Setsuwa Flashcards
Nihon Ryōiki
- Record of Miraculous Events in Japan
- one of Japan’s first major collections of setsuwa
- focuses greatly on karmic retribution
setsuwa
- literal meaning: spoken story
- anecdotes
- stories that were orally spoken and then written down
- short and sweet, plot-driven, element of surprise, educational
- usually exist in multiple variations, as they are told and then written down. this repeated process eventually leads to different versions
- presumes a narrator and a listener, but not an author
what does Nihon Ryōiki teach?
- both good and bad deeds have direct consequences in this life or the next
- disease is the punishment for sin. often karmic retribution is granted via disease
- morals taught in this work are necessary in changing times to save people from their sins
record of miraculous events in Japan: language
- earliest major collection of setsuwa
- written in Chinese-style prose
record of miraculous events in Japan: arrangement
- 116 stories in 3 volumes
- pre-nara has 4 stories
- tenpyō era is volume 2
- post-tenpyō era is volume 3
record of miraculous events in Japan: background motivations
- mappō “ the last days of the dharma”
- 500 years of True Dharma
- 1 000 years of Counterfeit Dharma
- 10 000 years of Degenerative Dharma
Mahāyāna Buddhism
- great vehicle
- found in east Asia
- emphasis on other-power, faith, devotion
- bodhisattvas with Slavic powers, multiple buddhas
Hīnayāna buddhism
- inferior vehicle
- also known as mainstream buddhism
- found in south asia
- emphasis on self-power, motivation, etc
- arhats, self-enlightened ones, Buddha
popular Mahāyāna sūtras
lotus, nirvana, heart
5 sins of immediate karmic retribution
1) killing mother
2) killing father
3) killing arhat
4) shedding the blood of a Buddha
5) schisms in the community
5 ways to avoid rebirth in one of the hells
copy sūtras, do not slander/abuse monks, do not kill animals, never touch the temple’s goods, do not die owing temples
what are the 5 lay precepts to maintain?
avoid taking life, theft, sexual misconduct, lies, alcohol
buddhist hells
- 8 hot hells, 8 cold hells
- each hell has 4 sides
- each side has 4 entrances
bodhisattva
- one who strives for an awakening
- this has a different meanings in the two types of buddhism
- mainstream buddhism: refers to the Buddha before he becomes the Buddha, i.e. his life during his spiritual/religious quest
- Mahāyāna buddhism: refers to salvic figures who have postponed their own awakenings to remain in this world and help all living beings
setsuwa-shū
collection of setsuwa
Konjaku monogatari-shu
- Tales of Times Now Past
- completed in ca. 1120 in late Heian
- made up of mixed Japanese and Chinese prose
- 31 books/scrolls with 3 of them missing
- tales divided into buddhism (2/3) and secular (1/3)
- around 1093 stories
- all stories begin with “Once long ago” (i.e. Ima wa mukashi)
how many sections are in Konjaku monogatari-shu and what are they?
3 sections: India (5), china (5), Japan (21)
what are some themes in Konjaku monogatari-shu?
- efficacy of reciting the Lotus Sūtra
- the belief in the power of Buddhism to protect human beings from disaster is stressed
- ongaeshi (repaying gratitude)
- hōjō (releasing sentiment + beings)
dragon kings/nāgā rājas
can control weather/climate
what are two ways in which the Buddha was depicted?
iconic and an-iconic
iconic
present in bodily form. (ex: buddha in the picture)
an-iconic
not physically present; homage. (Ex: image of people praying. we know they are praying to the buddha and that the buddha is there even though it is not visible)
3 key elements to understanding setsuwa
1) the act of narration
2) the act of writing, which records the spoken story or rewrites an earlier one
3) the act of editing, which brings together the stories in a certain order by topic
round-table
- form of setsuwa in the heian and medieval period
- people took turns telling stories with a listener who was an aristocrat and who could write
