THE MARATHON MONKS OF MOUNT HIEI BEAT OLYMPIC ATHLETES

The foothills of Mt. Hiei, to the northeast of Kyoto City in Japan, are home to a group of Buddhist temples in a huge, 1,200-year old temple complex called Enryakuji. 

The Tendai-shu monks who inhabit these temples, are better known to the world as ‘marathon monks’ – their physical feats are so amazing, they could put Olympic athletes to shame.

Not all the Enryakuji monks are Tendai-shu; only some of them get special permission to participate in the sennichi kaihogyo, or the Thousand Day Challenge – one of the most rigorous spiritual challenges in the world. 

The event is meant to venerate the Fudo-myo-o, the central deity of the Tendai monks. Believe it or not, the challenge involves walking a distance that is equal to circling the globe once over!

The selected monks are called gyoja – their challenge consists of seven long years of pilgrimage to over 250 sites on Mt. Hiei, which is one of the top three sacred places in Japan. 

During their visits, they need to cover a total of 1,000 marathons; they walk extraordinarily long distances that seem humanly impossible.