Making a handwritten copy of Buddhist scriptures
At the ground of Buddhist temples you may find the poster advising worshipers to make transcription of Buddhist sutras, and some temples offer visitors to experience the session of SHAKYO写経, where they teach them how to do it as well as explain the essence of Buddhism. Transcription of Sutras was originally one of the Buddhist training methods of leaning the teaching of Buddhism as well as of spiritual cultivation such as ZAZEN座禅, seated meditation, and now have become widely popular among not only Japanese Buddhism believers but also ordinary Japanese regardless of age and sex. It is considered to be one of the Japanese cultural customs.
Origin – when and how Shakyo began
In the age of no tool or no technology of printing , as monks in the Buddhist groups called “sanga(Sanskrit)” needed to have notes of the sutras to do the ascetic training, to learn and to explore the teaching of Buddha, Shakyo transcription of sutras was fundamentally necessary for them. And also one of sutras, “法華経法師品第十;The Lotas Sutra Chapter 10”, describes that making handwritten copy of sutras and other ascetic training make people’s dream, so that believers had been traying to do hand-written copying sutras.
Penetrate into ordinary Japanese
Since Buddhism had arrived in Japan via China and Korea in mid of 6th century, Shakyo-transcription sutras became popular as Emperor SHOMU sought to disseminate it and established the national section for Shakyo in mid of 8th century. What is more, common people started believing that making a handwritten copy of Buddhist scriptures lead them understand the teaching of Buddha deeply, make them saved from hardships and bring them to the JODO浄土-the Purer Land.
Pilgrimage
As explained in the page of Shuin朱印, it was believed that devoting abundant Shakyo to temples by pilgrims could be the evidence of how much they tried ascetic trainings and doing pilgrimage take them to the JYODO浄土-The Pure Land as well as to bring happiness to them in the current world. Shakyo such as customs of Buddhist monks and pilgrims had spread to common people in the history and become right religious activity and one of the tools of spiritual exercise among ordinary Japanese.
Penetration into modern ordinary Japanese society
Sutras done as Shakyo by ordinary Japanese in modern society are the Heart Sutra(般若心経; Hannya-shin-kyo in Japanese) which describes the quintessence of Buddhism in short sentence with 260 words and the Lotas Sutras section 25 (so-called Kan-non-kyo観音経 in Japanese) which describes the stories that the Sacred Avalokiteśvara as we say Kan-non-sama観音様 save any people by the heart of mercy. The Japanese fundamental characters of behaviors. Teaching of these two sutras, I consider, have been taken in the Japanese fundamental characters of behaviors.
Purpose of making a hand-written copy of Sutras in modern Japan
In present-day Japan, other than those who believe in Buddhism and its sympathizer, people getting stressed and seeking the way to relieve themselves in highly networked and globally capitalistic society have started to do Shakyo as one of meditation or keeping themselves in good mental balance. For easily started, designated Shakyo-papers with Sutra printed in thin black are ready at Buddhist temples or even at stationary shops, and you can easily find the small brush for calligraphy writing with built-in ink at even convenience stores in Japan.
If you are interest in doing Shakyo in Japanese cultural atmosphere, you are recommended to experience at Buddhist temples preparing the course for foreign visitors. Please check the web sites by searching of the word “Shakyo experience.”
For how to do Shakyo in details, I will post in some day in the near future.
Welcome your recommendation of the theme for next!
I may overlook some ordinary action which impress you or let you feel different, so if you want to know about any Japanese behavior or actions which make you interesting, please let me know. I try to analize and post the story in this site.
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