著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko Kobayashi
雑誌
国際文化論集 = INTERCULTURAL STUDIES (ISSN:09170219)
巻号頁・発行日
no.29, pp.85-138, 2003-12-20

Akutagawa Ryunosuke(芥川龍之介 1892 1927) used a Japanese translation of The Spider-web, a Buddhist tale by Paul Carus (1852 1919), when he wrote Kumo-no-ito (蜘蛛の糸), his first work for children. Modern philological studies of Buddhism originated in Europe and excellent research results were produced there. Having taken advantage of them, Carus knew much about ancient Buddhist literature. According to the latest paper of Nagao Kayoko (長尾佳代子), his tale is faithful to the Buddhist tradition and coherent as a whole. On the other hand, Akutagawa, ignorant of Buddhist literature, missed Carus's points and failed to construct a coherent new story. In spite of its high reputation among critics, his Kumo-no-ito is a failure because of its inconsistency.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko KOBAYASHI
雑誌
桃山学院大学人間科学 = HUMAN SCIENCES REVIEW, St. Andrew's University (ISSN:09170227)
巻号頁・発行日
no.21, pp.25-48, 2001-07-10

As the personification of the ultimate truth, Mahavairocana (the Great Sun) cannot be perceived. He is symbolized by gestures, sounds and geometric figures. Buddhist tantrism is the system of attaining buddhahood by using these symbols. The Japanese, however, are not interested in becoming buddhas. They only try to remove troubles in this world, and wish to go to a paradise called "gokuraku" after death. It is for this purpose that they chant the komyo-shingon addressed to Dainichi-nyorai, the Japanese version of Mahavairocana.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko Kobayashi
出版者
桃山学院大学総合研究所
雑誌
桃山学院大学総合研究所紀要 = St. Andrew's University bulletin of the Research Institute (ISSN:1346048X)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.28, no.3, pp.247-267, 2003-03

As the legislation sytem was established in ancient Japan, the harahe (祓) ceased to function as punishment. It developped into the o-harahe (大祓) to remove deceases and calamities as well as sins. When the Japanese added new items to the list of tumi (罪) in the norito (祝詞), they borrowed words for deceases and calamities from the Yakusikyo (藥師經): Thus they introduced into the list sirahito (lepra alba), kokumi (tumor-induced rickets), and calamities of hahumusi (creeping reptiles and worms) and of takatu-tori (birds on high).
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko KOBAYASHI 桃山学院大学文学部
出版者
桃山学院大学総合研究所
雑誌
桃山学院大学総合研究所紀要 (ISSN:1346048X)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.27, no.1, pp.169-189, 2001-07

As it is difficult for people in trouble to make preparations for attaining buddhahood, a specialist buddha called Baisajyaguru appears. He removes obstacles such as desease or poverty in order to help people prepare for becoming buddhas. In China he is called Yao-shih and his activities are limited to medical help. He is the ultimate phisysian with supernatural power. Dreaming of eternal life, the Chinese expect him to langthen life. This idea of Yao-shih was brought to Japan in Nara Period and priests chanted the Yao-shih-ching when emperors were in critical condition. On the other hand, the Japanese who were not interested in becoming buddhas paid no attention to his primary function to help people become buddhas.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko KOBAYASHI 桃山学院大学文学部
出版者
桃山学院大学総合研究所
雑誌
桃山学院大学人間科学 (ISSN:09170227)
巻号頁・発行日
no.20, pp.55-79, 2000-12

In Japan there are many mountains on which images of Yakusi 藥師 are found. Bhaisajyaguru, the Indian counterpart of Yakusi, however, has nothing to do with mountains, which are favourate places of Japanese kamis 神. Yakusi has been worshipped by the Japanese as one of kamis, as is suggested by a verse in the Bussokusekika 佛足石歌.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko Kobayashi 桃山学院大学文学部(元)
雑誌
桃山学院大学人間科学 = HUMAN SCIENCES REVIEW, St. Andrew's University (ISSN:09170227)
巻号頁・発行日
no.33, pp.1-47, 2007-06-08

According to the Buddhist tradition, a buddha called Bhaisajyaguru has resolved that he would make everyone a buddha. But the world where people live is full of obstacles to their progress toward buddhahood. He devotes himself to remove such obstacles as sicknesses, famines, disasters, wars, and wicked governments. Thus he works hard to help people prepare for the ultimate goal. Among the manifold activities of Bhaisajyaguru, the Chinese are interested only in medicine. Called Yaoshi (藥師) in Chinese, this fo (佛) is worshipped as the almighty physician in China. Unlike Bhaisajyaguru, Yaoshi is capable of preventing the sick from dying and he is even able to revive the dead. It is just like the Chinese, who yearn for eternal life, to expect him to carry out the function of resuscitation. It is most characteristic of the Japanese Yakusi (藥師) to hold a medicine pot in the palm of his left hand. As the most reliable physician, he shares a basic function with his Chinese counterpart. Making a sharp contrast with Yaoshi, however, Yakusi does not demand repentance. The Japanese implore him for relief without repenting, and their wishes are granted at once. Since the mythological age, the Japanese have worshipped Ohonamuti (大己貴) and Sukunahikona (少彦名) , who are kami (神) competent in medicine. Like other kami, they do not care whether their devotees feel repentant, and they grant wishes if only implored. Naturalized in Japan, Yakusi is identified with them. Fostered in Japanese culture, he is a Japanese object of worship, quite independent of Yaoshi.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko Kobayashi 桃山学院大学文学部(元)
雑誌
桃山学院大学人間科学 = HUMAN SCIENCES REVIEW, St. Andrew's University (ISSN:09170227)
巻号頁・発行日
no.32, pp.1-51, 2006-11-30

In ancient Japan, the government ordered priests to perform kekwa 悔過 when a drought occurred or an emperor fell into a critical condition. Although the Chinese word hu-gu 悔過 meant repentance for an error," no participant in this Japanese rite repented. The Japanese conceived the idea of this rite on their own in accordance with their cultural tradition, borrowing only its name from Chinese. Chinese emperors of the sixth century took upon themselves wrongs done by their subjects and repented on behalf of them before the image of Yosh 藥師 the f 佛(buddha). By repenting so, they intended to nullify the wrongs so that disasters that might result would also be nullified: The emperors wished to prevent disasters from happening to their subjects. It took seven days at a minimum and one year at a maximum for the repenting emperors to satisfy Yosh and to be freed from the assumed sins. On the other hand,the Japanese performed their kekwa without repenting. They intended to mitigate disasters which had already happened, not to prevent those which were to happen in the future. And their wishes were granted at once. Chinese Yosh was naturalized in Japan to become Yakushi and joined the pantheon of Japanese kami 神, who had the habit of not demanding repentance from human beings and of being quick to respond to their wishes. The Japanese flattered the kami called Yakushi in order to stop present disasters immediately.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko Kobayashi 桃山学院大学文学部
出版者
桃山学院大学総合研究所
雑誌
国際文化論集 = INTERCULTURAL STUDIES (ISSN:09170219)
巻号頁・発行日
no.32, pp.41-65, 2005-06-15

The Chinese, who favored the idea of physical rebirth, were disappointedwhen they found references to transmigration in Indian texts. They simply didnot wish their bodies to perish, and were indifferent about the continuity oftheir minds.In an Indian text entitled Bhaisajyagurusutra, it is said that someone's mindreturns [to the world] after staying in Hell for a while. Hsuan-chuang (玄奘)translated it as meaning someone's mind returing to his dead body. He convertedthe passage into a story of rebirth, and his translation was eagerly accepted by Chinese readers.
著者
小林信彦著
出版者
新潮社
巻号頁・発行日
2003
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko Kobayashi
出版者
桃山学院大学総合研究所
雑誌
国際文化論集 (ISSN:09170219)
巻号頁・発行日
no.30, pp.3-50, 2004-07

In the story of Jataka 316, a hare jumps into fire to offer his own body as broiled meat. This is a story of extreme self-sacrifice. The hare does this extreme act in order to satisfy a condition for becoming a buddha. This story was transmitted to Japan and adapted as konjakumonogatari-shu(今昔物語集) 5.13. However, its keystone has changed. The Japanese hare is not interested in becoming a buddha. Instead, the hare aims to acquire makoto-no-kokoro (誠ノ心 sincere heart): one who is possessed of it is said to defer his own profit to the interest of others.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko KOBAYASHI
出版者
桃山学院大学総合研究所
雑誌
桃山学院大学人間科学 (ISSN:09170227)
巻号頁・発行日
no.17, pp.1-24, 1999-07

Sagara's daughter reaches the ultimate truth, as soon as she learns the Saddharmapndarika. This episode exemplifies the supernatural speed with which the ultimate truth is reached. Saicho interpreted this episode as a case of "a woman's becoming a butsu". However, a male organ having already appeared on the body, Sagara's daughter is no longer female at the time of becoming a buddha.
著者
小林 信彦 Nobuhiko KOBAYASHI
雑誌
国際文化論集 = INTERCULTURAL STUDIES (ISSN:09170219)
巻号頁・発行日
no.20, pp.3-19, 1999-09-30

In the Buddhist tradition, animals are differentiated from plants and minerals, which are considered to be devoid of mind. Being endowed with mind, only animals are involved with eternal transmigration. In the Japanese tradition, however, mind is immanent in all the physical solids, and therefore no sharp line of demarcation is drawn between the human world and nature.