SELF-MUMMIFICATION [6d]
Mount Yudono, Japan. In the 1,200-year-old Dainichibo temple, at the base of this holy mountain, sitting on an alter within a glass case, is the mummy of the revered Buddhist monk Daijuku Bosatsu Shinnyokai-Shonin. Shonin is what is known in Japan as a Sokushinbutsu, or a Living Buddha. He died in 1783 at the age of 96, but shockingly, this is not when the mummification process was started. It began 6 years before his death. This ritual of self-mummification was commonly practiced by monks in the Shingon sect of Buddhism in northern Japan between the 11th and 19th centuries.
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“They would willingly embark on a process of self-mortification, which was tantamount to suicide. The first phase would last about 1,000 days, and they would begin the self-mummification process by embarking on a very rigorous low-calorie diet. In the second phase of the process, the practitioner would be imbibing the urushi tea. Now, the urushi tea is highly toxic. However, it was believed to lacquer, basically, the tissues and organs from the inside out in order to favor the mummification process. And because of its toxicity, the flesh was so poisonous that even maggots would not consume it.” – Dominic Steavu, Ph.D. |
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“When they were nearly dead, they would go into a small chamber, just big enough to sit in the lotus position. It would be sealed up, except for a reed that allowed a little air in, and inside, the monk had a bell. One day the bell would not ring and the followers would withdraw the reed and seal up the chamber. After 1,000 days, they would open it to see what had happened.” – Jonathan Young, Ph.D. |
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“If the bodies had mummified, they were considered Living Buddhas, and they were redressed in sacerdotal robes and displayed in special temple halls called sokubutsudo. If they had not mummified, an exorcism was performed and they were simply buried.” – Ken Jeremiah (Author, Eternal Remains) |
Although hundreds of monks tried to attain Sokushinbutsu, only 24 are known to have succeeded. But why would these devout followers of Buddha have endured such pain in order to mummify their own bodies? One of the central beliefs of Buddhism is reincarnation, but according to the Shingon sect, those who successfully complete the self-mummification process become higher beings.
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“The idea was they didn’t think they were dying. They perceived this as a state of suspended animation. It wasn’t death for them. It wasn’t life. It was somewhere in between. They needed the body preserved to enter this other dimension of reality and to continue life, although it’s not life as we would interpret it.” – Ken Jeremiah (Author, Eternal Remains) |
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“They do not have to be reborn because when you become a Living Buddha, you have already attained your nirvana so that, you know, your body remains kind of immortal in a sense.” – Deepak Shimkhada, Ph.D. |
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“They were trying to emulate these high-ranking or highly-achieving, spiritually speaking, beings such as Buddhas or Bodhisattvas.” – Dominic Steavu, Ph.D. |
But what did it mean to a Shingon monk to become a Living Buddha, and transition to a higher realm? Perhaps the answer can be found by examining the life of the original Buddha himself.
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“The historical Buddha was known as Siddhartha Gautama, and he was born around the mid-6th-century BCE. He founded the Buddhist tradition, in which he expounds on the path to enlightenment. It’s very important that the historical Buddha was understood as a human. That gives every human practitioner access to the same level of ability and enlightenment. However, he also took on some magical powers that, in some ways, brought him much closer to a divine being or semi-divine being than to a normal mortal human. He was known to teleport across the Ganges River, appearing from one side of the river to the other in the blink of an eye.” – Dominic Steavu, Ph.D. |
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“When you look at the life of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, he would appear to be somebody that we would maybe call a star child: part human, part extraterrestrial.” – David Childress (Author, Technology of the Gods) |
Is it possible that the first Buddha had extraterrestrial origins? Might the Shingon monks have believed that through the process of self-mummification they too could be transformed into more advanced beings? Ancient Astronaut Theorists believe that further answers can be found by examining the story of an Egyptian pharaoh with extraterrestrial origins.
Previous: Before the Egyptians | Next: Elongated Skulls
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