Sokushinbutsu 

The art of Self Mummification through meditation.

There were a select few monks who decided to poison themselves over the passing years. This poison removed any bacteria in their body as they meditated to death. When they died there was little bacteria to eat away at their corpse. This left them mummified while in a meditative position. Some of these monks were warriors who failed and felt ashamed. They then would search for enlightenment through meditation. The last person to do it died in 1903.

Sokushinbutsu is pretty neat history and all, but it’s not an answer to pain or emptiness. At its root it is self harm, torture, then suicide.

Sokushinbutsu by BigSip May 20, 2022