Monk begins TWELVE-YEAR isolation with absolutely no contact with anyone or any information from the outside world as part of extreme Buddhist training
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By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
A Japanese monk has begun a 12-year period of total isolation as part of a demanding training regime.
Buddhist holy man Sogaku Taguchi, 31, will confine himself to the mausoleum at Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei, which lies north-east of Japan's ancient capital city Kyoto.
The chief monk of Nanzambo Temple will have no contact with other people, and will know nothing of the outside world until September 11 2038.
He is undergoing this rigorous task in order to become a 'jishin', which means 'true watcher'.
This is a monk who is dedicated to tending to the tomb of Saicho, the founder of Tendai Buddhism.
Not only will he not see anyone for more than a decade, he must follow a strict daily routine.
Mr Taguchi must rise before dawn every day to prepare and cook meals that are then presented before the tomb.
He also has to spend several hours every day reciting sutras and will carry out 3,000 prostrations to the Buddha every day while chanting.
Buddhist holy man Sogaku Taguchi (pictured) will confine himself to the the mausoleum at Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei
The chief monk of Nanzambo Temple will have no other contact with other people
As a result, he will only get a few hours of sleep every night. This exhaustion is expected to result in what followers believe is a vivid vision of the Buddha.
Between his religious duties, he is also responsible for keeping the mausoleum clean. Not even a fallen leaf is allowed to disturb the gardens.
Physical labour is a major part of the years-long training, and is considered a form of Zen meditation.
Making matters harder are the extreme freezing conditions Mount Hiei experiences every winter.
The training is so arduous that several monks have died of illnesses before completing the 12 years.
Mr Taguchi is only the 118th jishin since 1699, when records were first kept, and only the eighth man to undergo the training in the last 80 years.
Speaking just before he entered the mausoleum complex, Mr Taguchi said his desire to live by Saicho's teachings 'has grown in my heart and I have walked the path of a monk with that as my goal.
'I am overflowing with joy to stand at its starting line.'
Mount Hiei is also the home of the 'kaihogyo' practice, which sees monks walk around the mountain for 1,000 days over seven years.
They start off with 19 miles of walking every day for 100 days for the first three years, before rising to 52 miles a day for 100 days in the seventh year.
The fifth year is considered the most trying. Monks need to walk for 19 miles a day for 200 days, before completing the 'doiri' – a period of nine days without food, water, sleep or even lying down.
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