“Sokushinbutsu”: the self-mummified Buddhas of Mount Yudono

When you think about mummification, you almost certainly think of countries like Egypt or Peru. However, the art of mummifying bodies is present in most cultures around the world. Although Asia is not the prototype when it is referred to, in this vast continent we find exceptional cases. The best example are the sokushinbutsu, sokushin jobutsu or self-mummified Buddhas.

Although the term has a hold in all nations with a Buddhist tradition, it is almost always referred to in the Japanese context. Indeed, the Buddhas of Mount Yudono, in Japan, are the most popular in the world. Let’s analyze what they are, what the belief is around them and what science says about it.

Sokushinbutsu: self-mummification in life

As described in a work published in PLOS ONE, sokushinbutsu (即身仏) translates as ‘becoming a Buddha in this very body’. A less literal meaning is ‘to become a Buddha in life’ or ‘to become a Buddha in life’. Be that as it may, alludes to the practice of self-mummification of Buddhist monks through meditation and asceticism.

In countries with a Buddhist tradition, the word generally refers to mummified monks. For its part, in Japan it acquires a more precise nuance; since the Japanese think that they induced their own death through starvation. In fact, in many regions it is believed that mummies are not actually dead, but rather in a trance state called tukdam.

Objectives and intentions behind the ritual

Monks embarked on this ritual for a variety of reasons. According to a study published in Expedition Magazinethe most frequent reasons were honor, the relief of suffering and as an offering to reverse evils. This is the case of many sokushinbutsu that are preserved today, such as Shinnyokai shōnin and Testumonkai shōnin.

Even today, The self-mummified monks venerate each other with respect, they make offerings and requests as prayers. Since they are in tukdam, their followers think they can respond to their demands. There is a belief in some Japanese regions that many famines, plagues and calamitous situations were overcome thanks to them.

Origin of self-mummified Buddhas

Tradition argues that it was the monk Kōbō Daishi (774-835), founder of the school shingon, who popularized the practice in Japan after returning from a stay in China. Despite this, and unless there is a record, the sokushinbutsu They did not become widespread in Japanese territory until the 14th century.

To this day (the State criminalized the practice at the end of the 19th century), there are dozens of cases of monks self-mummifying while alive. Most of them are concentrated in Dewa Sanzan, Yamagata Prefecture, which is made up of the sacred peaks Gassan, Yudono and Haguro.

Given the adoration that flourished for Mount Yudono during the Edo period (1603-1868), the place holds a special place as the cradle of the sokushinbutsu.

Ceremony of sokushinbutsu: How does a monk mummify himself while alive?

The aspiring sokushinbutsu They had to practice two types of austerities to achieve self-mummification: mokujiki-gyō (austerity that consists of eating wood) and sanro (austerity that implies confinement in the mountains). The favorite place to perform the ritual was a region of Mount Yudono known as Sennin-zawa or the Swamp of the Wizards.

The dietary regimen during Buddhist self-mummification had a dual purpose. The first was to enervate worldly passions, so that only those who completed the ritual were worthy of it.

On the other hand, it was also done to deplete the ascetic’s body fat and dehydrate him. According to tradition, this prevented decomposition and mummification occurred at the end. In general, the process consisted of the following:

The aspirant was secluded in the mountain alone and ready to complete a ritual of more than 1000 days. His diet consisted only of nuts, roots and pine bark. He could not eat cereals and grains during the entire ritual. He performed cold water ablutions three times a day. Likewise, he traveled to the Yudono Shrine while reciting the mahāvairocana sutraIf he fell ill, he was not allowed to receive medical treatment or avoid his daily pilgrimages. Throughout this time, the monk practiced deep meditation. After the thousand days, he limited himself to ingesting only seeds and a tea prepared from the bark. from a tree that contained a very toxic component. The drink facilitated vomiting to eliminate, little by little, all traces of liquid. When the “purge” was finished, his followers placed him in a wooden box. He was seated in the lotus position and the cubicle was sealed. An opening with a bamboo tube to breathe was his only contact with the outside. Inside it, the ascetic would seem to die of hunger. According to tradition, he actually reached the state of dochū nyūjōor ‘enter into deep meditation within the earth’.Thus, the monk would die in a state of jhana (meditation) while reciting the nenbutsu (a mantra about Buddha). After three years and three months, the ascetic was exhumed, dressed in clerical robes, and consecrated within a temple.

As it could not be otherwise, very few completed the entire process to the end. Buddhist texts from the region state that there are hundreds of sokushinbutsu not yet exhumed. By law, today it is impossible to help a monk perform the ritual; since it would incur the crime of participation in suicide and consensual murder, in accordance with article 202 of the Japanese Penal Code.

What does science say about self-mummified Buddhas?

The monks of Yamagata, as well as those from other regions of Asia, fascinate with their perfect conservation. Also, for keeping its internal organs intact and an appearance reminiscent of the mummies of Egypt. This, added to the fact that Japan’s climate is not conducive to mummification processes, raises the figure of the sokushinbutsu as an irrefutable fact.

However, science points in another direction. In the PlOS ONE study cited at the beginning, the history and all medical research processes of a selection of Japanese mummies were analyzed. There it is suggested that, in reality, the mummification of these monks was not so natural and ascetic. There may have been an artificial process and manipulation to shape that final result.

Along these lines, Andrea Castiglioni, associate professor at Nagoya City University, Japan, warns that mummies are manipulations ad hoc of the corpses of ascetics. Despite this, he points out that this does not in any way diminish their religious value as objects of worship. On the contrary, he adds complexity to the equation by highlighting creativity and spiritual beliefs.

Finally, in relation to the trance state in which they find themselves, a study published in Frontiers in Psychology found no detectable electroencephalographic activity among Buddhist monks in apparent tukdam. Again, none of this goes against the religious, spiritual or faith value that surrounds the sokushinbutsu.

The future of self-mummifying monks

The sokushinbutsu They share an uncertain future in terms of their conservation. Legally, they are classified as human remains by the Japanese state, so they are not granted the same protections as statues or other Buddhist images with historical importance to the nation.

In view of this, the temples where they lie cannot resort to the funds provided by local governments or administrations for their preservation. It is the temples themselves that foot the bill for maintaining the mummies. Added to this is that they are not in a controlled environment that ensures the postponement of their current condition.

Tourism and interest in Japanese culture and history encourage trips to temples of this type. Pilgrims from all over the world, also from the most remote places in Japan, come to pay tribute to the feat of the self-mummified monks. Knowing its importance allows us to appreciate the meaning and worship by the followers of Buddhism in Japanese lands.

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