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Passage 6 ・ 第六段
Passage 6 ・ 第六段
Classical Japanese Transcription
Classical Japanese Transcription
鬼あり。焰口と名づく。その貌、醜くして、痩せ枯れたり。口の中より、火燃えて、咽喉針の如し。 髪乱れて、爪長く、牙長くして、甚だ恐れつべし。この鬼、阿難尊者に遇ひて、苦患の耐ヘ難きことを悲しむ。阿難尊者、これを聞きて、憐れみの心を起こして、鬼の苦を救ふべき有様を、仏に問ひ奉りて、仏号を唱へて、様々の施を行じて、鬼の苦患を救ひけり。
English Translation
English Translation
There was a demon. It was named the 'firebreather'. Its appearance was hideous, wasted and withered. Fire burnt from within its mouth and its throat resembled a needle. Its hair was tangled, its claws and fangs were long, and it was certainly extremely feared. This demon met with Ananda and lamented the difficulty of bearing its pain. Hearing this, Ananda brought about his compassionate heart and humbly asked the Buddha about saving the demon from its suffering. He intoned the Buddha’s name, carried out various benevolent acts, and it appeared to have saved the demon from hellish pain.
The unsightly firebreather laments its pain to Ananda as flames come out of its mouth.
The final two passages recount a tale about Ananda, another one of the Buddha's ten principal disciples, and his encounter with a hungry ghost.
This passage introduces a hungry ghost known as the 'firebreather' (焰口 enkō, enku, lit. 'flame mouth'). The illustration matches its description in the text: a fearful, hideous creature with tangled hair and long claws and fangs.
The firebreather drawn with harsh, bold lines contrasts with the softly rendered Ananda, who was known for his handsome appearance.
Passage 7 ・ 第七段
Passage 7 ・ 第七段
Classical Japanese Transcription
Classical Japanese Transcription
仏、阿難に教へ給ひしに任せて、比丘ありて、鉢に諸々の食を盛りて、「南無多宝如来、妙色如来、広博如来、 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
English Translation
The Buddha entrusted Ananda with the teaching of the monks who were there, and they put a variety of food into bowls. They chanted four sacred names of the Buddhas, saying “I take refuge in Tahō Nyorai, Myōshiki Nyorai, Kōbaku Nyorai, and Rifui Nyorai.” They then chanted the Dharani Sutra to Save the Hungry Ghosts seven times and stretched their arms out to place the food onto the pure land. Through the power of the Dharma, the countless ghosts were all able to attain food and be satiated.
Monks perform segaki and feed countless hungry ghosts by placing food directly onto the ground.
The story continues as Ananda teaches the monks how to save the hungry ghosts from their suffering.
This tale is said to have originated segaki (施餓鬼, lit. 'giving to the hungry ghosts'), the ritual performed by the monks in this passage to satiate the hungry ghosts. It is traditionally performed during the Ullambana service.
A dharani (陀羅尼, darani) is a Buddhist chant or incantation. In this passage, the monks chant the Dharani Sutra to Save the Hungry Ghosts. They also chant four of the scared names of the Buddhas, such as the Tahō Nyorai, or the Buddha of Abundant Treasures.
These sacred names are preceded by the word 南無 namu, a transliteration of the Sanskirt word namas, which is used to express absolute faith and devotion. It is roughly equivalent to the phrase "I take refuge in".
There are three words or phrases used in the text as a metaphor to emphasise the large number of hungry ghosts in the tale:
百千万, hyakusenman: meaning one billion or a multitudinous amount.
那由他, nayuta: derived from a Sanskrit word referring to an extremely large number, often said to be ten million or one hundred billion; also used as a number with the value of 10^60 or 10^72.
恒河沙数, gougashasū: literally 'the number of sand particles in the Ganges river', an idiom meaning an innumerable amount.
This has been glossed as "countless" in the translation above.
Sources
Sources
Kyoto National Museum. (n.d.). Tales of Hungry Ghosts (Gaki Sōshi). Google Arts & Culture. Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/ZQVByl-_mamPJQ?hl=en. [Retrieved 8 June 2022].
McBride, Richard. (2004). Buswell, Robert (ed.). Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Macmillan Reference.
Chuang, Tzu; Smitheram, Robert. (2012). Faxiang: A Buddhist Practitioner’s Encyclopedia. Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. (n.d). Namu. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/namu. [Retrieved 8 June 2022].
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