Posted on 10/22/2015 12:38:31 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Buddhist monk successfully finished the "doiri" (entrance into the hall), a ritual of fasting and prayer that is part of the "sennichi kaihogyo" (1,000-day walk) monk training, on Oct. 21 -- becoming the 13th person since the end of World War II to complete the grueling procedure.
Kogen Kamahori, 41, chief monk of Zenju-in at Enryaku-ji temple in Otsu, became the first person to successfully complete the doiri since the monk Endo Mitsunaga did so eight years ago.
Sennichi kaihogyo refers to the 1,000 days of training that take place over a period of seven years for Buddhist monks of the Tendai sect, which includes around 40,000 kilometers of walking.
The doiri is said to be the most difficult part of the training. During this period, the trainee recites the mantra of the Buddhist deity Acala 100,000 times over a period of nine days -- going without food, water, sleep or even lying down the entire time.
When Kamahori emerged after completing the doiri, some 700 people who had gathered at the temple hall prayed to worship him as the earthly incarnation of Acala.
Kamahori began the sennichi kaihogyo austerities in March of 2011. His continued training will include up to 84 kilometers a day of walking in pilgrimage. If everything proceeds smoothly, he should finish in September 2017.
Nine days without sleep? He’d be great on Deadliest Catch!!
“going without food, water, sleep or even lying down the entire time...”
For NINE days?
Show me the video or I don’t believe it. I think that’s a biological impossibility.
My aunt went 11 days. No water. No food. And she was 90.
It was a hell of a thing to watch.
Some Seattle street people seem to do it all the time.
I’ve always heard you’ll die in 3-4 days without water, but that was in the context of being out in the wilderness, in a survival situation. I’m guessing being in a climate-controlled environment, where you aren’t doing an exertion, is the key to lasting longer than that.
Hey man, those Japanese are wacky. I know, married one.
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