iamishmael

Transformation of Materials

I am interested both personally and in my artwork in the transformation of materials.  It seems the entire universe as well as our local subpart, the earth, are in constant transformation of the form and substance of materials.  In my artwork I have focused largely on oxidation, the combining of oxygen with materials, either rapidly through fire, or slowly through rust and corrosion.  (With a relevant tangent into the transformation of clay to ceramics through heat.)

But recently, the practice of Sokushinbutsu has been in the news and it is so intriguing!  In short, it is the act of self mummification.  Transforming your own body as you slowly fast and add chemicals to your self-decimated body to mummify.  

http://www.ancient-origins.net/news/mummified-remains-monk-still-lotus-position-found-mongolia-002623

Here's the reward:  Apparently 100's of monks attempted the process.  If successful their mummified remains were worshiped. 28 were successful.  The others were given a "nice try" reward and their remains preserved. 

Here's the process:  

"The steps involved in mummifying one’s own body were extremely rigorous and painful. For the first 1,000 days, the monks ceased all food except nuts, seeds, fruits and berries and they engaged in extensive physical activity to strip themselves of all body fat. For the next 1,000 days, their diet was restricted to bark and roots. Near the end of this period, they would drink poisonous tea made from the sap of the Urushi tree, which caused vomiting and a rapid loss of body fluids. It also acted as a preservative and killed off maggots and bacteria that would cause the body to decay after death. 

In the final stage, after more than six years of torturous preparation, the monk would lock himself in a stone tomb barely larger than his body, where he would go into a state of meditation. He was seated in the lotus position, a position he would not move from until he died. A small air tube provided oxygen to the tomb. Each day, the monk rang a bell to let the outside world know he was still alive. When the bell stopped ringing, the tube was removed and the tomb sealed for the final thousand day period of the ritual. 

At the end of this period, the tomb would be opened to see if the monk was successful in mummifying himself.  If the body was found in a preserved state, the monk was raised to the status of Buddha, his body was removed from the tomb and he was placed in a temple where he was worshiped and revered. If the body had decomposed, the monk was resealed in his tomb and respected for his endurance, but not worshiped."