仏典に見られる「大地震動」

概要

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Earthquakes are one of the extraordinary natural phenomena that strike people with terror. Quite a few accounts of this phenomenon can be found in Buddhist scriptures, which help us understand how earthquakes, a great force of nature, were perceived in Buddhism. With precise analyses of earthquake behavior and accompanying phenomena, each of these scriptures interprets earthquakes as a desirable phenomenon for people living on earth, attributing the tremors to mysterious supernatural powers possessed by Buddha, bodhisattvas, other Buddhist deities or venerable monks. This interpretation of earthquakes as auspicious cannot be seen in other religions, and is unique to Buddhism. Given that the Zai-yi Theory in Confucianism, which developed in the same region as Buddhism, regards earthquakes as a disaster caused by deities expressing strong criticism of earthly rulers, the uniqueness of Buddhism's view of earthquakes is more clearly identified. By analyzing and interpreting earthquake-related documents found in Buddhist scriptures, this paper demonstrates that Buddhism acknowledges earthquakes not as a mere phenomenon of nature, but as a phenomenon of religious significance. In particular it shows that the causes and functions of earthquakes serve a religious purpose, and that Buddhist accounts of earthquakes represent the religion's unique perspective on this phenomenon, based on its view of world and mythology.
2010-06-30