from cover The greatest athletes in the world today are not the Olympic champions or the stars of professional sports, but the "marathon monks" of Japan's sacred Mount Hiei. Over a seven-year training period, these "running buddhas" figuratively circle the globe on foot. During one incredible 100-day stretch, they cover 52.5 miles daily-twice the length of an Olympic marathon. And the prize they seek to capture is the greatest thing a human being can achieve: enlightenment in the here and now. This book is about these amazing men, the magic mountain on which they train, and the philosophy of Tendai Buddhism, which inspires them in their quest for the supreme. The reader will learn about the monks' death-defying fasts, their vegetarian training diet, their handmade straw running shoes, and feats of endurance such as their ceremonial leap into a waterfall. Illustrated with superb photographs, the book also contains the first full-length study in English of Mount Hiei and Tendai Buddhism. John Stevens is Professor of Buddhist Studies and Aikido Instructor at Tohoku College of Social Welfare in Sendai, Japan. He the author of Aikido; Abundant Peace: The Biography of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido; Sacred Calligraphy of the East; and The Sword of No Sword.

Contents Preface Part One The World of Tendai Buddhism The treasure of a nation: Saicho, founder of Japanese Tendai The Magic Mountain: The history of Hiei Study and Practice: The way of Tendai Buddhism Mokunt Hiei Today Part Two The Marathon Monks Montain Pilgrimage: So-o and te History of the Hiei Marathon The path of the spiritual aathlete Running Buddhas: The men themselves Epilogue Notes Bibliography Glossary Index