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Buddhist Mummy or ‘Living Buddha’? The Politics of Immortality in Japanese Buddhism
Anthropological Forum ( IF 0.915 ) Pub Date : 2020-06-30 , DOI: 10.1080/00664677.2020.1786804
Shayne A. P. Dahl 1
Affiliation  

ABSTRACT To this day, the robed remains of mummified monks are venerated as ‘living Buddhas’ in northeastern Japan. Widely believed to have mummified themselves through strict adherence to ascetic regimen, temple patrons claim that these living Buddhas are capable of transmitting telepathic messages and curing disease, even of saving lives in the real time of disaster. In this article, I examine the ontological and symbolic basis of their purported immortality. Also, its politics, which emerge in contested historical narratives and assertions of authenticity about which mummified monks are real, true immortals and which are forgeries, curated corpses on display. As I demonstrate, such narratives are grounded in competing historicities of the automummification process. They are also situated in a competitive tourism industry. I argue that the bodies of these saintly figures are multi-temporal, semiotically charged, and political. Enduring faith in their posthumous vitality is not just a matter of theological exegesis. It is sustained by the interpretations of human suffering, history, and salvation that their anachronistic presence conjures for the living.

中文翻译:

佛教木乃伊还是“活佛”?日本佛教中的长生不老政治

摘要 时至今日,在日本东北部,僧侣的长袍遗骸仍被尊为“活佛”。人们普遍认为,这些活佛是通过严格遵守苦行法而制成木乃伊的,他们声称这些活佛能够传递心灵感应信息并治愈疾病,甚至能够在灾难发生时挽救生命。在这篇文章中,我研究了他们所谓的不朽的本体论和象征基础。此外,它的政治,出现在有争议的历史叙述和真实性断言中,关于哪些木乃伊和尚是真实的,真正的不朽的,哪些是赝品,策划了展出的尸体。正如我所展示的,这种叙述是基于自动木乃伊化过程的竞争历史性。他们也位于竞争激烈的旅游业。我认为这些圣人的身体是多时间的、符号化的和政治性的。对他们死后生命力的持久信念不仅仅是神学解释的问题。对人类苦难、历史和救赎的解释,它们不合时宜的存在为生者带来了支持。
更新日期:2020-06-30
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