Fire Walking with Yamabushi Monks.

Today I was invited to a fire walking ceremony with Yamabushi monks. The Yamabushi are buddhist monks who primarily worship nature.

Before writing I usually I like to let things simmer in my mind but I sat down to write almost immediately after arriving home because I didn’t want to forget a single thing about today, I loved it so very much. Please know that what I am writing is through my western eyes and my limited knowledge of this beautiful purification process, but I will do my best to explain.

About Yamabushi.

The Yamabushi are practitioners of Shugendo. Today the Yamabushi who performed the ritual were from the Shingon sect. The Shingon practice involves the “sanmitsu yuga” which unifies the practitioners body, speech and mind with Buddha’s Dharmakaya (the truth body). Shugendo is a Japanese spiritual tradition that blends elements of Folk belief along with Shinto, Buddhism, and Taoism. A core belief of the Yamabushi is the importance of living in harmony with nature. They view the mountains as sacred spaces that provide spiritual insight and transformation.

Yamabushi engage in practices aimed at achieving spiritual enlightenment and power. Their training often involves pilgrimages to sacred mountains, rigorous physical and mental challenges, including meditation, fasting, and endurance activities such as exposure to cold waterfalls. Many of their practices to this day remain sacred and secret.

Some Yamabushi monks are also known for their roles as healers or spiritual guides. They may offer advice, perform healing rituals, and help individuals seeking spiritual growth or resolution of personal issues. Yamabushi embody a unique aspect of Japan's spiritual landscape, emphasizing the interplay between nature, spirituality, and personal development, something that I feel seems so deeply important to myself and to the world right now.

Fire Walking Purification

After a long detailed ceremony and preparation of the fire I couldn’t quite believe my eyes when I saw the monks walking through flames as high as their shoulders as if it were just a normal everyday thing to do. This traditional barefoot fire walking ritual is seen as a test of spiritual strength, purification, and a demonstration of faith. As you can see clearly from the photo above this is not for the faint of heart.

Before participating in fire walking, Yamabushi undergo rigorous preparation, which may include fasting, meditation, and other ascetic practices. This preparation is intended to strengthen their mental and spiritual resolve. I have a more than 20 year long yoga practice but I was definitely not prepared and doubted my ability to do it. The only thing I prepared was a stick that I was to throw in the start up bonfire to help me realize my dreams - I hadn’t really ever dreamt of walking through fire though….

This religious purification ceremony entailed chanting, prayers, shooting of arrows that were caught by excited children, and other rituals that were unfamiliar to me but that I understood to invoke spiritual protection and guidance.

Fire walking is often viewed as a rite of passage or a means of spiritual purification. It symbolizes overcoming fear, pain and the physical limitations of the body, aligning with the Yamabushi's broader goals of personal transformation and enlightenment and also allowing for community participants to connect more deeply with their spiritual beliefs and the divine, ridding themselves and the surrounding area of impurities and evil spirits.

I think for me the most wonderful and surprising thing about this fire walking event was that the community’s participation was welcomed, serving as an expression of faith and spirituality for all. It was not at all stuffy and religious like you might expect, one of the monks even pretended to swallow a sword to make the children laugh. To be openly and warmly welcomed into this deeply traditional practice as a foreigner was just the most incredible feeling that I can’t quite find the words for. Perhaps blessed, privileged and open hearted is what I am feeling now as I sit and write this blog this evening. As you can see in the photo below, I also had the opportunity to walk through fire, not nearly as impressive as the Yamabushi, but I do feel a sense of renewal and purification and ultimately like I am acceptable just as I am, right here and right now.

I would like to make a special thank you to Etsuko for inviting me to participate. Etsuko is the most lovely Japanese lady who has a deep understanding of Japanese culture and combined with her incredible grasp of the English language is the perfect tour guide for her company “Telescope Tokyo”. Look her up - you too may one day find yourself on a hill, surrounded by monks, participating in a magical experience like this or something else - you never know with Etsuko -she has many wonderful cultural secrets to share!