, also called but commonly referred to as , is an 11th century Japanese collection of Buddhist tales and folklore (

setsuwa Setsuwa (, ja, 説話, setsu wa) is an East Asian literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes. ''Setsuwa'' means "spoken story". As one of the vaguest forms of literature, setsuwa is believed to have been passed down ...

). It was compiled by the monk from 1040 to 1043, and consists of three volumes with 129 chapters, two of which are missing. The collection is intended to promote the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

with tales of miraculous events linked to the sutra.

Origin

In the introduction to the book, Chingen referred to a now-lost collection of tales by the Chinese monk Yiji (義寂) titled ''Fahua yanji'' (法華験記), which may be the inspiration for this collection. Some scholars suggest that text referred to may be by a Korean monk with the same name in Chinese Ŭijŏk (義寂), although Chingen may have consulted both the Chinese and Korean collections. The tales he collected, however, are Japanese only, which Chingen noted in the preface are meant for ordinary people rather than priests and scholars. ''Hokke Genki'' incorporates stories and biographies from other works, such as , and '' Nihon Ryōiki'', but also include tales not found in earlier works.

Content

Chingen organised his tales roughly chronologically from the time of Prince Shōtoku in chapters that are based on the seven groups of the Buddhist order; these are

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

, male novices,

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

, laymen and laywomen, and animals and other non-human entities. The collection contains setsuwa tales or biographical stories of advocates and devotees (''jikyōsha'', 持経者) of the ''

'', many of them from the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. Most of them (over 90 out of 127) feature in some way Buddhist ascetics or who lived in the mountains. 31 of the tales involve laymen and warriors. In this collection, the worship of Japanese gods and Buddha is given in syncretic manner, and some Japanese deities appear as

boddhisatvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

. There are two general categories of setsuwa. The first describes the activities of the devotees and their observances of the precepts of the Lotus Sutra. The second involves miraculous tales that illustrate the power of the Lotus Sutra. A notable example of the folktales in the collection is the first appearance of the story of

Anchin and Kiyohime (or just Kiyo) in Japanese folklore is a character in the story of Anchin and Kiyohime. In this story, she fell in love with a Buddhist monk named Anchin, but after her interest in the monk was rejected, she chased after him and transformed int ...

, although neither were specifically named in the story. The collection of tales is intended to promote the ''Lotus Sutra'', emphasising stories of people as well as animals and supernatural beings who had experienced miracles in relation to the ''Lotus Sutra'', suggesting that believers can benefit by copying, reciting and their devotion to the sutra.

Translation

The collection has been translated into English by Yoshiko K. Dykstra and published as ''Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan: The Dainihonkoku Hokekyokenki of Priest Chingen''.

References

{{reflist Japanese mythology Japanese Buddhist texts Buddhism in fiction Late Old Japanese texts Heian period in literature Setsuwa 11th-century Japanese books