The Ancient Practice of Sokushinbutsu

Sokushinbutsu was a Japanese practice that I find fascinating, it is the art of self-mummification as performed by some Buddhist monks. The process of mummifying oneself while being still alive is very long, and can cause extreme sufferings, so why would anyone go through this procedure? Monks believed that once the self-mummification is completed one would reach the status of Living Buddha, meaning that they would have the power to bring salvation to others. Self-mummification was a popular practice in Japan between the 11^th and the 19^th century, it was mainly practice by monks from the Shingon school. Many individuals have tried to mummify themselves, but less than 30 were successful.

The self-mummification process was approximately 10 years long, and was realised in three steps. The first step that lasted almost three years was a diet called mokujikigyō, or the abstention from cereals. At this stage monks could only eat nuts, berries, tree bark, and pine needles, as time passed they had to reduce the amount of food they ate. The goal of this step was to reduce body fat, because it decomposes fast after death.

The second step was an even more restrictive diet, but this time the objective was to reduce body fluids. The monks had to drink a tea that induced vomiting. This stage also lasted almost 3 years.

The last step was arguably the most horrible, because monks buried themselves alive in underground chambers that were equipped with bamboo breathing tubes. The monks sat in the dark, meditated and rang a bell until they died. Three years later their body were retrieved.

This is Honmyokai Shonin, one of the oldest self-mummumified monks found (credit to Jeremiah 2010)

To learn more about Asian mummies: http://mummycase.blogspot.ca

Sources: 

Hori, I. 1962. Self-Mummified Buddhas in Japan. An Aspect of the Shugen-Dô ("Mountain Asceticism") Sect. History of Religions, 1 (2), pp. 222--242.

Jeremiah, K 2010, ‘Buried alive : the forgotten practices of self-mummification’, The Virginia Review of Asian Studies, viewed 28 February 2014, <http://www.virginiareviewofasianstudies.com/files/archives/2010/jeremiah_buried_alive.doc>