When Master Xu Yun gave up his body in 1959 – he was 119-years-old and well within his 120th year of life – whilst being in his 101st year as an ordained Buddhist monk following the Dharma and Vinaya. As this was his ‘last’ incarnation’, he decided to die like the Buddha lying on his right-side (which he did without trouble in-front of Master Ti Guang). Many other Ch’an monastics and lay practitioners, however, attempt the tradition of ‘seated transformation’ (坐化 - Zuo Hua) - whereby an advanced Buddhist practitioner attempts to leave his or her body whilst sat upright in the crossed-legged meditation position. History records that some Masters have been able to leave and re-enter their bodies at will- even some days after being pronounced ‘dead’. It is said that a true Dharma-Successor is able to perform this feat as a demonstration of their enlightened realisation, and is often used as a method of quality-control even within modern China (where a surprising number of devout Buddhists still ‘die’ sitting-up in the proscribed manner). As Dharma-Practice requires a completely honest and compassionate mindset, all genuine Dharma-Successors are expected to at least try and pass away in this manner. This is my intention if conditions allow (with my partner photographing the process). Of course, there is no guarantee this process will unfold as intended, but the point is that I am willing try.  

Shuffling off the mortal coil, within the context of Chinese Ch’an Buddhist practice, is often associated with the male or female practitioner leaving the body whilst sat in the cross-legged, upright meditation position. Breathing slowly reduces until it can no longer be discerned, and the bodily processes come to a gentle halt. Chinese Ch’an literature is replete with recorded stories of men, women and children dying whilst standing, sitting or lying down, whilst retaining a particular posture. Some enlightened peasants have also passed away at a whim whilst working in the fields without a moment’s hesitation. Such an activity is inherently associated with the attainment of enlightenment and is still fairly common, even within Mainland China today. This is known as the practice of ‘Seated Transformation’ (坐化 - Zuo Hua), and is common in both advanced Buddhist and Daoist practice. By the time Richard Hunn passed away on October 1st, 2006, his body had been substantially weakened through months of spreading cancer and the effects of various radiation treatments – but he stated to me that he was going to die whilst ‘sitting up’, and that was that. As matters transpired, Richard Hunn passed away whilst sat-up in a Kyoto-hospital bed – and as his life-processes dissipated, he asked to go to the bookshop and buy some Wordsworth...  I have researched both ancient and modern cases of ‘Zuo Hua’ in China and studied the photographs and eye-witness reports. The 6th Patriarch of Ch’an - ‘Hui Neng’ (坐化) - died in 713 CE and his body still sits upright in meditation, as does the body of Master Han Shan (憨山) who died in 1623 CE. There are many more – Daoist and Buddhist – scattered throughout the temples of China, and added to this are the hundreds and thousands of other ‘ordinary’ people who passed away sat-upright in-front of witlessness (often with written and photographic evidence). In my own seated practice, I understand that although the spine can be kept ‘buoyant’ whilst still consciously aware, the head inevitably drops forward when the sleep process is triggered, or the death process manifests. Many modern seated deaths end with the upper-body leaning (naturally) forward as the muscles completely relax. I am told that the alignment of the bones is the answer – (as in the advanced practice of Taijiquan). If the bones are aligned properly whilst seated, then the posture (I.e. ‘bones’) will be self-sustaining when all muscle-tension and control dissipates at the point of death. Elongating the vertebrae of the neck whilst pulling the chin slightly in should prevent the head from drooping at the point of death. Should my partner – Gee – be present when I experience ‘Zuo Hua’, I have requested that she photograph and film the experience for the progression of scientific understanding.