FEELING GUILTY about killing birds and beasts, let alone humans, may not necessarily have required the influence of Buddhism, which was
introduced into Japan in the sixth century; but the renunciation of secular life as a result of feeling such guilt certainly
did. In the following episode from Konjaku Monogatari Shu (vol. 19, sec. 4), the conversion to Buddhism of the warrior Minamoto no Mitsunaka (913-997) is detailed with delightful
tongue-in-cheek. Mitsunaka, who achieved social status of a grand scale, is also known as Tada no Manj
because the sinified
pronunciation of his name is Manj and he lived in Tada, Settsu Province. Some official records list him as a poet as well,
and he indeed has a poem in the third imperial anthology, Sh
i Shu (no. 334). It is a reply to a poem of Kiyowara no Motosuke (908-990) upon the latter’s departure for Higo Province as governor.
The exchange went:
Ikabakari omouran tote omouran
oite wakaruru t
ki wakare o
How much do you think I will think of you,
as we old men go apart far from each other?
In reply:
Kimi wa yoshi ikusue tshi
tomaru mi no matsu hodo ikaga aran to suran
You are all right, having a distance to go;
I stay here to wait, for how long I don’t know
Among the people mentioned in the story, En’y-in is the sixty-fourth emperor, En’y (959-991). Emperor Mizuno’o is another
name of the fifty-sixth emperor, Seiwa (850-880), whose six sons started the six different Minamoto families, called in Sinified
form Genji. Of the six lines, the one that began with Prince Sadasumi flourished as a military clan, his son Tsunemoto (917-961)
becoming the commander in chief of the Defense Headquarters. Because of this geneology the Minamoto have been traditionally
called Seiwa Genji.
Monk Genken (977-1020), Mitsunaka’s third son, started out as a warrior monk of formidable reputation but became a devout Buddhist. He was also a poet and left a small collection of fifty-one poems.
During the reign of En’y-in, there was a man by the name of Minamoto no Mitsunaka, who was Chief of the Imperial Stables
of the Left. He was a son of the Governor of Chikuzen, Tsunemoto. Because he was a peerless warrior, the imperial court treated
him with courtesy and the people of nobility, ministers and those of higher ranks, sought him out for employment. His birth
was by no means base, either, as he was a close descendant of Emperor Mizuo. As a result of his service to the imperial court
for many years, as someone who served as governor of various provinces, Mitsunaka was peerless in influence and achievement.
In the end he became the Governor of Settsu. As he faced old age, he built a house in a place called Tada, in the county of
Teshima of that province, and confined himself in it.
He had many sons, all of them accomplished in the way of the warrior, except one who was a monk. His name was Genken, A monk on Mt. Hiei,1 Genken was a disciple of Bishop Jinzen,2 of Iimuro. He once visited his father in Tada and was greatly troubled by his father’s crime of killing living things. When he went back to Yokawa, Genken visited Monk Genshin3 to pay his respects and said to him:
“I am extremely saddened to see the way my own father behaves. He’s already over sixty years old and not many years are left for him. Still, he keeps forty to fifty hawks in the summer and endlessly kills living things. Keeping hawks in the summer is the best way of taking lives.
“He sets up fish traps in streams and catches a great many fish. He keeps many eagles and feeds them live animals. Every day he has his men drag fish nets through the sea and constantly sends many armed men to the hills to hunt for deer. All this is the killing he does while staying in his own place. When it comes to the things he has killed in remote places, you can’t begin to count their number.
“Furthermore, when he comes across anyone who goes against his wishes he has him killed like an insect. If the man’s crime is a little tolerable, he has his hands and feet cut off.
“If he continues to pile up so many sins, I keep worrying, How much will he have to suffer in the coming life? This makes me so very sad. I think of inducing him to think, I must become a monk, but I’m too afraid of him and can’t find a chance to propose that to him.
“Reverend, would you be kind enough to work to induce him to enter the priesthood? As I have indicated, he has a mind like a demon’s, but it seems to me he will take the words of a distinguished holy man like you seriously.”
“That’s an extremely admirable thing you have said,” Monk Genshin replied. “If we succeed in persuading someone like your father to enter the priesthood, that alone will be a virtuous accomplishment. In addition, because it will prevent him from killing many more living things, such an act will produce countless other virtuous accomplishments. I will certainly give it a try.
“But it will be difficult for me to work it out alone. This is something I should work out with people like Kaku’un and Ingen.4 You go on ahead to Tada and stay there. Later I will come along with these two men, pretending that we happen to have decided to visit you while traveling as part of our religious discipline. When you see us, make a lot of fuss and say to your father, ‘Distinguished holy men, so-and-so, have come to ask me religious questions during their pilgrimage.’
“Now, your father may have a mind like a demon’s, but he has certainly heard about us. If he shows any alarm and awe at what you say, tell him, ‘These holy men don’t easily come down the mountain even when summoned by the emperor. A visit like this during a pilgrimage is something that rarely happens.’ Then urge him, ‘So, please use this opportunity to do something virtuous and ask them to give some sermons. If you listen to their sermons, your sins may be reduced somewhat and your life prolonged.’ If we have the chance to give sermons, we will try to persuade him to enter the priesthood. Even in casual conversation we’ll do our best to make him realize what his situation is like.”
Rejoicing, Genken went away to return to Tada.
Monk Genshin met the two men in question and said, “I’m going to the Province of Settsu to work out such-and-such a scheme. Come with me.” The two men’s response was, “That’s a very good idea.” So the three of them together set out for Settsu.
It was a two-day trip to the province, and by the early afternoon of the following day they had arrived somewhere near Tada. They sent word through a messenger: “So-and-so are coming to see Master Genken. They say they see no reason not to take this opportunity to do so because they have just visited the Holy Mountain of Mino’o.”
When Genken heard the messenger, he told him to bring them along right away. Then he ran to his father and said, “Sir, holy men so-and-so have come to visit us from Yokawa!”
“What did you say, son?” said the governor. When he made certain of what he had heard, he said, “I, too, have heard that they are extremely distinguished men of the robe. I will make sure to meet them and pay my respects. This is very gladdening news. Treat them nicely! Put the place in order!”
He himself became instantly restless and ran about making a lot of commotion.
Genken was pleased in his heart. He invited the holy men in and installed them in splendidly, fascinatingly constructed quarters.
The governor sent word to the holy men through Genken: “Although I ought to hurry to visit you in your quarters, I fear it would be rude of me to do so when you must be tired from your travels. Accordingly, may I suggest that you have a good rest for the remainder of the day and perhaps take a bath in the evening. I wish to visit you tomorrow. May I expect to have your thoughts on this, sirs?”
“We are on our way back from Mt. Mino’o where we went to pay our respects, and we plan to return to our temple today. Because of your generous words, however, we would like to meet you before doing so.”
When Genken brought this reply, the governor said he was very pleased.
“These three men we have here today,” said Genken, “don’t come to the emperor even when His Majesty summons them. But they happened to come to us like this, so unexpectedly. May I suggest that you take this opportunity to present them with some Buddhist sutras?”
“What you say is quite wonderful,” the governor said. “I certainly will do that.”
At once he had a picture of the Amida Buddha painted and presented it to the holy men. He then had copying work begun of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower and sent word to the holy men: “I have decided to take this opportunity to do things like this. May I plead with you that you will stay at least until tomorrow to give some rest to your feet?”
“Having come thus far, we will gratefully follow your suggestion and shall leave tomorrow,” was the holy men’s reply.
The governor had water heated for their bathing that night. The bath water was prepared so exquisitely and was so clean that it would have been impossible to exhaust the things to be said in praise of it. The holy men spent the night, leisurely bathing.
By noon of the next day the Buddhist sutra was all ready. Also, the life-size statues of the Sakyamuni, which the governor had been unable so far to complete for dedication, busy as he was in his criminal doings, were now ready, all erected neatly. Early in the afternoon the governor had the sutra hung on the south side of the Shinden Building and had a messenger convey to the holy men that he was now ready for them.
All three holy men came over and held a memorial service with Ingen as chief officiator. Perhaps the time had come for the governor to take Buddhist vows: During Ingen’s sermon he wept aloud. He was not the only one. All the men of his mansion, warriors with demonic hearts though they were, also wept.
When the sermon was finished, the governor walked up to the holy men and, meeting them formally, said, “By some karma you happened to visit me so suddenly and preached on virtuous deeds. This may be an indication that the time has come for me. Years have passed and I am old. I have piled up countless numbers of sins. Now I’d like to become a monk. Would you be gracious enough to stay with me for two more days so that I may enter the way of the Buddha?”
“That is an extremely admirable thing to say, governor,” said Monk Genshin. “We’d certainly be glad to do what you have requested. However, tomorrow is a felicitous day. So it will be best for you to enter the priesthood tomorrow. After tomorrow, there won’t be another felicitous day for quite a while.”
Genshin said this probably because in his heart he thought, A man like this is prone to feel pious right after hearing a sermon and say something like that. But he’s sure to change his mind if we allow several days to slip by.
“In that case, would you hurry and make me a monk today?” the governor said.
“This is not a propitious day to enter the priesthood,” said the monk. “Wait just one more day and take Buddhist vows early tomorrow morning.”
The governor said, “I’ll be more than happy to do that.”
Then, rubbing his hands in happiness, he went back to his quarters, summoned his principal soldiers, and said, “I’m going to take Buddhist vows tomorrow. All these years I’ve done nothing remiss in the way of the warrior. But I will remain in the way of the warrior only through tonight. Keep that in mind, and give me good protection throughout the night.”
When they heard this the retainers went away, everyone in tears.
Later, equipped with bow and arrow and wearing armor, four to five hundred men surrounded the governor’s mansion three to four rows deep. They kept up bonfires burning throughout the night, while making several groups of men walk around the area. They provided protection without any laxity, not even allowing a fly to get in.
The governor felt more and more uncertain of himself as the night progressed. As soon as the day broke, he quickly took a bath and asked the holy men to hold the service to allow him to enter the priesthood. The three men gladly complied. In the meantime, the many hawks in the hawk cage were set free after their foot tethers were cut; they flew away like released crows. Men were sent to the fish traps placed in various places to destroy them. All the eagles in the eagle cage were released. Men were sent out to get all the large fish nets, which were then cut to shreds in front of the mansion. All the armor, bows and arrows, and army canes stored in the warehouses were taken out, stacked up, and burned.
About fifty close retainers who had served the governor over the years took Buddhist vows at the same time. Their wives and children wept among themselves endlessly.
Even though the act of taking Buddhist vows is significant under any circumstances, this particular one was an occasion for rejoicing. Because the holy men taught him even more ennobling teachings as readily understandable stories after he took the vows, the governor rubbed his hands even more vigorously with joy and wept.
We’ve succeeded in telling him some virtuous things, the holy men thought. But before we leave, we might as well make him a little more religious.
So they said, “May we stay here another day? We’d like to leave the day after tomorrow.”
Overjoyed by this, the new convert returned to his quarters. That day came to an end.
The following day the holy men told one another, “We’ve stirred up some religious sentiments in him. If we put him in a state of frenzy now, we might stir up some more.”
In case the governor were to be converted, the holy men had brought along a bodhisattva costume and about ten other accessories.
Now they hired some people who could play the flutes and sh5 and, in some hidden place, put one of them in the bodhisattva costume.
“When the new convert comes to us,” the holy men instructed them, “we’ll tell him religious things. At that time you will
start playing the flutes and the sh
behind the mound to the west of the pond, then come out playing some intriguing music.”
When they did as they were told, the new convert was mystified and asked, “What music is that?”
The holy men pretended not to know a thing about it, and said, “We wonder about that, too. Perhaps they have sent messengers to welcome you to Paradise. Let us pray.”
The holy men and about ten of their disciples offered prayers in a chorus of stirring voices. The new convert’s rubbing of his hands in joy seemed to know no end. Then someone slid open the papered door of the room where the new convert was. And behold, the golden bodhisattva, holding a golden lotus, was walking toward him. When he saw this, the new convert, weeping loudly, tumbled down the verandah to the ground and prayed. The holy men also offered prayers reverently. After a while the bodhisattva left with the accompanying musicians.
When he climbed back to the verandah, the new convert said, “You have shown me such extraordinarily virtuous things. I’m someone who has killed an immeasurable number of living things. I’d like to atone for these sins. By building a Buddhist hall I will stop committing any more crimes and save the lives of living things.”
At once he set out to build a hall. The holy men left Tada early next morning to go back to their mountain. Afterward, when the hall was completed, a memorial service was held. What is now known as Tada Temple is a cluster of halls that began to be built with this one.