The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of MéijiGriffis, William Elliot
Religion
The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji
Griffis, William Elliot
Japan -- Religion
Kōbō indeed was both the Philo and Euhemerus of Japan, plus a
large amount of priestly cunning and what his enemies insist was
dishonesty and forgery. Soon after his return from China, he went to the
temples of Isé,[18] the most holy place of Shintō.[19] Taking a
reverent attitude before the chief shrine, that of Toko Uké Bimé no Kami
or Abundant-Food-Lady-God, or the deified Earth as the producer of food
and the upholder of all things upon its surface, the suppliant waited
patiently while fasting and praying.
In this, Kōbō did but follow out the ordinary Shintō plan for
securing god-possession and obtaining revelation; that is, by starving
both the stomach and the brain.[20] After a week's waiting he obtained
the vision. The Food-possessing Goddess revealed to him the yoke (or
Yoga) by which he could harness the native and the imported gods to the
chariot of victorious Buddhism. She manifested herself to him and
delivered the revelation on which his system is founded, and which,
briefly stated, is as follows:
All the Shintō deities are avatars or incarnations of Buddha. They
were manifestations to the Japanese, before Gautama had become the
enlightened one, or the jewel in the lotus, and before the holy wheel of
the law or the sacred shastras and sutras had reached the island empire.
Further more, provision was made for the future gods and deified holy
ones, who were to proceed from the loins of the Mikado, or other
Japanese fathers, according to the saying of Buddha which is thus
recorded in a Japanese popular work:
"Life has a limited span, and naught may avail to extend it.
This is manifested by the impermanence of human beings, but yet,
whenever necessary, I will hereafter make my appearance from
time to time as a god (Kami), a sage (Confucian teacher), or a
Buddha (Hotoké)."[21]
In a word, the Shintō goddess talked as orthodox (Yoga) Buddhism as
the ancient characters of the Indian, Persian and pre-Islam-Arabic
stories in the Arabian Nights now talk the purest Mohammedanism.[22]
According to the words put into Gautama's mouth at the time of his
death, the Buddha was already to reappear in the particular form and in
all the forms, acceptable to Shintōists, Confucianists, or Buddhists
of whatever sect.
Descending from the shrine of vision and revelation, with a complete
scheme of reconciliation, with correlated catalogues of Shintō and
Buddhist gods, with liturgies, with lists of old popular festivals newly
named, with the apparatus of art to captivate the senses, Kōbō
forthwith baptized each native Shintō deity with a new
Chinese-Buddhistic name. For every Shintō festival he arranged a
corresponding Buddhist's saints' day or gala time. Then, training up a
band of disciples, he sent them forth proclaiming the new irenicon.
The Hindu Yoga Becomes Japanese Riyōbu.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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