The Spread of Buddhism to Japan with The Help of the Konjaku Monogatari Shu Literature played a crucial role in spreading Buddhism from India to Japan. An analogy of short stories promoting the Buddhist way during the late Heian period is known as the Konjaku Monogatari Shu, or Tales of Times Now Past. Of this analogy, “How the One-Horned Ascetic Carried a Woman on His Back from the Mountains to the Royal City”, “How Three Beasts Practiced the Bodhisattva Way and how the Rabbit Roasted Himself”, and “How a Nine-Colored Deer Came Out of a Mountain and Saved a Man from Drowning” are three stories that, aside from attracting people to Buddhism, inspired later writers of Japanese compositions. The elements of these stories that likely made them popular in Japan included their inclusion of mystical beings whose origins were likely inspired by nature, which was also beloved by practitioners of Shintoism during that time; as well as their moments where these beings aid others in need, particularly human beings. The …show more content…
The former tale is about a monkey, a rabbit, and a fox who were originally human, but due to accumulating “a heavy burden of guilt” (31), they were reincarnated into animals after their human deaths. These animals were able to speak to the god Indra, who had transformed into an old man after hearing the animals’ desire to practice the Bodhisattva way and reach enlightenment. On the other hand, a deer and a crow reside together in “How a Nine-Colored Deer Came Out of a Mountain and Saved a Man from Drowning”. There is also mention of “mountain gods, forest gods, heavenly beings, [and] dragon gods” (36) in this story, which parallels to the variety of gods that were depicted in Shinto
In 400 B.C., the Buddhist religion were written the stories that teach moral values for the humankind, and it's called Jataka tales. This is the most important Buddhist literature, and it has 500 Buddhist fables. Jataka tales are about Buddhist religion that tell tales of the Buddha’s past lives before he become the enlightened. In the beginning, the Jataka Buddhist tales were written in the Pali language, but later it was translated into many languages. The most important goal of Buddhism is to teach good lessons about Dharma and karma that could help people to escape the karmic cycle and reach nirvana. These tales have specific symbol and specific character that represent the Buddhist religion, therefore I am really intrigued by these tales,
In Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji, the court lifestyle of Heian Japan is emphasized throughout the novel. Thus, in making the novel more relatable to commoners of that time, Shikibu used Buddhist ideals, a prominent belief of the time, to represent the underlying messages of the story. From Genji’s Karma/Dhukka to his identity represented throughout the novel, it becomes clear that ties to humanly things such as jealously and materialistic beings will only bring one’s downfall through spirit possession and not the internal peace (nirvana) pursued by everyone at the time. Using this idea of evil spirits and their lively possessions, Shikibu emphasizes the importance of finding peace within one’s self.
In the history of Japanese literature, there were tremendous masterpieces created. Many of them are still well know in modern Japan. Among them, The Tales of Genji and The Tale of Heike are seen as the two remarkable books. The literature style in Medieval Japan provides the insight of Japanese culture transformation. I argue that the cultural traits of the two narratives provide evidence of the great impact of Buddhism on society in medieval Japan where people felt culture shift and upheaval.
...the myth-themes of Japan I realized how stories could erase boundaries and unlock cultural understandings. A person could never step foot on the island of Japan, but could get a glimpse of the truths of it’s people through reading. The origin of our universe and humanities place on it is inherent in mythology, and the text on a page or computer screen can serve as a new pair of eyes. Vision is not confined to the eyes because it can be expressed through various forms, and I have come to believe that writing uncovers and shapes the truths of the universe even if it does not make sense scientifically. The combination of Shinto and Buddhist faiths form the mythology of Japan in a spiritual manifestation. The tales of the Gods, deities, kami’s, and origins of the universe as we know it can be organized in the thresholds to show Japans unique version of history or myth.