Hunan Yuanling Snow Mountain Method for Collecting Odor and Sealing Corpses

Author: Unknown

Sealing the corpse, also known as sealing the funeral or sealing the odor, is a magical measure taken to prevent the decomposition and odor of a body. Sealing the corpse is generally performed in four situations: First, if the deceased passes away during the hot summer, when high temperatures can cause the body to emit an odor within three days. However, handling funeral arrangements usually takes three to five days, sometimes even eight or nine days, or even longer. Therefore, it is necessary for the priest to seal the funeral. Second, if the death date is inauspicious and falls on a "Double Mourning Day," certain days must be avoided. This is called "selecting a day for burial after storing the funeral," which also requires sealing the corpse. Third, if the filial son is away, burial must wait until he returns home, which also necessitates sealing the corpse. Fourth, if someone dies in a foreign land and needs to be transported home, sealing the corpse is even more necessary. Depending on the distance, traveling 20 Chinese miles per day, it may take over a month to return home. If the body were to rot and smell, could it still walk? There are two methods for sealing the corpse: one is ice sealing, keeping the body in a frozen state; the other is fire sealing, drying the body with thunder fire to create a dry state.

Currently, the generally used method belongs to ice sealing.
Sealing the corpse is a unique skill, or as the rural folks say, a "hard skill," which absolutely cannot be faked. Frankly speaking, counterfeit goods have no market here. The process of sealing the corpse is very complex. First, an altar is set up with offerings of three sacrifices, fruits, tea, wine, incense, candles, paper money, etc. Then, the shaman recites scriptures to "invite the saints," starting from "Namo Heluo Hengna Duoluo Ye Ye," inviting various deities and then the ancestral masters of past generations. "Then, using true incense, with one heart, we respectfully invite: The majestic Heavenly Capital High Ministers (the scripture text remains unchanged as original, same below), the dark underworld officials, the surging Dragon Palace of the Water Kingdom, the fierce True Lord of Yang Yuan, the Three Realms and Four Departments, with hundreds of millions attending. May the saints arrive to witness and bless the merits."
"Extend the invitation upward, to bathe in the divine presence. The filial son has no way to diligently offer, so specially prepared are incense, candles, vegetarian food, and wine. Opening the jar for offering, pouring wine in one, two, and three offerings. The ritual does not require refilling. Now, with spoken intent, communicating with the spirit: "Here, taking the example of 'storing the funeral and selecting a day for burial' to seal the corpse, the shaman first 'invites the gods':
"Currently residing under the Temple of the Local God in a certain township of Yuanling County, Hunan Province, practicing Buddhism, sending off the deceased to repay kindness, planting blessings and transforming wealth, the filial son (Name), filial daughter-in-law (Name), and the whole family, sincerely request on this day. The deeply grateful and manifest elder father (Name) passed away in what year, month, day, and hour. Opening the underworld path, we, the disciples, due to inconvenient mountain directions, seal and store the coffin in the hall. Passing down traditions and teachings to future generations, all ancestral masters, support the troops and exert strength, borrow horses and use soldiers. Now, with money and wealth, relying on cremation, relying on meat to lead meat, relying on purity to lead purity, leading in front, ensuring delivery behind, the Earth God of transformed wealth, the divine knowledge is most present (spiritual), connecting heaven and reaching earth, entering and exiting with traveling documents, acting as our transmitter and reporter, do not detain, on the day of merit, the document is submitted for request."

Afterwards, divination is performed. If the hexagram matches the wishes of the filial family, it is approved. Then, 'transforming wealth' can proceed. Tea and wine are added to the incense altar, incense is burned, and paper money is transformed to reward the deities and ancestral masters. Then, 'holy water' and 'magic water' are prepared. Also known as 'pure water,' holding a bowl of water with the three fingers of the right hand, drawing talismans and forming hand seals over the burning incense smoke on the altar. First, form the 'Great General Pass Seal,' recite the 'Great Compassion Mantra,' also known as the 'Snow Mountain Mantra,' then form the 'Two Ancestors Seal.' There are over 120 types of seals, each with different functions.

According to the time, snow energy is taken from the five directions: southeast, northwest, and center, seven breaths each, blown into the water. Also reciting: "The disciple looks up at the five mountains, the back of the Five Yin Mountains opens the snow gate. The Great Sage Mother of the Snow Mountain, the Snow Mountain童子 (Youth) descends from the mountain. When the youth comes, his body carries snow. Descending from the Ten-Lava Dragon Palace, holding a thousand-year snow in the left hand, holding a ten-thousand-year frost in the right hand. Frost added to snow, snow added to frost. Frost is cold, snow is cold, snow and frost fall hurriedly (vastly) from the four mountains. Black wind rises through the earth, black wind blows through the earth. A gust of strong wind transforms into snow, goose-feather snowflakes fall thickly. Respectfully invite the Snow Mountain Holy Mother and Snow Mountain Youth to descend with black wind and bubble snow, entering our magic water, forever cooling the deceased's body and corpse, hard as needle and iron, evil spirits and filth, all are extinguished." After blowing seven breaths of north wind into the water, reciting scriptures again. After reading the scriptures, raising hands to form seals, moving steps to form the Big Dipper pattern, blowing three breaths of north wind into the water. Also reciting: "The Snow Mountain Sage opens the snow gate, riding snow clouds from ten thousand miles away, descending thousand-year old frost and snow, descending ten-thousand-year old snow and frost. Rushing head and tail, cold snow falls; rushing tail and head, cold frost falls. On the first day of the sixth month, heavy snow falls; on the first day of the seventh month, heavy frost falls. Frost added to snow, snow added to frost. Now, snow and frost fall thickly, ensuring that June will not return to Yang..."

Then, arranged according to 'Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai' into four directions, drawing 24 character symbols within the four-directional frame. Performing rituals on the deceased's body to expel the filth stored in the internal organs and introduce fresh gas. This is called 'expelling the old and absorbing the new.' Then, placing silver in the deceased's mouth, performing rituals and drawing talismans on the soles of the feet, palms, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, spraying magic water to seal the seven orifices. Adding talismans to the water bowl (commonly known as 'character size'), reciting the 'Snow Mountain Mantra,' and repeatedly holding seals, drawing talismans, and reciting spells. Silently reciting the secret mantras passed down by ancestral masters, using 'Golden Turtle Entering the Sea Seal,' 'Great General Pass,' 'Small General Pass,' 'Black Seal,' 'Mountain and River Single Dragon Seal,' etc., on the water bowl. The shaman holds the water bowl over the incense burner, calling the green energy of the original element into the water, holding the sword seal and ancestor seal: "Respectfully invite the Ancestors, the magic water has arrived. Heaven has no taboos, Earth has no taboos, Year has no taboos, Month has no taboos, Day has no taboos, Hour has no taboos, Four Seasons have no taboos, Hundred No Taboos. If the year and month are unfavorable, Pu'an is highly beneficial; if the day and hour are unfavorable, Pu'an is highly beneficial..." Then, drawing talismans on the coffin, reciting spells, performing rituals, and pasting talismans on the head and face of the coffin. Then, entrusting mosquitoes and flies to a quiet corner, preventing them from disturbing the body.

While sealing the corpse, a butcher is instructed to cut a piece of neat, fresh pork and hang it above the corpse. The shaman takes his ancestral large oil-paper fan in hand, draws talismans and recites spells on the fan, then fans the body from head to toe with three major fans. Then, pressing the bowl of magic water, which has been talismaned and ritualized, onto the shrine. Covering the water bowl with the oil-paper fan, and pressing a pair of bamboo jia (divination blocks) on the fan. This is called 'pressing the water bowl.' No one is allowed to touch the water bowl on the shrine, the 'divine preserved meat' hanging in front of the corpse, or the corpse itself. This is 'sealing the corpse' (sealing the odor). In the great heat of summer, the corpse can be sealed for 10, 20 days, or even longer without rotting, smelling, or being disturbed by flies. However, the shaman must divinate again every two or three days, following the ancestral divine instructions to add talismans or spells. If there are no other issues, once the date for the funeral procession is set, on the afternoon of the day before the funeral, the corpse can be moved into the coffin. But first, the shaman must invite the gods and perform rituals. Under the guidance of the shaman, the corpse is moved from the willow bed into the coffin, but not covered. The coffin is only tightly nailed shut before going up the mountain and into the earth.

At the Lei Altar in Nitangpo, Dawopeng Township, the presiding priest Yang Changlian, with the Dharma name Xianmiao, in the seventh lunar month of 2004, when the temperature reached 39 degrees Celsius, a cadre surnamed Li from a certain bureau in Yuanling County's city passed away. The body was placed in a temporarily erected oilcloth tent. Like steaming buns, sealing the corpse for seven days in the high heat resulted in no odor, looking just like something taken out of a refrigerator. On the 27th day of the sixth lunar month in 2005, 68-year-old Cao Lijia from Caojiaping Village, Dawopeng Township, passed away due to illness. The corpse was sealed for seven days without odor: Cao Fasheng (58 years old), a doctor from the same village, also passed away due to illness on June 20th. The corpse was sealed for seven days, without rotting or odor. All were handled by the priests of the Nitangpo Lei Altar. The principles of sealing the corpse are basically the same, and the sealing before driving the corpse home is also like this. After the deceased's remains are buried, the priest, after seeing off the gods and ancestors and settling the household gods with the filial family, first releases the mosquitoes and flies that were entrusted during the sealing process. Then, removes the water bowl from the shrine, performs rituals and recites spells, and sprinkles the magic water from the water bowl in all four directions, spraying it outdoors. This is called 'scattering the water bowl,' at which point all magical powers disappear.