Secrets
of the
Marathon
Monks and Chain Gangs
A
long time ago, as a youngster in the peak of my vitality, I read
about the Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei (Tendai-school of Japanese
Buddhism) and was very impressed. Before discussing my own views of
this practice, I'd first like to introduce marathon running as a form
of Tendai Buddhist-training.
For
deeper understanding, find this
article from Wikipedia or John Stevens' book
on marathon monks.
Kaihogyo
The
formal name of the practice is called kaihogyo which literally
means ”to circle around a mountain”. The name comes from the fact
that the monks run or walk marathons on paths around mountains. Monks
who are accepted as marathon monks, go through an exceptionally
demanding training which on top of the daily chores of being a temple
monk, includes running or walking marathons at night.
The
full training lasts for 7 years. On first, second and third years,
the monks run 40 kilometers for 100 days in a row. On fourth and
fifth years, they run marathons for 200 days in a row. On sixth
year, they go 60 kilometers per day for 100 days in a row and finally
on the seventh year they run a double marathon for 100 days in a row.
The training is finished with a dry fast of 7 days and nights (used
to be 10 days but the monks tended to die before finishing it) when
the monk is required to sit up in meditation for 23-24 hours a day,
guarded by two monitors whose job is to make sure the monk doesn't
fall asleep. Yup, it's pretty extreme.
Perhaps
it's good to add that most of the marathon monks are grown men, not
youngsters. One of the monks, Yusai Sakai, finished his second
training of 7 years when he was 60 years old.
My
own experiences
I
haven't done training as hard as the marathon monks but back in 2003
I did half marathons daily for 3 months in a row, just to test the
technique. Being at the peak of my vitality and in a great physical
shape without much social or financial responsibilities, with plenty
of time to rest, it was no problem at all. Now, at 38 years old, I am
well overweight, very occupied with work and family matters with very
little time for rest. This doesn't of course mean that I couldn't do
the same practice in less intensive form.
I
have recently returned to walking practice of just few kilometers
(5-10 km) a day where the same techniques and inner principles are
applied. I have no intention or desire to go into extremes but rather
to enjoy daily walks while applying the knowledge of physical and
energetic yogas, most importantly mantras and ati yoga/dzogchen.
I'd
like to go through the various aspects of this practice and give my
own explanations how it can be done.
Body
and Breath
The
body is kept straight during walking. Chest and shoulders are
relaxed, arms hang freely on the sides. Toes, knees and hips are
aimed straight forward at all times. The rhythm of stepping should be
kept the same despite of up or downhills. This means that the length
of the step is adjusted though the rhythm stays the same. The whole
body as one, is subtly extended but simultaneously relaxed.
The
breath always flows through the nose, not through the mouth.
Breathing moves the belly, doesn't raise the chest or shoulders.
Eyes
gaze straight ahead. They don't look around, except when being
attentive of the traffic.
In
the West there is no culture how the body is kept upright, yet
relaxed at the same time. We do not have culture for carrying the
body the way it does in China or Japan. To get the alignment right,
one has to know how the structure of the body, bones and joints, are
built or aligned in a way that moving becomes natural, flowing and
effortless. For thorough understanding of how to align the body it is
beneficial to study inner martial arts such as tai chi, yi
quan or chi gong.
It
is very easy to conduct a simple test where one first pays no
attention to the alignment of the posture or the harmony of the
breath while walking or running too fast. That's how most people go.
After going like that for an hour or two once can experience strain,
discomfort and scattering of energy. On the other hand, if one
skillfully opens the joints, carefully aligns the body, keeps
breathing deep and even, and steps in rhythm one can see that it
feels much more pleasant. After such walk one is filled with vitality
and freshness.
Mind
and Energy
In
Tibet, there is a similar tradition of yogic running. The name for it
is lung gom which literally
means energy contemplation or
energy meditation. I
have not received training as a Tibetan marathon runner either but I
think I know what they mean with this energy contemplation which
enables them to walk or run extremely long distances with relative
ease. I am sure shamanic practices and trances could be used too (I
have no experience of those) but I prefer to look this as dharma
practice.
When
going long distances (long to oneself) one puts both one's body and
mind into a pressure cooker. This has some similarities as sitting
meditation but due to the physical involvement it is also very
different.
At
some point there will be some physical discomfort. Also the mind will
be scattered and clouded with thought and emotions. In order to keep
going in a harmonious, comfortable and non-destructive way, the
posture needs to be repeatedly re-aligned and relaxed, breath kept
deep and mind kept serene. If this is not done, one's vital energy
will get scattered and continuing becomes very difficult, if not
impossible.
To
keep going despite of great obstacles the marathon monks keep a knife
with them which they are to use to kill themselves if they give up.
As a young man I used to keep a 2 euro coin, that I jokingly called
”two of death” in my pocket for a bus ticket (never used it).
Well, it's again that old Japanese die hard mentality but I think it
is good to have that same spirit of not giving up unless one
absolutely has to.
So
when pushing oneself to limits, one feels discomfort. Physical and
emotional. Just like in sitting meditation, the situation requires
energy skills to solve these knots of energy in order to keep going
and to reap dharmic benefit from the practice.
The
Genious of Work Song
We
used to have a vibrant culture of work song in the West. From Finland
at least, it has completely disappeared but I believe it still exists
in some technically less developed countries which I think is a
wonderful thing.
People
used to sing together among physical work. On fields, at
construction, in whatever physical work, even in war, people kept
their minds and work fresh by singing songs. The most obvious
beneficial aspect of work song is that it keeps the spirits high.
However, there is another, a hidden aspect to it. It is bone
vibration.
When
one sings, the bones vibrate subtly. Through continuous chanting,
this subtle vibration keeps the bones, joints and muscles in constant
state of vibration which prevents knots of tension from accumulating.
The body is getting subtly massaged. This has the effect that one
won't get as tired and as soon as one would without chanting. This
can be easily tested.
Pioneers,
slaves and chain gangs had to do hard physical labour for 12 hours a
day for 6 or 7 days a week, sometimes for years on end. I think this
would have been impossible without work song and it's secretly
envigorating benefits.
Prayers
Along
the 40 kilometer route, the marathon monks are required to stop at
small shrines and other locations for short prayers. According to
Stevens, the monks stop up to 200 times along the way. This means
that they make brief stops every 200 meters. It is here, in brief
breaks of tantric practice and meditation, where the secret of their
demanding practice lies at.
Tendai
is a tantric school of buddhism. This means that they have deity
empowerments and mantra practices, together with sutras. According to
a Tendai buddhist priest that I once discussed with, the marathon
monks mainly chant the mantras of their chosen deity (tib. yidam), or
buddha, in their practice. So they don't only get constant relief
from physical and emotional stress through bone vibration caused by
the use of their voice, also their minds are flushed with the utterly
clarifying energy of the buddhas.
To
speculate on this a bit, I'd say that while the currect World
Champion of marathon running could probably endure days or perhaps
even some weeks of staying up all day working and running marathons
at night, it is absolutely certain that without specific yogic
knowledge and application of energy work and mantras, the champion
would not accomplish 100 days of marathon (not to even mention the
more challening parts) in a row.
My
own Experimentation
I
am a tantric yogi and a practitioner of dzogchen, so I have used the
mantras I have learned from my gurus during walking practice,
combining it with the body and breath aspects that were outlined
above.
One
thing that is very important is to use audible voice because the
bones need to vibrate physically. The effect is not the same with
silent mantras.
I
used to walk 1-2-3 kilometers in one stretch and then take a brief
break of about half a minute of chanting mantras but recently I have
found that stopping for mantras every few hundred meters is much
better. I certainly prefer that over walking longer distances at
stretch.
The
brief tantric breaks have the effect of literally flushing one's
bodymind with pure and fresh energy. When this is continued for 1-2
hours in a row, among walking, it has a very profound effect which, I
think can be compared to several hours or even a day or two on
meditation retreat. I think the profundity of this effect is because
the moving physical body is also a very active ingredient of the
practice.
I
mostly use guru mantras when stopping. Sometimes I use the short
syllables of Tibetan Heart Yoga when walking, rhythmically intoned,
with the rhythm of the feet. Sometimes I chant long syllables, like
Ooommmm Aaaa Huummmm, during breaks and walking because they get to
the really deep tensions.
When
I was young and did half marathons I did not know that the monks stop
frequently or that they chant prayers and mantras. At the time I was
a zen practitioner so it might have not made any difference anyway
but now I greatly enjoy combining all these elements into one. I
recommend you to try.
Thank
you for reading.
-
Kim Katami, 12/2017.
