The Primary Introduction of the Rites for Good Fortune
into the Suvarnaprabhasa
Described in the Sri parivarta
Takayasu
SUZUKI
1. The Aim of This Paper: Examination of the Intention of the Compilers
of the Suvarnaprabhasa
One of the remarkable characteristics of the Suvarnapraprabhasa (Sutra OfGolden Light; Suv, 『金 光 明 経經』), a famous Mahayana sUtra which has played an important
part in Buddhism pievading among the vast areas of Asia, may lie in its introduc-tion and acceptance of seveial religious rites for good fortune, that is, doctrines and acts concerning mundane merits, which had been rather unusual fbr the Buddhist scriptures before. In spite of its wide influence over the way of thinking and living of Asians as well as its interesting characteristics, the Suv has been paid rather scant attention by the modern scholarly world. This strange situation might have arisen partly from the fact that the Suv teaches various kinds of doctrines and acts, not only on supermundane or spiritual levels but mundane or worldly ones. It has, noti infrequently, been underestimated as"a mere miscellaneous medley of doctrines and religious acts."It has also been dismissed with remarks such as"the features appearing in the Suv represent a token of the assimilation of Buddhism into Hinduism", or, with severe criticism as "a token of the depravity of Buddhism."
In such situation as this, the present author has proposed the following hypothesis on the intention of the compilers of the Suv through a series of studies since 19961'):
•i The Hypothesis) Owing to the account of the Suv which has collected and demonstrated various doctrines and acts of both mundane and supermundane levels from the stage of the formation of the SuvC1 to that of the SuvC3 consistently, the compilers and the proponents of the Suv became more able to practice their daily religious rites as "[Mahayana] Buddhist ritual" without any assistance by Vinaya literature or Hindu ritual. We can therefore inter-pret the features appearing in the Suv not as a token of "the assimilation of Buddhism into
The Primary Introduction of the Rites for Good Fortune into the Suvarnaprabhasa Described in the Sri-parivarta (T. SUZUKI) ( 43 )
Hinduism" or "the depravity of Buddhism," but as one of the attempts to bring about "the independence of Mahayana from traditional Buddhism" and "the independence of Bud-dhism from Hinduism." Moreover, if one of the intentions of the compilers of the Suv lies in these attempts by collecting as many doctrines and acts, mundane or supermundane, as possible expounded in the treatises either of Mahayana, of non-Mahayana or of non-Bud-dhism (i.e., of Hinduism), we might be able to suppose that the intention of the compilers has remained unchanged all through the stages of the formation of the Suv. Furthermore, it might turn out that the Suv is not "a mere miscellaneous medley of doctrines and religious acts" but a collection of them which is intrinsic to the value of the Suv.
This paper attempts continually to verify this hypothesis by examining the
Sri-parivarta (Chapter on the Goddess Sri; Chapter 16.172) of the Suv), which is one of the most noteworthy chapters for us since this chapter may have primarily introduced the Hindu rites for mundane merits into the Suv.
2. A
Brief
Survey
of
the
Sri parivarta
(Chapter
on
Sri;
Chapter
16 •E
17)
We will begin with a brief survey of the Sri parivarta by dividing it approximate-ly into six sections (from •˜ 1 to•˜6).
§1:The
great goddessSri
(吉 祥 大 天 女)makes
a vow in the presence
of the Lord
Sakyamuni to offer both mundane and supermundane merits to those who preach or hear the excellent Suv, a few 6xamples of which are to be blessed with the supply of human blessing or to experience inconceivable human pleasures(lnundane merits) and to be able to take up from the Suγvarious words and letters and to examine them or to awaken to supreme and perfect enlightenment in future time(supermull-dane・merits).•˜ 2: It is explained that by the merit-root planted by the goddess Sri in the pres-ence of the past Lord named
Ratnakusumagunasagaravaiduryakanakagirisuvarna-kancanaprabhasasri3) , beings in any direction will be blessed with the supply of ev-ery blessing, will have no deficiency and will be replete with every implement.
Through the acts of homage (puja) to that past Lord and to the goddess Sri, with
perfumes, flowers, incense, utterance of her name thrice and utterance of the name
( 44) The Primary Introduction of the Rites for Good Fortune into the Suvarnaprabadsa Described in the Sri-parivarta (T. SUZUKI)
of the Suv, the earth's savor will grow, deities of the earth and so on will rejoice , there will grow a great heap of corn, and great good fortune will be created by the
goddess Sri (mundane merits). Three Chinese versions (the SuvC1, the SuvC2 and the SuvC3) interpret this•˜2 as the goddess Sri's continuing words from •˜1, while the Suvs and the SuvT as a descriptive narration.
§3:This section only exists in the larger Tibetan version SuvT2 and the third
Chinese version
SuC3. The Lord offers
congratulations
to the goddess Srl and
prophesies that she will obtain innumerable merits by propagating the Suv Both in the SuvT2 and the Suvc3, Chapter 16 entitled lHa mo dPal gyi le 'u(大 吉祥 天 女 品) ends with the end of this section.
§4:At the beginning of this section, with which both in the SuvT2 and the Suvc3 Chapter 17 entitledlHa moa mo chen mo dpal gyls nor yons su sρel ba'1 le'u(大 吉 祥 天 女 増 長 財 物 品)also begins, the dwelling of the goddess Sri is described. While the Suvs and the SuvT1 interpret this §4 as a descriptive narration, the first Chinese version Suvcl which is the oldest version of the Suv ever known and was rendered by Dharmak$ema(曇 無 識)in the 5th century(412-421), the Suvc2 combined by B50-gui (寳 貴)in 597, the SuvT2 and the Suvc3 interpret this section as the goddessSri's words. Only ill the Suγcl, the Suvc2, the SuvT2 arld the Suvc3 moreover, is the divine king Vaigravana(毘 沙 門 天) referred to4).Then those common acts of honor(puja t
o
that past Lord, to the goddess Sri and to the Suv with perfumes, flowers, illcense and utterance of their names thrice, are explained which are again for good fortune (i.e., for mundane merits). After that the magic spells(vidyamantra) are told in which all the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas are paid homage to including the four Buddhas in the four directiorls5).
§5:After another set of magic spells(vidya)is explained, the practice of a reli-gious act to invoke the goddess Sri is instructed. This rite which involves making a circle of cow-dung(gomayamandala) can be considered to be the irltroduction and acceptance of a Hindu ritual for good fortune. Though in the Suvc1, the Suvs, the SuvT, and the Suvc2 this rite is performed for mundane merits, only the Suvc3 which is the most enlarged version of the Suv rendered by Yi-jing(義 浄)in the year 703 CE, also relates this rite to supermundane merits. There still occurs the same ques-tion as i11§2 whether this sectiorl is a descriptive narration or not.
The Primary Introduction of the Rites for Good Fortune into the Suvarnaprabhasa Described in the Sri parivarta (T. SUZUKI) ( 45 )
•˜ 6: This section only exists in the SuvC3. The Lord offers, almost as same as in
§3, congratulations to the goddess Sri and prophesies that both she and all beings will obtain inconceivable merits by her, propagating the Suv.
The structure of Chapter 16.17 can be tabled as follows with some textual infor-mation within the sections (in smaller fonts):
Table 1. The structure of the Sri-parivarta (Chapter 16.17)
This survey above with Table 1 indicates that the content of the Sri parivarta
has
been enlarged through the complex process and we can thus not tell here simply the
number of the stages of formation6).
( 46 ) The Primary Introduction of the Rites for Good Fortune into the Suvarnaprabhasa Described in the Sri-parivarta (T. SUZUKI)
3. The Primary Introduction of the Hindu Rites for Good Fortune into the Suv in the Sri parivarta
Having taken a brief overview, let us now start to examine the Sri parivarta by citing the following four passages focusing our special attentions on verification of the hypothesis. It should be here noted that the passages equivalent to each quota-tion already existed in the Suvc1, the earliest and the shortest form of all the versions of the Suv:
Quot. 1 (from •˜1): [The goddess Sri spoke to the Lord:] "‡T, dear Lord, the great goddess Sri, will give zeal to that monk who preaches the Law (dharmabhanaka-bhiksu) ..., so that the preacher of the Law may be provided with every equipment, ... he may take up from this excellent Suv, king of sutras, various words and letters, he may examine them, so that, for the welfare of those beings who have planted merit-roots under thousands of Buddhas, this excellent Suv, king of sutras, may long go forth in Jambudvipa, may not quickly dis-appear, and beings may hear the excellent Suv, king of sutras, and may during numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of aeons experience inconceivable divine and human pleasures, ..., that beings may meet Tathagatas, and in future time may awaken to supreme and perfect enlightenment (anagate 'dhvani canuttaram samyaksambodhim abhisam budhyeran)." (Suvs 112.8-113.12; Emmerick [1996149-50.)
Quot. 2 (from §4): Whatever man should be desirous of increasing his heap of corn, he should thoroughly purify his house, bathe well, clothe himself in pure, white garments and wear well perfumed clothing. ... Flowers, incense and perfumes must be offered. He must walk around scattering various juices. (Suvs 116.3-12; Emmerick [1996] 51.)
Quot. 3 (from •˜5): When homage has been done to those [Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in •˜4], the following magic spells (vidya) are employed [for good fortune] ... So be it: pratipurnapare, samantadarsane, mahaviharagate, samantavedanagate, mahakaryaprati-prapane, sattva-arthasamantanuprapure, •@•@•@ ayanadharmata mahabhogine, mahamaitri-upasamhite, hitaisi, samgrihite, (te- )samarthanupalani. (SuvS 117.5-10; Emmerick [1996] 51.)
The
Primary
Introduction
of
the
Rites
for
Good
Fortune
into
the
Suvarnaprabhdsa
Described
in the
Sri-parivarta
(T. SUZUKI)
( 47 )
Quot. 4 (from §5): Having made his house pure or his monastery
or forest retreat, and
having made a circle of cow-dung
(gomayamandala),
he must offer perfumes, flowers and
incense. He must provide a pure seat. [At a place] bestrewn
with flowers he must wait [for
the goddess Sri's arrival]. ... He will be replete with all equipment,
gold, jewels, wealth or
grain, blessed with the supply of every blessing.
(Suvs 118.4-119.4;
Emmerick
[1996]
52.)
Though there appear mundane merits in Quot. 1, these merits are only concerned
with the monk who preaches the Suv and are not tosatisfy one's ordinary desires.
We can thus say that the nature of these merits described here are the same as those
in the Saddharmapundarika (SP) or at the beginning of the Sarasvati parivarta
which precedes this Sri parivarta (see Suzuki [2004113-14).
The way of performing the acts of honor (puja) cited in Quot. 2 had already
become common in Buddhism before the Suv, but the rite here seems different
from the previous one in its application to the satisfaction of one's ordinary desires.
The two sets of magic spells for mundane merits cited in Quot. 3 and appearing
in §4 are the only magic spells described in the Suvc17)
, while these kinds of magic
spells appear very frequently in the SuvC3,
the latest and the largest form of all the
versions of the Suv (See Mibu [19871351-366).
We can notice here that signs leading
to developments into the SuvC3
were already apparent in the SuvC1.
Though
employ-ing magic spells had already become common in Buddhism before the Suv such as
in the Dharani parivarta (in the SP), these magic spells here seem more advanced
than before for the same reason we see in the commentary on Quot. 2.
We can infer from Quot. 4 that the Suv introduced the Hindu rites with making a
circle of cow-dung primarily in order to accomplish performer's ordinary desires.
This is the only example of this kind of Hindu ritual described in the SuvC18 that is
to be assumed as one of the signs mentioned above. What calls our attention here is
that the description of the religious act in Quot. 4 is so simple that it cannot be
con-sidered an "instruction manual." Predicated on the previous series of studies on the
Suv, it allows us to suppose that the way of practicing this Hindu rite had already
become well-known to the compilers and the proponents of the Suv, and that the
compilers of the Suv introduced and adopted it as a [Mahayana] Buddhist rite in
order to assert to the proponents that they became able to practice this rite as a
( 48) The
Primary
Introduction
of
the
Rites
for
Good
Fortune
into
the
Suvarnaprabhdsa
Described
in the
Sri-parivarta
(T.
SUZUKI)
[Mahayana] Buddhist rite, not as a Hindu one.
4. The Suvarnaprabhasa:
An Attempt of Buddhists to Survive in the
Religious World of India
It follows from what has been said that the religious acts described in the
Sri-parivarta can be classified into two groups: one is of Buddhist ritual, the other is of
Hindu ritual. The rites belonging to the former group are the acts of honor and
employing magic spells (seen in Quot. 2 and 3) which had already become common in
Buddhism and which the Suv applied to obtain good fortune (i.e., to satisfy ordinary
desires). Thus this can be called "the application of Buddhist ritual for the
accom-plishment of good fortune." The rite belonging to the latter group, on the other
hand, is an act of honor for good fortune involving making a circle of cow-dung
(seen in Quot. 4) which might have been practiced as Hindu ritual before. Thus this
can be called "the introduction of Hindu ritual for good fortune." It turns out
there-fore that clues should be sought in "the accomplishment of good fortune (ordinary
desires)." Let us examine them by referring to Theravada Buddhism widely spread
in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
As is well known,
Theravada
Buddhisln, which has transmitted the scriptures ill
Pali and maintained
rigorous monastic life,
has also variously developed a system of
magic spells called.paritta which has been ernployed and practiced by both monks
and lay people in order to obtain good f()rtune and avoid misfortune. What lay
peo-ple expect most of Theravada
Buddhism
is said to be these kinds of mundalle merits
attained by employing and practicing parltta. Turning our eyes to the Sri-parlvarta ill the Suv, it can be noted that the performers of the rites are supPosed to include lay people llot only because the mundane 111erits obtained by perfbrlllillg these rites are to fulfill their ordinary desires but because the perfbrlners are expected to keep the eight moral percepts(八 齋 戒; Suvs 118.1). Before concluding the examination of the reason why the Suv applied or introduced and accepted these kinds of rites for
good fortulle, let us here recall again the following passage ill the Caturmaharaja-paTivarta(四 天 王觀 察 人 天 品 ・四 天 王 護 國 品): "Whatever mundane and supermun-dane (lauklkalokottara) treaties have gone fbrth in the whole of Jambudvipa, by
