Dead Monk Who Never Rots

[gendao]

The orange robe monk is located at Wat Kiri Wongkaram Temple Thailand.

 

The one in the red/black is from there japan and are called Sokushinbutsu. Below is a rough outline of the method used by japanese monks to become mummified.

 

In an attempt to achieve Nirvana, these monks had to undergo a gruesome three-step process:

 

1) Eat a diet of nuts and seeds, exercising vigorously for 1,000 days to rid the body of fat.

 

2) Eat only bark and roots for the next 1,000 days while sipping on poisonous tea made from the sap of the urushi tree.

 

3) Finally retreat to an underground tomb and meditate until dead. Leave for 1,000 days and voila, if the corpse is still well preserved, then they are deemed to be a living mummy.

 

His only connection to the outside world was an air tube and a bell. Each day he rang a bell to let those outside know that he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the tube was removed and the tomb sealed.

 

Not all monks who attempted self-mummification were successful. When the tombs were finally opened, some bodies were found to have rotted. These monks were resealed in their tombs. They were respected for their endurance, but they were not worshiped. Those monks who had succeeded in mummifying themselves were raised to the status of Buddha, put on display, and tended to by their followers.

 

Cheers,

Here's another sect that believes non-rotting corpses "prove" that one's "ascended to Heaven."

Research pointed that it stemmed from Xiantiandao (先天道) or the Way of Former Heaven. The founder of Xiantiandao is Huang Dehui (黃德輝, 1624-1690). The I-Kuan Tao and the Xiantiandao considered him as the ninth patriarch. Findings from the Ching dynasty documents mentioned that Wang Jueyi (王覺一, 1821-1884), the fifteenth patriarch, propagated another religious teaching; Sanjiao Yiguan Zhizhi (Unity of 3 Religions) in the 1850s.

 

However, I-Kuan Tao started to flourish in China during the leadership of Zhang Tian Ran. During the leadership of Zhang Tian Ran, I-Kuan Tao spread from Shandong to many cities in North, Central and Southern China. Zhang died shortly during the civial war in 1947.

 

As a follower, the promise is that with the three treasures he/she is able to directly ascend to heaven. The proof being:

 

For all those who received Tien-Tao 天道 through the Enlightened teacher, provided they cultivated themselves i.e. to bring out the compassion in them, they all go with a smile on their face. The corpses do not stiffen in winter or decay with foul smell in summer, for the souls left the body through the Right portal.

 

This "proof" usually convinced many followers, most followers will testify from their observations that the body of the dead who has been initiated stays soft. There is a scientific explanation that can be found in an anatomy and physiology of death. When a person takes the last breath, the body starts to enter rigor mortis. However, the corpse does not remain stiff forever, for as the decomposition process starts, the tissues will be destroyed due to autolysis of cells caused by the release of acids and digestive enzymes from lysosomes. Sooner or later the corpse will soften by itself.

[voidisyinyang]

Buddhism IS NOT FASTING! haha. I got this "no fasting" rap from the Theravada monastery... just goes to show that REAL Buddhas have to escape the monasteries for real forest meditation. Thanks -- do you have any sources for your fasting scheme in Theravada Buddhism? I've found scant reference to fasting as the final 7 day "achievement of cessation" but nothing beyond that. http://springforestqigong.com Chunyi Lin went a MONTH on only full-lotus -- no sleep, no food, no water!!

 

 

 

The orange robe monk is located at Wat Kiri Wongkaram Temple Thailand.

 

The one in the red/black is from there japan and are called Sokushinbutsu. Below is a rough outline of the method used by japanese monks to become mummified.

 

In an attempt to achieve Nirvana, these monks had to undergo a gruesome three-step process:

 

1) Eat a diet of nuts and seeds, exercising vigorously for 1,000 days to rid the body of fat.

 

2) Eat only bark and roots for the next 1,000 days while sipping on poisonous tea made from the sap of the urushi tree.

 

3) Finally retreat to an underground tomb and meditate until dead. Leave for 1,000 days and voila, if the corpse is still well preserved, then they are deemed to be a living mummy.

 

His only connection to the outside world was an air tube and a bell. Each day he rang a bell to let those outside know that he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the tube was removed and the tomb sealed.

 

Not all monks who attempted self-mummification were successful. When the tombs were finally opened, some bodies were found to have rotted. These monks were resealed in their tombs. They were respected for their endurance, but they were not worshiped. Those monks who had succeeded in mummifying themselves were raised to the status of Buddha, put on display, and tended to by their followers.

 

Cheers,