第七段

Passage 7

Translation and Explanatory Notes

Original Classical Japanese Texts

仏、阿難に教へ給ひしに任せて、比丘ありて、鉢に諸々の食お（→を）盛りて、「南無多宝如来、妙色如来、広博如来、離怖畏如来」と、四つの仏の御名を唱へ、救抜餓鬼陀羅尼を七遍誦じて、肘を伸べて、浄き地の上に食物を移せば、仏法の力による故に、百千万那由他恒河沙数の鬼、悉く食を得て、飽満することを得。

English Translation

The Buddha taught Ananda what to do and then left it up to him. Several ordained Monks were in presence, and they filled the bowls with all kinds of food. They chanted the four sacred names of the Buddhas, saying “I take refuge in Tahō Nyorai, Myōshiki Nyorai, Kōbaku Nyorai, and Rifui Nyorai.” They then chanted the ‘Sutra of the Mantra to Save the Hungry Ghosts’ seven times, and extended their hands to pour the food onto the top of the pure land. Due to the power of the Dharma, an extremely great number of ghosts all obtained the food, and were able to become satiated.

Explanatory Notes

The Four 如來にょらい names in 餓鬼草紙

多宝如来

Many Treasures

妙色如来

Fine-body

広博如来

Knowledge

離怖畏如来

Gautama

Please see this high resolution image depicting the ordained monks giving food to the hungry ghosts. Notice that instead of giving them the bowls directly, the ordained monks poured the food on the ground, which is somewhat an interesting find.

Notable Grammar Structures and Vocabularies

比丘- Refers to ordained monks in Buddhism, usually males.

南無- Means "I take refuge in", usually appears in Buddhist chants and sutra.
救抜餓鬼陀羅尼- Also known as 救抜焔口餓鬼陀羅尼経, "the sutra of the Mantra to save the hungry ghosts".

肘を伸べる- Literally means "to stretch out one's elbow", but here the phrase is likely describing the motion of ordained monks giving food to the hungry ghosts.
仏法- Means Dharma, or Buddhist teachings.
百千万那由他恒河沙数- The whole phrase here simply means an extremely great number, as in countless.
悉く- ことごとく- Means "all", or "entirely".
飽満する- Rather than just reaching to this state of fullness, the 飽満 here is more related to satiation.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse