[Decoration]
[2] From the old story-book, _Jikkun-sho_
THERE was once a very pious and learned priest, called Shoku Shonin, who
lived in the province of Harima. For many years he meditated daily upon
the chapter of Fugen-Bosatsu [the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra] in the
Sutra of the Lotos of the Good Law; and he used to pray, every morning
and evening, that he might at some time be permitted to behold
Fugen-Bosatsu as a living presence, and in the form described in the
holy text.[3]
[3] The priest's desire was probably inspired by the promises
recorded in the chapter entitled "The Encouragement of
Samantabhadra" (see Kern's translation of the Saddharma
Pundarika in the _Sacred Books of the East_,--pp.
433-434):--"Then the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Samantabhadra
said to the Lord: ... 'When a preacher who applies himself
to this Dharmaparyaya shall take a walk, then, O Lord, will
I mount a white elephant with six tusks, and betake myself
to the place where that preacher is walking, in order to
protect this Dharmaparyaya. And when that preacher, applying
himself to this Dharmaparyaya, forgets, be it but a single
word or syllable, then will I mount the white elephant with
six tusks, and show my face to that preacher, and repeat
this entire Dharmaparyaya."--But these promises refer to
"the end of time."
One evening, while he was reciting the Sutra, drowsiness overcame him;
and he fell asleep leaning upon his _kyosoku_.[4] Then he dreamed; and
in his dream a voice told him that, in order to see Fugen-Bosatsu,
he must go to the house of a certain courtesan, known as the
"Yujo-no-Choja,"[5] who lived in the town of Kanzaki. Immediately upon
awakening he resolved to go to Kanzaki;--and, making all possible haste,
he reached the town by the evening of the next day.
[4] The _Kyosoku_ is a kind of padded arm-rest, or arm-stool,
upon which the priest leans one arm while reading. The use
of such an arm-rest is not confined, however, to the
Buddhist clergy.
[5] A yujo, in old days, was a singing-girl as well as a
courtesan. The term "Yujo-no-Choja," in this case, would
mean simply "the first (or best) of yujo."
When he entered the house of the _yujo_, he found many persons already
there assembled--mostly young men of the capital, who had been attracted
to Kanzaki by the fame of the woman's beauty. They were feasting and
drinking; and the _yujo_ was playing a small hand-drum (_tsuzumi_),
which she used very skilfully, and singing a song. The song which she
sang was an old Japanese song about a famous shrine in the town of
Murozumi; and the words were these:--
_Within the sacred water-tank[6] of Murozumi in Suwo,
Even though no wind be blowing,
The surface of the water is always rippling._
[6] _Mitarai_. _Mitarai_ (or _mitarashi_) is the name
especially given to the water-tanks, or water-fonts--of
stone or bronze--placed before Shinto shrines in order
that the worshipper may purify his lips and hands before
making prayer. Buddhist tanks are not so named.
The sweetness of the voice filled everybody with surprise and delight.
As the priest, who had taken a place apart, listened and wondered, the
girl suddenly fixed her eyes upon him; and in the same instant he saw
her form change into the form of Fugen-Bosatsu, emitting from her brow a
beam of light that seemed to pierce beyond the limits of the universe,
and riding a snow-white elephant with six tusks. And still she sang--but
the song also was now transformed; and the words came thus to the ears
of the priest:--
_On the Vast Sea of Cessation,
Though the Winds of the Six Desires and of the Five Corruptions
never blow,
Yet the surface of that deep is always covered
With the billowings of Attainment to the Reality-in-Itself._
Dazzled by the divine ray, the priest closed his eyes: but through their
lids he still distinctly saw the vision. When he opened them again, it
was gone: he saw only the girl with her hand-drum, and heard only the
song about the water of Murozumi. But he found that as often as he shut
his eyes he could see Fugen-Bosatsu on the six-tusked elephant, and
could hear the mystic Song of the Sea of Cessation. The other persons
present saw only the _yujo_: they had not beheld the manifestation.
Then the singer suddenly disappeared from the banquet-room--none could
say when or how. From that moment the revelry ceased; and gloom took
the place of joy. After having waited and sought for the girl to no
purpose, the company dispersed in great sorrow. Last of all, the priest
departed, bewildered by the emotions of the evening. But scarcely had
he passed beyond the gate, when the _yujo_ appeared before him, and
said:--"Friend, do not speak yet to any one of what you have seen this
night." And with these words she vanished away,--leaving the air filled
with a delicious fragrance.
* * * * *
The monk by whom the foregoing legend was recorded, comments upon it
thus:--The condition of a _yujo_ is low and miserable, since she is
condemned to serve the lusts of men. Who therefore could imagine
that such a woman might be the _nirmanakaya_, or incarnation, of a
Bodhisattva. But we must remember that the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas
may appear in this world in countless different forms; choosing,
for the purpose of their divine compassion, even the most humble or
contemptible shapes when such shapes can serve them to lead men into
the true path, and to save them from the perils of illusion.