinbutsu
• http://sites.google.com/site/selfmummifiedmonks/ - Pictures of self-mummified monks.
• http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-4880-7 -A link to the only English-language book on the subject.
• Sokushinbutsu: The Torturous Self Mummification of Buddhist Monks
• The Incorruptibles