Tradition of Venerating the Lotus Sūtra in the 11th Century in Japan According to Hokke genki

Abstract

“Notes on the Miracles of the Lotus Sūtra in the Great Country of Japan” (Daini­honkoku Hokkekyō genki, briefly Hokke genki, 1040s) builds a picture of the ve­neration of the sūtra in Japanese monastic and lay circles from individual stories. It is the stories from Hokke genki that usually represent the devotees of the Lotus Sūtra in later monuments. In the sūtra its adherents find a single meaning for all the various instructions that the Buddha has ever given. The biographies of fa­mous teachers of the 7th–11th centuries are followed by stories of ordinary monks, as well as novices, nuns, laymen and laywomen, animals and gods. Among the outstanding monks there are founders of the Tendai school, descen­dants of noble families who were trained in it, as well as preachers, scribes and miracle workers of less noble origin; they all strive for solitude, following the words of the sūtra, but their works are aimed at benefiting people and all suf­fering beings. The narrator describes different ways of working with the canoni­cal text (reading, copying, preaching) and shows what other traditions could be used in 11th-century Japan combined with the veneration of the Lotus Sūtra: first of all, it is belief in the Pure Land and rituals based on the applied teaching mikkyō. Wise ascetics read and copy the sūtra in meditative concentration, identi­fying with its characters, but an ordinary person also becomes like the Buddha when they make sure that as many inhabitants of the world of suffering as possi­ble learn about the sūtra