Buddha Torrents. Chenrezig - Fittex bil-Google. Buddhism. So the eight-fold path acts directly in order to achieve liberation from the shortcomings and sufferings of samsara and also to aid fellow sentient beings to obtain release and attain to the state of the fully-illumined One.
These components are metaphorically depicted in their representation of the dharmacakra or wheel of dharma with the eight spokes culminating in the centre, and providing noble support so that the wheel of dharma can turn round and round smoothly. The eight-fold path in Buddhism therefore suggested a certain mode attitude, thought and action. It comprised the following eight components.
Sokushinbutsu. Sokushinbutsu (即身仏?)
Refers to a practice of Buddhist monks observing austerity to the point of death and mummification. This process of self-mummification was mainly practiced in Yamagata in Northern Japan between the 11th and 19th century, by members of the Japanese Vajrayana school of Buddhism called Shingon ("True Word"). The practitioners of sokushinbutsu did not view this practice as an act of suicide, but rather as a form of further enlightenment.[1] Those who succeeded were revered, while those who failed were nevertheless respected for the effort. It is believed that many hundreds of monks tried, but only 24 such mummifications have been discovered to date.
There is a common suggestion that Shingon school founder Kukai brought this practice from Tang China as part of secret tantric practices he learned, and that were later lost in China.[2] The Self-Mummified Monks of Japan. Scattered throughout Northern Japan are two dozen mummified Japanese monks known as Sokushinbutsu.
Followers of Shugendo, an ancient form of Buddhism, the monks died in the ultimate act of self-denial. Estimates of the number of self-mummified priests in Japan range between sixteen and twenty-four priests. Impressive though this number is, many more have tried to self-mummify themselves.