Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei
Synopsis
Having witnessed the amazing feats of physical and mental endurance practised by the Japanese monks of the Tendai Buddhist Monastery, Olympic athletes will never again command the same respect. This extraordinary documentary records the achievement of Tanno Kakudo, a monk who has become a ‘living Buddha’ having completed one thousand, mountain-based marathons over a period of seven exhausting years.
In a remarkable display of human resilience, including months of consecutive daily marathons and a gruelling nine-day fast without food, water, sleep or rest, Tanno learnt to control his body and mind through deep prayer and meditation. Failure, however, was never an option for this newly-canonised saint, as the thousand-year-old tradition demands that the unsuccessful commit suicide.
Having witnessed the amazing feats of physical and mental endurance practised by the Japanese monks of the Tendai Buddhist Monastery, Olympic athletes will never again command the same respect. This extraordinary documentary records the achievement of Tanno Kakudo, a monk who has become a ‘living Buddha’ having completed one thousand, mountain-based marathons over a period of seven exhausting years.
In a remarkable display of human resilience, including months of consecutive daily marathons and a gruelling nine-day fast without food, water, sleep or rest, Tanno learnt to control his body and mind through deep prayer and meditation. Failure, however, was never an option for this newly-canonised saint, as the thousand-year-old tradition demands that the unsuccessful commit suicide.
Duration
1 x 52'
Definition
SD
Genre
Factual
Subgenre
Documentary Special
Producer
DENIS WHYTE