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Enlightenment in One Sitting
What if you could achieve enlightenment in just one sitting? What if you are now and always were enlightened and all you had to do was recognize it?
In the hills outside Kyoto live an order of holy men, known to Westerners as “The Marathon Monks.”
They believe that enlightenment can be achieved in this lifetime. But only through extreme self-denial and only if you’re willing to die for it. So, they created a challenge they call the Kaihogyo.
You either complete the challenge, or you kill yourself. Seriously, they run with a rope and a short sword.
The Kaihogyo goes something like this: in years one, two and three, you run 18 miles a day for 100 days in a row. Then, in years four and five, you run 18 miles a day for 200 days in a row. In years six and seven, you build up to 52 miles a day for 100 days in a row.
During the first 100 days, you can withdraw without penalty. But on day 101, the only way out is to join the graves that speckle Mount Hiei.
In the last 130 years, only 46 men have managed it.
The purpose of this crucible is to exhaust the mind and the body until nothing remains. And when you’re finally reduced to nothing, something comes…
