日本で開発されたヤクシ-ケクヮ (藥師悔過) : 過ちを悔いずにワザハヒ(災)を終息させる呪術 (3)

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The ancient Japanese recited the text of the Yaoshi-jing 藥師經 in front of a statue of Yaoshi 藥師 the fo 佛 (Buddha) in order to stop disasters. This rite was called "yakusi-kekwa" 藥師悔過 (repentance before Yaoshi) in Japan. In spite of its name, however, it had not come down from Chinese Buddhism: Contrary to Chinese Yaoshi, Japanese Yakusi grants wishes without demanding repentance. And the rite yakusi-kekwa takes root in an indigenous tradition, as is handed down in a rite called "harahe" 祓 (dusting off), which is believed to trace back to the mythological age.The rite harahe dealt originally with a tumi 罪 (sin). When someone did a wrong, this rite was performed, where a fixed expression called "norito" 祝詞 (auspicious words) was uttered to a kami 神 (ultrahigh object[of worship]) and an indemnity was claimed, without enforcing repentance. As the name "harahe" meant "brushing [the dust off with the hand]," sins were as light to the Japanese like the dust adherent to clothes. The text of norito, recited at the rite dealing with a tumi, included a portion where names of wrongs were enumerated. In the latter part of the seventh century, the criminal law began to be established in Japan and took the place of harahe as a system to deal with wrongs. And the rite of harahe no more dealt with wrongs. It now dealt with sickness and damage instead. In accordance with this change, the text of formulary words of norito was revised and several names of sickness and damage were added. They took these additional items from the Yaoshi-jing to revise the norito text.revised norito text ← Yaoshi-jingsicknesssirahito 白人← 白癩 (white repra) kokumi 胡久← 背傴 (rickets) damagehahumusi 昆虫← 悪蠍-蚰蜒- …… etc. ([damage by harmful insects such as]scorpions and centipedes) takatu-tori 高鳥← 怪鳥 ([damage by]suspicious birds) In the Buddhist text of the Yaoshi-jing, reference is made to specific sickness and damage, which are considered to be obstacles in the way of preparing for the final salvation, Yaoshi's chief concern is to remove them from people so that they may concentrate on their preparation to attain Budhahood. Indifferent to Yaoshi's intention, however, the Japanese took the names of the obstacles from this Buddhist text, and transferred them to the norito text. Ignoring the purport of the Buddhist scripture, they found there words necessary to revise the most Japanese text. Contrary to the generally accepted view, Shintoist priests were not indifferent to the foreign literature which their "Buddhist" colleagues used. When Emperor Syaumu 聖武 become seriously ill in 656, the Japanese government held harahe and yakusi-kekwa successively in order to remedy his health. The most indigenous event and the so-called exotic one were arranged and practiced by Shintoist and "Buddhist" priests respectively for the same purpose. In this yakusi-kekwa, Yakusi was a kami, and "Buddhist" priests recited the Yaoshi-jing as an exotic norito. The Japanese devised other kekwa rites as well, such as kitizyauten-kekwa 吉祥天-悔過 (repentance before Sarasvati). In spite of its name, no one repented of doing a wrong at kitizyauten-kekwa in Japan. Being believed to be of foreign origin, this rite is based on Japanese tradition. Whereas the Hindu Sarasvati is the goddess of beauty and fortune, her Japanese counterpart Kitizyauten 吉祥天 is concerned in production of grain and vegetables. The Japanese performed this kekwa as a prayer for a rich harvest, the tradition of which ascends far back to prehistoric Japan. At the end of the eighth century, the Japanese were affrighted by the dead whose tama (spirits) were spiteful to avenge injustices committed to them in life. Their tama were so powerful as to bring about extensive disasters such as plagues and droughts, and could not be coped with by means of yakusi-kekwa alone. So they combined with it another effective rite, where priests recited the Great Bore-jing 大般若經, a huge Buddhist canon composed in China. With many Buddhist scriptures imported from China, the Japanese had chances to touch the Buddhist system through literature. However, they paid little attention to it. Instead they tried to extract a potential effect by reciting, which they believed to reside in Buddhist scriptures.
桃山学院大学の論文
2007-12-07

著者

小林信彦
桃山学院大学文学部(元)

日本で開発されたヤクシ-ケクヮ (藥師悔過) : 過ちを悔いずにワザハヒ(災)を終息させる呪術 (3)

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