Sokushinbutsu: The Japanese Art of Self-Mummification

[cupidkisses]

Sokushinbutsu is a practice of Buddhist monks observing Asceticism to the point of death and entering mummification while alive. I has been tried by many buddhist monks for hundreds of years but only 24 of them got succeed.

Before the process, they have a certain diet for 3 years. And they drink poisoned tea to empty their stomach.

The tea that they drink kills the bacterias so their body don't rot after dying. Monks who drink this liquid sit down in a meditaion position in a grave. Other monks close the grave with a wood and puts a tube into the grave to let the monk to breath. They close the wood with soil by just letting the tube out to let him breath. Everyday, one monk controls the grave. He taps to the tube twice. If the monk inside the grave taps back it means he is still alive. If there is no sound back then they get sure that he is dead. They take the tube and close the grave completely. They open the grave after 3 years to check if he could succeed or not.

They take the mummy and put it to the temple's entrance.

[UnknownXYZ]

www.court-records.net/.../bratworth-damage(c).gif

wtf?

[Josht13]

That's some dedication that I can respect.

[Anonymous]

it sounds scary

[curiousnorway]

I've read about that before. The first time I read about it I was surprised and didn't know somebody came up with this idea.

[FýrdracaDócincel]

I read about this!
It's almost concerning how interested I was in learning about it..

[Oldchemical]

Damn! Even I didn't knew about this tradition.

[qa12017]

... wtf.