The Ironman Monks
This video will spin your heart.
Kaihōgyō, the 1000-day pilgrimage performed by Tendai Buddhists, is not a challenge in the usual sense. The literal translation is ‘circling the mountain,’ so the mountain itself and a connection to nature is crucial; it has a more meditative meaning, it is part of a lineage of enlightenment wisdom that spans centuries, ages and generations.
Anyone who has run a marathon knows that feats of endurance require mental discipline — a way to fuse mind, body and spirit.What these monks do is an example of the ultimate distillation of life. They go to the essential core, getting rid of literally anything that is unnecessary both physically and spiritually. The doiri, a nine-day retreat without food, water, or sleep, which takes place around the fifth year of the pilgrimage, is the most extreme example of this.
The fact that they make this journey on foot does not mean the movement is the goal — it is just a means to reach enlightenment. They lose themselves in the trees, rivers, purity — entranced by the rhythm of the mountain, awakening their spirits with the pace of nature from night to sunrise, day after day.
They stop at over 250 sites each night to recite prayers, only sitting once, underneath a sacred Cedar tree, to pray towards the city.
The pilgrimages are divided into 100-day sections:
First year: 100 consecutive days of 25-mile runs, beginning at 1:30am, each day after an hour of prayer.
Second year: 100 consecutive days of 25-mile runs.
Third year: 100 consecutive days of 25-mile runs.
Fourth year: 100 consecutive days of 25-mile runs, performed twice for a total of 200 days.
Fifth year: 100 consecutive days of 25-mile runs, performed twice for a total of 200 days.
Sixth year: 100 consecutive days of 37.5-mile runs.
Seventh year: 100 consecutive days of 52-mile runs and 100 consecutive days of 25-mile runs.”
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Story attribution @Nowness.com
