Yusai Sukai, the monk who explained Buddhism to the pope, is dead

Tokyo, Sept 26, 2013: Yusai Sukai, the monk who became famous for explaining Buddhism to John Paul II died on Wednesday at the Imuro Fudodo Chojuin temple in Japan. Born in Osaka in 1926, he completed his military service as a kamikaze pilot, training for a mission in 1945.

Saved by the end of the conflict, Yusai Sakai was first a student and then sold noodles in Kyoto, until 1965, when the fire of his restaurant and the suicide of his first wife led him to embrace the Buddhist faith, becoming one of the most iconic figures of Japanese Buddhism. He was received by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Known in Japan for his many writings on Buddhist teachings, he became famous around the world as one of only three Japanese to undertake twice the Sennichi Kaiho Gyo, a traditional Japanese pilgrimage that involves a journey of 1,000 days over a period of seven years. Sennichi Kaiho Gyo is a form of pilgrimage that is typical of Japanese Buddhism. Over a period of seven years, the faithful have to complete 1,000-day ascetic alpine rounds on Mount Hieizan, which straddles Shiga and Kyoto prefectures.

When the ascetic has completed the first 700 days of his alpine rounds, he shuts himself up in a worship hall for nine days and chants a mantra 100,000 times without eating, drinking or sleeping.
On completing the practice, the ascetic is given the title of Dai Ajari (grand acharya or teacher). According to tradition, a Dai Ajari can enter an imperial estate without taking off his footwear.

After a life devoted to his faith, Yusai Sakai spent his last days at the Imuro Fudodo Chojuin temple in Otsu Prefecture. "Leaves thrive when they are fresh green but fall when the time comes. But they are green again the next year," Sakai once said after his second pilgrimage. "The sight of such workings has made me realise that life is not over when it is finished once but does go on and on. That's probably the sort of wisdom that Buddha bestows on us."

(Source: Asia News)