Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu): The Tales of Muju Ichien, A Voice for Pluralism in Kamakura Buddhism (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies) (Suny Buddhist Studies)

Sand and Pebbles presents the first complete English rendering of Shasekishu--the classic, popular Buddhist "Tale Literature" (setsuwa). This collection of instructive, yet often humorous, anecdotes appeared in the late thirteenth century, within decades of the first stirrings of the revolutionary movements of Kamakura Buddhism. Shasekishu’s author, Muju Ichien (1226-1312), lived in a rural temple apart from the centers of political and literary activity, and his stories reflect the customs, attitudes and lifestyles of the commoners. In Sand and Pebbles, complete translations of Book One and other significant narrative parts are supplemented by summaries of the remaining (especially didactic) material and by excerpts from Muju’s later work. Introduced by a historical sketch of the period, this work also contains a biography of Muju. Illustrations, charts, a chronology, glossary of terms, notes, an extensive bibliography and an index guide the reader into a seldom seen corner of old Japan. Muju and his writings will interest students of literature as well as scholars of Japanese religion, especially Buddhism. Anthropologists and sociologists will discover details of Kamakura life and thought unrecorded in the official chronicles of the age. Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu*) CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABBREVIATIONS CHRONOLOGY INTRODUCTION PART I. MUJU* ICHIEN (1226-1312) "No Fixed Abode": 1226-1261 Choboji*: 1262-1312 Deed of Transfer (Yuzurijo*) Muju's* World of Ideas PART II. SAND AND PEBBLES (SHASEKISHU*) Translations and Summaries Collection of Sand and Pebbles Prologue 1:1 The Great Shrine at Ise 1:2 The Venerable Gedatsubo* of Kasagi's Pilgrimage to the Great Shrine 1:3 Praying to the Gods for Release from Birth-and-Death 1:4 The Gods Esteem Compassion 1:5 The Gods Esteem Those with Wisdom and Compassion 1:6 Profound is the Grace of the Gods Who Soften their Light 1:7 The Native Gods Esteem the Sincere Desire for Enlightenment 1:8 The Dubious Custom of Presenting the Gods with Offerings of Living Beings 1:9 Delusion Checked by the Accommodations of the Gods Who Soften their Light 1:10 A Pure Land Devotee Punished for Slighting the Gods 2:1 The Man Who Was Vouchsated a Relic of the Buddha 2:2 The Efficacy of the Buddha of Healing 2:3 The Efficacy of Amida 2:4 The Efficacy of Yakushi and Kannon 2:5 Jizo* Nurses the Sick 2:6 Various Favors of the Bodhisattva Jizo* 2:7 The Blessings of Fudo* 2:8 Maitreya's Ascetic 2:9 The Vicarious Suffering of the Bodhisattva 2:10 Karmic Affinities with the Buddha's Law not without Effect 3:1 The Epileptic's Clever Remark 3:2 The Man Who Lost a Lawsuit on Purpose 3:3 The Conversation between Gon'yubo* and his Younger Sister, the Lady-in-Waiting 3:4 Good and Bad Distinguished in the Dialogues of the Zen Masters 3:5 The Discrepancy between Doctrine and Practice among the Vinaya Scholars 3:6 Good Advice from a Child 3:7 A Story about Confucius 3:8 The Discourse of the Sage of Toga-no-o 4:1 The Silent Clerics 4:2 The Monk Who Had Children 4:3 The Monk Who was Nursed by His Daughter 4:4 The Monk Who Encouraged Marriage 4:5 The Wife Who was an Impediment in the Final Hour 4:6 The Monk Whose Wife Tried To Kill Him 4:7 One Should Be Wary of Attachment at the Time of Death 4:8 The Monk Who Drowned Himself 4:9 One Who Would Aspire to Enlightenment Should Cast Off Attachment 5A:1 The Tendai Scholar Who Escaped the Demon-Sickness 5A:2 The Benefit of Expounding the Perfect and Sudden Teaching 5A:3 The Scholar Who Was Reborn as a Beast 5A:4 The Compassionate Man Who Avoided the Demon-Sickness 5A:5 The Scholar Dispels Ill-will 5A:6 The Scholar Who Had Distorted Views 5A:7 The Scholar Who Neglected Worldly Affairs 5A:8 The Discussion of the Ant and Tick Scholars 5A:9 The Scholars Who Composed Verse 5A:10 The Scholar Who Took Everything as a Philosophical Argument 5A:11 The Scholar Who Loved Poetry 5A:12 The Profound Reason for the Way of Poetry 5B:l The Gods Help People in Response to their Poetry 5B:2 The Admiration Which People Have Felt for Poetry 5B:3 Poems Composed in the Spirit of the Man'yoshu* 5B:4 About Saigyo* 5B:5 Poems in Dreams 5B:6 Losing One's Life Over Poetry 5B:7 Linked Verse 5B:8 Poems With a Deeper Significance 5B:9 Poems of Sorrow 5B:10 The Avatars Delight in Poetry 5B:11 The Hymn about Gyogi* Bosatsu 6:1 The Preacher Who Was Taken the Wrong Way by his Patron 6:2 The Nun who Praised a Preacher 6:3 The Preacher's Poor Choice of Words 6:4 A Humble Donation for a Preacher 6:5 The Long Sermon 6:6 Speaking to Donors According to Circumstances 6:7 The Lecturer's Happy Remark 6:8 The Preacher Who Praised a Breaking of Wind 6:9 Benefit from Abuse at an Expounding of the Precepts293 6:10 The Preacher Who Fell Among Thieves 6:11 The Robber Who Inquired About the Sacred Teaching 6:12 The Lowly Monk's Temple Dedication 6:13 Taking the Donation Without Giving the Sermon 6:14 The Sermon at Saga 6:15 Shogaku's* Remarks Toward a Donor 6:16 Nosetsubo's* Sermon 6:17 Preaching for a Livelihood 6:18 The Power of the Surplice 7:1 Two Whose Hearts Were Free of Envy 7:2 The Girl Who Became a Serpent Through Delusive Attachment 7:3 The Woman Who Tried to Marry Her Stepdaughter to a Serpent 7:4 The Snake Who Violated a Man's Wife 7:5 The Man Who Died Suddenly After Killing a Snake 7:6 A Jealous Woman's Possession by an Avenging Spirit 7:7 Retribution for Killing a Man 7:8 Wickedness Requited 7:9 The Rewards of Past Karma 7:10 Killing One's Parent of a Former Life 7:11 A Heartless Layman 7:12 The Falconer Who Was Devoured by Pheasants 7:13 The Recompense for Killing Young Chickens 7:14 Killing a Mandarin Duck308 7:15 Animals Also Have Understanding 7:16 The Man Who Burned the Sutras 7:17 The Nun Who Blackened the Buddha's Nose 7:18 The Stupid Monk Who Became an Ox 7:19 The Shingon Retribution 7:20 The Goblin Who Taught a Man Shingon 7:21 Attachment Dissolved by the Dharma 7:22 Poverty Expelled 7:23 The Man Who Sold His Ears 7:24 The Efficacy of Shingon 7:25 Priest Former-Life 8:1 Chukan* 8:2 Chiumbo* of the Kofukuji* 8:3 Iyobo* 8:4 The Man Who Did Not Know His Own Horse 8:5 Exchanging Horses 8:6 A Bad Buy in a Horse 8:7 The Man Who Did Not Understand About Riding a Horse 8:8 A Discrepancy Between Intentions and Words 8:9 Discrepancy Between Beginning and End 8:10 The Apprentice-Monk's Wit 8:11 The Page Who Ate the Rice-Jelly323 8:12 The Princess 8:13 The Nun's Name325 8:14 The Servant Who Acted Foolishly 8:15 A Ridiculous Commoner 8:16 A Clever Fellow326 8:17 Spirited Behavior 8:18 The Foolish Boy 8:19 The Monk Who Took a Boat 8:20 The Boatman Who Rode a Horse 8:21 The Monk Who Concealed His Age 8:22 The Monk Who Did Not Know the Way of Death 8:23 The Man Who Had His Teeth Pulled 9:1 An Honest Woman 9:2 Upright Layman 9:3 A Couple Which Was Rewarded for Being Upright 9:4 A Man of Good Will 9:5 The Deceased Father Who Directed His Son to Return a Borrowed Item 9:6 The Young Sons Who Slew Their Father's Enemy 9:7 A Man Loyal and Filial Toward His Mother 9:8 The Child Who Supported His Blind Mother 9:9 The Boy Who Sold Himself to Support His Mother 9:10 A Daughter's Prayer Reveals the Place of Her Mother's Rebirth 9:11 The Man Who Prospered Through Loyalty to His Superior 9:12 The Man Who Prospered Through Treating a Friend Justly 9:13 Respect for the Teacher 10A:l The Hermit Jodobo* 10A:2 The Yoshino Temple-bailiffs Who Became Recluses 10A:3 Soshumbo* Becomes a Recluse 10A:4 The Householders Who Became Recluses 10A:5 The Priest of the Kanshoji* 10A:6 The Robber-Monk with Religious Aspirations 10A:7 Religious Awakening from an Evil Influence355 10A:8 Shogatsubo's* Abandoning the World 10A:9 The Amida Welcome Service358 10A:10 The Man Who Fell into an Evil Path through Attachment 10B:1 The Spirit Versed in Buddhism Which Possessed a Woman 10B:2 The Man Who Understood the Underlying Purpose of the Various Sects 10B:3 People Who Died Auspiciously Felicitous Final Moments Among Followers of the Kenninji The Venerable Hosshimbo* Epilogue PART III. CASUAL DIGRESSIONS (ZOTANSHU*) Selected Translations Collection of Casual Digressions (Zotanshu*) 2:3 The Monkeys' Religious Service374 2:4 Pickled Eggplants 5:1 Wealth from a Stalk of Straw375 9:10 The Confidence Game Appendix A. Two Tokugawa Biographers: Kenryo* and Tainin A. Kenryo's* Biographical Sketch 378 B. Tainin's Religious Traces 380 Appendix B. Muju's* Doctrinal Affiliations Appendix C. Muju* and the Esotericism of the Samboin* School Appendix D. Yamada Family Genealogy NOTES GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS GLOSSARY OF SELECTED CHARACTERS SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Texts of Muju's* Works 1. Collection of Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu*, 1279-83) Unabbreviated Versions (kohon*) Abbreviated Versions (ryakuhon) 2. Collection of Sacred Assets (Shozaishu*, 1299) 3. Mirror for Women (Tsuma kagami, 1300) 4. Collection of Casual Digressions (Zotanshu*, 1305) 5. Deed of Transfer (Yuzurijo*, 1305); Record of a Dream (Muso* no koto, 1305?) GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z Sand and Pebbles presents the first complete English rendering of Shasekish --the classic, popular Buddhist "Tale Literature" ( setsuwa ). This collection of instructive, yet often humorous, anecdotes appeared in the late thirteenth century, within decades of the first stirrings of the revolutionary movements of Kamakura Buddhism. Shasekish 's author, Muj Ichien (1226-1312), lived in a rural temple apart from the centers of political and literary activity, and his stories reflect the customs, attitudes and lifestyles of the commoners. In Sand and Pebbles , complete translations of Book One and other significant narrative parts are supplemented by summaries of the remaining (especially didactic) material and by excerpts from Muj's later work. Introduced by a historical sketch of the period, this work also contains a biography of Muj. Illustrations, charts, a chronology, glossary of terms, notes, an extensive bibliography and an index guide the reader into a seldom seen corner of old Japan. Muj and his writings will interest students of literature as well as scholars of Japanese religion, especially Buddhism. Anthropologists and sociologists will discover details of Kamakura life and thought unrecorded in the official chronicles of the age. Sand and Pebbles presents the first complete English rendering of Shasekishū--the classic, popular Buddhist'Tale Literature'(setsuwa). This collection of instructive, yet often humorous, anecdotes appeared in the late thirteenth century, within decades of the first stirrings of the revolutionary movements of Kamakura Buddhism. Shasekishū's author, Mujū Ichien (1226-1312), lived in a rural temple apart from the centers of political and literary activity, and his stories reflect the customs, attitudes and lifestyles of the commoners.In Sand and Pebbles, complete translations of Book One and other significant narrative parts are supplemented by summaries of the remaining (especially didactic) material and by excerpts from Mujū's later work. Introduced by a historical sketch of the period, this work also contains a biography of Mujū. Illustrations, charts, a chronology, glossary of terms, notes, an extensive bibliography and an index guide the reader into a seldom seen corner of old Japan.Mujū and his writings will interest students of literature as well as scholars of Japanese religion, especially Buddhism. Anthropologists and sociologists will discover details of Kamakura life and thought unrecorded in the official chronicles of the age. [translated And Edited By] Robert E. Morrell. Translation Of: Shasekishū. Cover Title: Sand & Pebbles. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 343-359.