The Nihon ryoiki, a collection of setsuwa, or "anecdotal" tales, compiled by a monk in late-eighth- or early-ninth-century Japan, records the spread of Buddhist ideas in Japan and the ways in which Buddhism's principles were adapted to the conditions of Japanese society. Beginning in the time before Buddhism was introduced to Japan, the text captures the effects of the nation's initial contact with Buddhism—brought by emissaries from the king of the Korean state of Paekche—and the subsequent adoption and dissemination of these new teachings in Japanese towns and cities.
The Nihon ryoiki provides a crucial window into the ways in which Japanese Buddhists began to make sense of the teachings and texts of their religion, incorporate religious observances and materials from Korea and China, and articulate a popularized form of Buddhist practice and belief that could extend beyond monastic centers. The setsuwa genre would become one of the major textual projects of classical and medieval Buddhism, with nearly two dozen collections appearing over the next five centuries. The Nihon ryoiki serves as a vital reference for these later works, with the tales it contains finding their way into folkloric traditions and becoming a major source for Japanese authors well into the modern period.
- Table of Contents
- Introdution by Haruo Shirane
- VOLUME I
- Preface
- On Catching the Thunder (1:1)
- On Taking a Fox as a Wife and Producing a Child (1:2)
- On a Boy of Great Strength Who Was Born of the Thunder's Rejoicing (1:3)
- On Impreial Prince Shotoku's Showing Unusual Signs (1:4)
- On Having Faith in the Three Treasures and Gaining an Immediate Reward (1:5)
- On Gaining an Immediate Reward for Faith in Bodhisattva Kannon (1:6)
- On Paying For and Freeing Turtles and Being Rewarded Immediately and Saved by Them (1:7)
- On a Deaf Man Whose Hearing Was Restored Immediately, Owing to His Faith in a Mahayana Sutra (1:8)
- On a Baby Carried Away by an Eagle and Reunited with Her Father in Another Province (1:9)
- On a Man's Stealing from His Son, Being Reborn as an Ox, and Showing an Unusual Sign (1:10)
- On a Lifetime of Catching Fish in a Net and the Immediate Penalty Gained (1:11)
- On a Skull That Was Saved from Being Stepped On by Men and Beasts, Showing an Extraordinary Sign and Repaying the Benefactor Immediately (1:12)
- On a Woman Who Loved Pure Ways, Ate Sacred Herbs, and Flew to Heaven Alive (1:13)
- On a Monk Who Recited the Shin-gyo and, Receiving an Immediate Reward, Showed an Extraordinary Sign (1:14)
- On a WIcked Man Who Persecuted a Begging Monk and Gained an Immediate Penalty (1:15)
- On Mercilessly Skinning a Live Rabbit and Receiving an Immediate Penalty (1:16)
- On Suffering Damage in War, Showing Faith in an Image of Bodhisattva Kannon, and Gaining and Immediate Reward (1:17)
- On Remembering and Reciting the Lotus Sutra and Gaining an Immediate and Wonderful Reward (1:18)
- On Ridiculing a Reciter of the Lotus Sutra and Getting a Twisted Mout as am Immediate Penalty (1:19)
- On a Monk Who Gave Away the Wood Used to Heat the Bath. Was Reborn as an Ox, and Labored Untl an Extraordinary Sign Appeared (1:20)
- On Mercilessly Driving Horses with a Heavy Load and Getting an Immediate Penalty (1:21)
- On Working Diligently to Study the Buddhist Law, Spreading the Teachings for the Benefit of All, and, at the Time of Death. Receiving an Extraordinary Sign (1:22)
- On a Bad Man Who Neglected to Pay Filial Duty to His Mother and Got the Immediate Penalty of an Evil Death (1:23)
- On an Evil Daughter Who Lacked Filial Respect for Her Mother and Got the Immediate Penalty of a Viloent Death (1:24)
- On a Loyal Minister, Satisfied and with Few Wants, Who Won Heaven's Sympathy and Was Rewarded by a Miraculous Event (1:25)
- On a Monk Who Observed the Precepts, Was Pure in His Activities, and Won an Immediate Miraculous Reward (1:26)
- On an Evil Novice, Name Unknown, who Tore Down the Pillar of a Pagoda and Gained a Penalty (1:27)
- On Learning the Chant of the Peacock King and Thereby Gaining Extraordinary Power to Become a Saint and Fly to Heaven in This Life (1:28)
- On Being an Unbeliever, Breaking the Bowl of a Begging Monk, and Incurring the Immediate Penalty of a Violent Death (1:29)
- On Taking Goods from Others Unjustly and Causing Evil, Gaining a Penalty, and Showing a Miraculous Event (1:30)
- On Earnestly Believing in Kannon, Praying for His Shaere of Good Fortune, and Immediately Receiving Great Good Fortune (1:31)
- On Having Faith in the Three Treasures, Revering Monks, Having Sutras Recited, and Gaining an Immediate Reward (1:32)
- On a Wife Who Had a Buddhist Picture Painted for Her Deceased Husband That, as an Immediate Reward, Miraculously Survived the Flames (1:33)
- On Getting Back Silk Robes That Had Been Stolen Through a Petition to Bodhisattva Myoken (1:34)
- On a Nun Who, in Gratitude for the Four Kinds of Blessings, Gained the Power to Show an Extraordinary Sign (1:35)
- VOLUME II
- Preface
- On Depending on One's Exalted Virtue, Committing the Offense of Hitting a Humble Novice, and Receiving the Immediate Penalty of a Violent Death (2:1)
- On Observing Licentious Birds, Renouncing the World, and Practicing Good (2:2)
- On the Evil Death Visited Immediately on an Evil and Perverse Son Who, Out of Love for His Wife, Plotted to Kill His Mother (2:3)
- On a Contest Between Two Women of Extraordinary Strength (2:4)
- On Worshipping Chinese Gods, Killing Oxen as a Sacrifice, but Also Doing Good by Setting Free Living Creatures, He Received Both Good and Evil Rewards (2:5)
- On Copying the Lotus Sutra with Utmost Devotion and Witnessing an Extraordinary Event (2:6)
- On a Wise Man Who, Out of Envy , Abused an Incarnated Sage and, as an Immediate Penalty, Visited the Palace of King Yama and Underwent Suffering in Hell (2:7)
- On Saving the Lives of a Crab and a Frog, Setting Them Free, and Receiving an Immediate Reward (2:8)
- On Building a Temple and Then Using Its Goods for Private Purposes, He Was Reborn as a Laboring Ox (2:9)
- On Constantly Stealing Birds' Eggs, and Boiling and Eating Them, He Suffered an Immediate and Evil Penalty (2:10)
- On Cursing a Monk and Committing a Lustful Act, He Suffered an Evil Result and Died (2:11)
- On Saving the Lives of Some Crabs and a Frog and Freeing Them, She Gained an Immediate Reward from the Crabs (2:12)
- On Manifesting Love for the Image of Goddess Kichijo, Which Responded with an Extraordinary Sign (2:13)
- On a Destitute Woman Who Prayed to the Image of Goddess Kichijo and the Immediate Reward it Gained Her (2:14)
- On Copying the Lotus Sutra and Making an Offering of It, He Made Clear Why His Mother Had Been Reborn as a Cow (2:15)
- On Freeing Creatures, but Giving No Alms, and the Good and Bad Results that Immediately Appeared (2:16)
- On Bronze Images of Kannon That Showed, by Their Transformation into the Form of a Heron, an Extraordinary Sign (2:17)
- On Speaking Ill of a Monk Reciting the Lotus Sutra and Gaining the Immediate Penalty of an Evil Death (2:18)
- On a Woman Devotee of the Shin-gyo Visiting the Palace of King Yama and the Following Extraordinary Event (2:19)
- On a Mother Who, Having Had a Bad Dream, Had Scriptures Recited with True Faith and Saved Her Daughter by an Extraordinary Sign (2:20)
- On the Clay Image of a God-King from Whose Legs Emanated a Light, and Whose Supplicant Received an Immediate Reward (2:21)
- On a Bronze Image of the Buddha That Was Stolen by a Thief and Revealed His IDentity by a Marvelous Sign (2:22)
- On a Bronze Image of Bodhisattva Miroku That Was Stolen and Revealed the Thief Through a Miraculous Sign (2:23)
- On the Devils, Messengers of King Yama, Who Accepted the Hospitality of the One for Whom They Had Been Sent and Repaid It (2:24)
- On the Devil, Messenger of King Yama, Who Accepted the Hospitality Offered Him and Repaid the Kindness (2:25)
- On a Log, Intended for Buddha Images, That Was Abandoned but Showed an Extraordinary Sign (2:26)
- On a Woman of Great Strength (2:27)
- On a Very Poor Woman Who Trusted to the Beneficence of the Sixteen-Foot Buddha and Won an Extraordinary Sign and Great Good Fortune (2:28)
- On How the Most Venerable Gyogi Used His Divine Insight to Examine a Woman's Hair and Scold Her for Applying Animal Oil (2:29)
- On the Most Venerable Gyogi Examining the Child of a Woman, Perceiving That It Was an Enemy from Past Ages, and Recommending That She Throw it Away, Resulting in an Extraordinary Sign (2:30)
- On the Birth of a Girl with Shari in Her Hand, Owing to Her Parents' Vow to Build a Pagoda (2:31)
- On Borrowing Money from the Temple Rice-Wine Fund, Failing to Repay It, and Being Reborn as an Ox as a Result (2:32)
- On a Woman Devoured by an Evil Demon (2:33)
- On an Orphan Girl Who Paid Respects to a Bronze Statue of Kannon and Received Recompense in a Miraculous Manner (2:34)
- On Hitting a Monk and Incurring the Immediate Penalty of Death (2:35)
- On the Wooden Image of Kannon That Revealed Godlike Power (2:36)
- On a WOoden Image of Kannon That Survived Fire and Revealed Godlike Power (2:37)
- On Rebirth as a Huge Snake Because of Avarice (2:38)
- On the Wooden Image of Yakushi Buddha, Washed Away in Water and Buried in Sand, That Showed an Extraordinary Sign (2:39)
- On an Evil-Loving Man Who Got an Immediate Penalty, Being Killed by Sharp Swords and Suffering an Evil Death (2:40)
- On a Woman Who Was Violated by a Large Snake but Survived, Due to the Power of Drugs (2:41)
- On an Extremely Poor Woman Who Implored the Thousand-Armed Kannon, Asking for Aid, and Received Great Good Fortune (2:42)
- VOLUME III
- Preface
- On the Tongues of the Reciters of the Lotus Sutra That Did Not Decay, Although Exposed to the Elements (3:1)
- On Killing Living Creatures and Suffering Revenge, Being Reborn as a Fox and a Dog, Hating Each Other, and Incurring a Penalty (3:2)
- On a Monk Who, Devoting Himself to an Eleven-Headed Kannon Image, Received an Immediate Reward (3:3)
- On a Monk Who Was Thrown into the Sea, but Was Saved from Drowning by Reciting a Mahayana Sutra (3:4)
- On How Bodhisattva Myoken Assumed a Strange Form in Order to Detect a Thief (3:5)
- On the Fish That a Meditation Master Wanted to Eat, Which Turned Into the Lotus Sutra to Defend Him from Popular Abuse (3:6)
- On Receiving the Help of a Wooden Kannon and Narrowly Escaping the Kings' Punishment (3:7)
- On the Miraculous Appearance of Bodhisattva Miroku in Response to a Vow (3:8)
- On King Yama Sending Out a Strange Order and Encouraging a Man to Do Good (3:9)
- On the Lotus Sutra, Copied in Accordance with the Law, That Survived a Fire (3:10)
- On a Woman, Blind in Both Eyes, Whose Sight Was Restored Through Her Devotion to the Wooden Image of a Yakushi Buddha (3:11)
- On a Man, Blind in Both Eyes, Who Paid Reverence to the Name of Nichimani-No-Mite of the Thousand-Armed Kannon and Was Rewarded by Having His Eyesight Restored (3:12)
- On a Man Who Vowed to Copy the Lotus Sutra and Was Saved from a Pit Devoid of Sunlight by the Power of His Vow (3:13)
- On Striking the Reciter of the Dharani of the Thousand-Armed Kannon and Receiving the Immediate Penalty of a Vilent Death (3:14)
- On Hitting a Novice Who Was Begging for Food and Receiving the Immediate Penalty of a Violent Death (3:15)
- On a Licentious Woman Whose Children Cried for Milk and Who Received an Immediate Penalty (3:16)
- On Clay Images, Half Finished, Whose Groans Produced an Extraordinary Sign (3:17)
- On a Sutra Master Who Copied the Lotus Sutra but, Because of Licentiousness, Incurred the Immediate Penalty of a Violent Death (3:18)
- On a Girl Born of a Flesh Ball Who Practiced Good and Converted People (3:19)
- On Speaking Ill of a Woman Copying the Lotus Sutra and Immediately Getting a Twisted Mouth (3:20)
- On a Blind Monk Who Had the Diamond Sutra Recited and Was Cured (3:21)
- On Using Heavy Scales to Cheat Others, But Copying the Lotus Sutra, and the Immediate Good and Bad Rewards He Got (3:22)
- On Using Temple Property, but Vowing to Copy the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, and the Immediate Good and Bad Rewards He Got (3:23)
- On Preventing People from Practicing the Way and Being Reborn as a Monkey in Penalty (3:24)
- On Being Put Adrift on the Ocean, Reverently Reciting Sakyamuni Buddha's Name, and Preserving Their Lives (3:25)
- On Collecting Debts by Force and with High Interest, and Receiving the Immediate Penalty of a Violent Death (3:26)
- On a Man Who Removed a Bamboo Shoot from the Eye of a Skull and Prayed for It, Reviving an Extraordinary Sign (3:27)
- On a Sixteen-Foot Image of Miroku Whose Neck Was Bitten by Ants and the Extraordinary Sign It Showed (3:28)
- On a Village Boy Who in Play Made a Wooden Buddha and a Foolish Man Who Broke It, Incurring the Immediate Penalty of a Violent Death (3:29)
- On a Monk Who Accumulated Merit by Making Buddhist Images and When His Life Ended, Showed an Extraordinary Sign (3:30)
- On a Woman Who Gave Birth to Stones and Honred Them as Gods (3:31)
- On Taking a Net, Going to Sea to Fish, and Meeting Trouble, but Due to Devotion to Bodhisattva Myoken, He Was Saved (3:32)
- On Persecuting a Humble Begging Novice and Receiving the Immediate Penalty of a Violent Death (3:33)
- On Contracting a Foul Disease but Embracing the Precepts, Practicing Goodness, and Gaining an Immediate Cure (3:34)
- On Borrowing an Official's Authority, Ruling Unrighteously, and Thus Gaining an Immediate Penalty (3:35)
- On Decreasing the Number of Stories in a Pagoda and Taking Down the Temple Banners, and the Penalty Received (3:36)
- On Doing Evil Because of Igrnorance of the Law of Karmic Causation and Receiving a Penalty (3:37)
- On the Appearance of Good and Evil Omens, Which Were Followed by Results Indicating Disaster or Good Luck (3:38)
- On a Monk Who Excelled in Both Wisdom and Practice and Who Was Reborn as a Prince (3:39)
- Bibliography
- Translations from the Asian Classics
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