The article analyzes the problem of perception of the text of Buddhist sutras in the Japanese literary tradition setsuwa bungaku. The object of the study was stories about the " Lotus Sutra of the Good Law "(or "Lotus Sutra"for short) in the sources: "Nihon ryoiki" ("Japanese legends of miracles", VIII-IX centuries), " Records of miracles performed by the Lotus Sutra in the great country of Japan "("Dainihonkoku hokke kenki", abbreviated "Hokke kenki", XI century) and "Stories collected in Uji" ("Uji shui monogatari", XIII century) Based on their research, it can be concluded that the" Lotus Sutra " in the stories of seiuwa Bungaku of the IX-XI centuries appears not only as a sacred text, but also as an object of religious worship, as sacred to worshippers as the relics and statues of the Buddha. In the narration of the Seiuva texts, each sign of the Lotus Sutra is endowed with such magical power that it can act as a separate deity. Therefore, the process of reading and transcribing the Lotus Sutra described in Setsuwa Bungaku should be understood as a mystical ritual, during which the adept and the deity come into direct contact visually (perception of the sutra characters), verbally (recitation of the sutra) and physically (transcription of the sutra).

Key words: setsuwa bungaku, "Lotus Sutra", "Nihon reiki", "Hokke kenki", "Uji shui monogatari".

The first mention of the Lotus Sutra in Japan is found in the Nihon Seki (Annals of Japan), when in the autumn of 606 Prince Shotoku, at the request of Empress Suiko, held a reading of the Lotus Sutra in the Wokamoto Palace [Nihon Seki, 1997, vol. II, p. 99]. The tradition of public reading and interpretation of Buddhist sutras came to Japan from China. The recitation of the sutras was a ritual act designed to mobilize the omnipotent powers of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for the benefit of those who recite the sutras.

Over time, in Japanese Buddhism, the sutras were determined, the veneration of which was attributed to the greatest effectiveness in attracting higher forces to their side. In the course of the gradual transformation of Buddhism into a state ideology, three main sutras were distinguished that contributed to the "protection and prosperity" of the state "The Golden Light Sutra" (skt. "Suvarna-prabhasa-sutra", Japanese "Konkomeke"), " The Sutra of the humane king "(Skt. The Karunika-raja Sutra (Ninnoke) and the Lotus Sutra of the Good Law (or the Lotus Sutra for short) (Skt. "Saddharma-pundarika-sutra", Japanese "Hokke ke"). They were called "sutras protecting the country" (gokoku keten), or "three sutras protecting the country" (gokoku sambuke ). It was believed that the veneration of these sutras, regular reading, interpretation, correspondence, and proper storage would contribute to the development of spiritual knowledge.-

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they promote the grace of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, grant health and long life to members of the imperial family and the highest nobility, and save the country from natural disasters, enemy invasions, riots, epidemics and famine. Numerous copies of the sutras were distributed to the provinces, and local monks were instructed to hold public readings and interpretations of these sutras every month. During the Nara period (VIII c.), a special department was established at the court of Empress Komo in 726 to rewrite the Shakejo Buddhist sutras, which lasted until 776 [Lowe, 2012, p. 209].

The popularity of the Lotus Sutra in Japan is evidenced by its influence on local religion, culture and art. The subjects and images of the "Lotus Sutra" are reflected in both religious and secular painting, sculpture, decorative arts. The Lotus Sutra also had a great influence on Japanese literature, especially on the setsuwa bungaku genre . It is believed that setsuwa was formed as a literary genre by the 9th century. According to Charlotte Eubanks, the creation of early collections of setsuwa with a Buddhist orientation was an attempt by Japanese Buddhism to create a literary genre that expresses complex abstract doctrines in a narrative form that is accessible to perception (Eubanks, 2009, p. 210).

A typical example of this genre is considered to be the Nihon Reiki ("Japanese legends of miracles"), compiled at the turn of the VIII—IX centuries by the Buddhist monk Kyokai. The stories in this collection constantly mention the miracles and benefits that await readers and copyists (Kakitematsura) of the Lotus Sutra and the retribution of those who blaspheme it and the people who worship it. The source of such views should be considered texts of the Mahayana Buddhist movement, first of all the "Lotus Sutra"itself. The chapter "Teaching the Dharma" explains in detail what honors and rites should be given to this sutra. Since, according to Mahayanist ideas, the "Lotus Flower Sutra of the Miraculous Dharma" embodies the essence of the Tathagata's teaching, copying and storing this text in proper conditions is one of the ways to honor the Buddha [The Lotus Flower Sutra of the Miraculous Dharma, 1998, pp. 222-224].

According to S. Eubanks, the written signs of the sutra contain the words of the Buddha leading to enlightenment, and thus the sutra itself can be equated with a precious stupa, and its contents - with the relics of the Buddha stored in this stupa. For this reason, any place where the Lotus Sutra is kept should be considered sacred. The body of a person reading a sutra turns out to be a repository of the words and sounds of the sutra, so in Japanese medieval Buddhism, religious practice simultaneously included the concepts of the body, voice, and written text as a synthesis of worship, religious experience, and a sense of divine presence [Eubanks, 2009, p.215].

One of the examples of such perception of sutras in medieval Japanese Buddhism can be considered stories related to hieroglyphs-signs of the text of the "Lotus Sutra". One of these stories says:

"In the old days, in the Kazuraki no kami district of Yamato Land, there lived an admirer of the Lotus Sutra. He was descended from the Tadzihi family. From birth, he had a strong mind, and by the time he was eight, he could recite the entire Lotus Sutra by heart, with the exception of one character. Even after he was twenty years old, he couldn't remember it. One day, he began to repent of his sins in front of the statue of Kannon, and he had a vision. A man said to him, " In the old days, in your last birth, you were the son of Kusakabe no Saru of the Wake District of the land of Iyo. Once you were reading the Lotus Sutra, and you burned a certain character with a lamp and couldn't read it. Now go there and see for yourself." Tajihi went to Iyo Province and found the Kusakabe no Saru family there." As the text goes on to say: "Saru then began to tell him about the past, saying,' Our deceased son was called so - and-so, this is his room, this is the sutra that he read, this is his jug.' Entering the room, Tajihi picked up the Lotus Sutra, opened it, and saw: the character that he couldn't remember was burned by the lamp. He repented of his oversight, entered the missing sign, and was now able to recite the entire sutra by heart" [Nihon reiki, 1995, pp. 56-57].

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Another story tells of the death of Saeki no Sukune Itachi, an advisor at the court of the Koken Empress who played a key role in suppressing the rebellion of Fujiwara Nakamaro in 764. According to the Nihon Reiki, after his death, the spirit of Itachi went to hell, where he suffered terrible torment for his sins. His only boon is the rewritten Lotus Sutra. By order of the king of hell, the number of sutra scrolls is compared to the sins of Itati, and the number of sins is much higher. The text goes on to say: "Then the sixty-nine thousand three hundred and eighty-four characters of the sutra were compared with the number of sins, and again the number of sins was greater, and the sinner could not be saved." At the end of the story, Itachi's family, having learned about his torment in hell, once again rewrites the "Lotus Sutra" and consecrates it in order to save Itachi's soul from suffering [Nihon reiki, 1995, pp. 217-218].

It is noteworthy that similar accounts of miracles related to the veneration of the "Lotus Sutra" are found in "Hokke kenki" and "Uji shui monogatari". Another example of setsuwa bungaku, " Records of Miracles Performed by the Lotus Sutra in the Great Land of Japan "(Dainihonkoku hokke kenki, abbreviated Hokke kenki), was compiled by the monk Tingen in the mid-11th century. This work is based on stories about prominent Buddhist monks in Japan and the miracles that happened to them. A distinctive feature of all these narratives is the constant mention of the miraculous power and grace of the "Lotus Sutra" (Yap.Hokke ke). Special emphasis in these traditions is placed on the recitation and visual perception of the sutra text as one of the ways of worship and a means of miraculous salvation.

The plot of the story about the monk Kakunen is similar to the legend about the admirer of the "Lotus Sutra" Tajihi from "Nihon seki". Kakunen, also described as an admirer of the Lotus Sutra, could not pronounce three lines when reciting the sutra:

"He will read from memory, reach that place and forget. No matter how much I studied it, I couldn't remember it. The saint was already crying and praying to the three Treasures, while the Bodhisattva Fugen was worshipped... An old monk appeared to him in a dream and said, " I know why you forgot three lines. In your last birth, you were a book bug, lived in the Lotus Sutra, and ate three lines. I lived in the sutra because I was born a man and you can read the Lotus Sutra. But I ate three lines and that's why I forgot them. Now repent of your sin with zeal, and fill your heart with faith. Then I'll help you and get your memory back." Kakunen woke up and remembered those three lines as they were and read them now without hesitation "[Hokke kenki, 2001, p. 279].

In another story, "About an Official from the Land of Higo," an official gets lost in the mountains at night and is attacked by a werewolf monster. He is miraculously saved by a boy who turns out to be the embodiment of the first hieroglyph of the Lotus Sutra:

"A long time ago, a saint built a stupa on the western peak, placed the Lotus Sutra in it, and said a spell: "I want the sutra to be in a wide field and help everyone who is in trouble out of trouble." Many years have passed, the stupa has fallen apart, the wind has scattered the sutra around the world. Only the first sign of it, meaning "wonderful", remained here and helps people out. Remember: in that place, evil spirits get together. I live here, I help people out, I save them from evil spirits. A total of seventy thousand of them will be " [Hokke kenki, 2001, pp. 296-297].

As noted in the stories from Nihon Reiki and Hokke Kenki, the visual perception of the Lotus Sutra has a special meaning for its worshippers, since the text of this sutra, written in hieroglyphs, has a sacred meaning. Each character of the Lotus Sutra has a magical power that can protect its followers from the machinations of enemies, witchcraft of demons and evil spirits. Therefore, in the surviving lists of the "Lotus Sutras" there are so-called decorative sutras written on lined paper, where each character is placed in a miniature stupa or lotus. There are sutras written in gold ink on indigo paper. S. Eubanks, who studied the "decorative sutras", believes that they are

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they became widespread in Japan from the XI century. In her opinion, the golden ink in this case symbolizes the radiant body of the Buddha and should serve as a reminder that the sutra also contains the body of the Buddha. The combination of gold and blue should have reminded one of gold and lapis lazuli, the precious materials used to decorate Buddhist relics (Eubanks, 2009, p. 219).

As mentioned above, the rewriting of the "Lotus Sutra" was of a sacred nature and, accordingly, was accompanied by special cleansing rites. Descriptions of such rites of ritual purification when copying Buddhist sutras are first found in Chinese Buddhist sources from Dunhuang in the seventh century. These texts describe in detail the purifying ceremonies that customers and scribes of sutras must undergo before starting correspondence [Lowe, 2012, p. 205-208]. Japanese sources of the eighth and ninth centuries recorded numerous reports of such rites, including ritual ablution, fasting, and celibacy during the rewriting of sutras. Thus, B. D. Lowy notes that scribes of Buddhist sutras from the above-mentioned department "Shakedze" were not allowed to come to the service if one of their household members was ill or dying. First, they had to go through a ritual cleansing ceremony at their home. They were supposed to start working in special "clean robes" (jee ), which scribes were supposed to wear when they returned from home to the department. In order to keep these clothes in constant cleanliness, there were laundresses at the department(yat'oime ), whose duties, according to Lowe, included performing cleansing rituals during washing [Lowe, 2012, p. 215-216].

In Nihon Reiki, there is the following story related to the need for ritual purification when rewriting the Lotus Sutra:

"Muro no Shami came from the Enomoto family. He was not ordained, and he did not have a monastic name. Because he came from Muro County, in Kii Province, he was called Muro no Shami, the Novice of Muro. He lived in the village of Arata, Ata County. He shaved his head, wore a monastic habit, lived in the world and was engaged in farming. After properly purifying himself, he made a vow to copy the Lotus Sutra and began to copy it alone... When he had finished copying, he made offerings and put the sutra in a lacquer case. In the summer... on the twenty-third day of the fifth moon of the fifth year of the hen, at the hour of the Horse, there was a fire that destroyed the house and everything in it. And only the case in which the sutra was kept, although it was in the flames, but the fire survived. When the novice opened the case, he saw that the color of the sutra paper was still excellent, and the characters were legible. People from all eight sides found out about it and couldn't help but wonder" [Nihon reiki, 1995, p.184].

At the end, the narrator concludes: "I am right in saying that the virtues of a properly rewritten Lotus Sutra helped her escape the fire, and in the case of a devout nun from He-Tung, or in the case of Yu Wang's daughter from the Chen Dynasty, she was saved from the fire by reciting the sutra."

In Uji shui-monogatari (1190-1242), there is a remarkable account of how the neglect of purifying rites when copying sutras leads to rebirth in hell. The hero of this story is the famous Heian poet Fujiwara Toshiyuki-but Ason also rewrites the Lotus Sutra for customers, as he is known as a famous calligrapher (

Te o (kakikareba, korekare ga ifu ni shitagahite, Hokkake o nihyakubu bakari kakimatsuritarikari) [Uji shui-monogatari, 1974, pp. 244-250]. However, after death, Toshiyuki goes to hell, because during his lifetime he did not observe special rites during the rewriting of the "Lotus Sutra" - fasting and celibacy. As a servant from hell says in the text: "While writing this sutra, you ate fish, met women. Without reaching

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so, you clung with your heart to women, copying [the sutra] did not gain merit in [the future] " Nanji ga, sonno kyo kakimatsuru tote, sakana o mokui, onna nimo furete, kiyoshimaharu koto mo nakute, kokorooba onna no moto ni okite, kakitematsuritareba, sono kudoku no kanahazu shite). For this reason, he and the people who commissioned him to rewrite the Lotus Sutra are forced to suffer torment in hell after death. It is only through a vow made by his friend, the poet Ki no Tomonori, that Toshiyuki is saved from suffering in hell.

Fujiwara Toshiyuki, who lived in the tenth century, was an outstanding waka poet and a high-ranking courtier. He is listed among the 36 famous Sanjurokkasen poets , and his poems are contained in the tenth-century poetry anthologies Hyakunin Isshu, Kokin Wakashu, and Gosen Wakashu. However, in Uji shui-monogatari, Toshiyuki's passion for versification is described in negative terms, since it is his love of poetry that turns Toshiyuki away from his vows to copy Buddhist sutras. As follows from the story, the poet's neglect of purification rites during the rewriting of the Lotus Sutra by sono kyo Kakimatsurishi koto no, kegaravashiku, kiyoshikara de kakitaru) [ibid., p. 248] is connected with his poetic activity, so Toshiyuki's passion for worldly pleasures (among which Waka poetry is mentioned in the story) eventually leads him to hell.

When comparing the two stories from "Nihon Reiki" and "Uji shui-monogatari", the following conclusion can be drawn. If the hero of the Nihon Reiki story, an obscure Muro no Shami, saves the Lotus Sutra from the fire by performing cleansing rites, then in the story of Uji Shui-monogatari, the aristocrat and famous poet Fujiwara Toshiyuki is reborn in hell after death because of neglecting these rites when rewriting the Lotus Sutra. Like Buddhist relics, the sutras have a miraculous power, consisting in the signs of the text-hieroglyphs. Accordingly, any contact with this text, whether it is reading, reciting or copying, should be carried out at the level of ritual veneration. Observing the ritual grants the followers protection and salvation (as in the case of Muro no Shami), but ignoring it leads to terrible consequences, one of which is rebirth in hell, as happened with Fujiwara Toshiyuki.

Such ideas about the signs of the Buddhist text as sacred symbols that have the potential of a Buddha and lead to salvation can be considered the influence of esoteric Mikke Buddhism, which spread in Japan from the beginning of the IX century. In the first half of the ninth century, the study and systematization of its doctrines was mainly carried out by the Shingon school. Its founder, the Kukai (Kobo-daishi) (774-835), unlike representatives of other Buddhist schools, emphasized not only knowledge and ability to interpret the main philosophical doctrines of these sutras. The main purpose of his writings was to show the source of their hidden power. In his writings, it is constantly pointed out that each letter of the sutras itself, in its form and sound, already embodies the wisdom and compassion of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Kukai is known to have compiled numerous interpretations and commentaries on Buddhist sutras, including the Lotus Sutra. Thus, in 834, Kukai prepared commentaries on the Lotus Sutra and the Prajna-Jaramita Heart Sutra for readings at the Todaiji Temple.

Kukai's numerous interpretations and commentaries on the Golden Light Sutra and the Lotus Sutra take on special significance in the context of the Ma attributed to him-

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physical strength. Thus, in one of his commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, Kukai wrote that the nine letters in the title of the sutra, written in Sanskrit - "Saddharma-pundarikasutra" - are graphic symbols of the nine main deities of garbhimandala described in the Mahavairochana Sutra: Mahavairochana in the center, around it four Buddhas and four Bodhisattvas sitting on the lotus branches. Referring to the Mahavairochana Sutra, Kukai claims that the sound of each of these letters expresses the power that removes evil, purifies and bestows good to all living beings [Abe Ryuichi, 1999, p. 58].

This version is confirmed in another work of Kukai-the treatise "The meaning of Sound, Sign, Truly existing" (Japanese: "Sho ji jisso gi") (824-834). The title of the treatise is taken from the second section of the Mahavairochana Sutra - " The Sound, the Sign, the true being of the Tathagata is both the absence of the Buddha and the presence of the Buddha." In this essay, Kukai examines the Tantric concept that Sound and Sign themselves are Truly existent:

"If we make a secret interpretation, [we will see that] in every word, in every name, in every phrase there is an unlimited [number of] meanings. The entire host of countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the three worlds, constantly interpreting the meaning of each sign, cannot completely exhaust them" (Kukai, 1993, p. 458).

The mention in the Setsuwa literature of the magical power of the Lotus Sutra text and its signs may be evidence of the syncretism of esoteric Mikke Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism (whose main treatises included the Lotus Sutra).

On this basis, it can be concluded that the "Lotus Sutra" in the stories of Setsuwa Bungaku of the IX-XI centuries appears not only as a sacred text, but also as an object of religious worship, as sacred to worshippers as the relics and statues of the Buddha. In the narration of the Setsuwa texts, each sign of the Lotus Sutra is endowed with such magical power that it can act as a separate deity. Even unintentional damage to the sutra marks leads to the inability to perceive its text, as in the cases of the pious layman Tajihi and the monk Kakunen. Therefore, the process of reading and transcribing the Lotus Sutra described in Setsuwa Bungaku should be understood as a mystical ritual, during which the adept and the deity come into direct contact visually (perception of the sutra characters), verbally (recitation of the sutra) and physically (transcription of the sutra).

list of literature

Kukai "Se ji jisso gi" ("The Meaning of Sound, Sign, Truly existing") / / Buddhism in Japan / Ed. by T. P. Grigoriev. Moscow: Nauka, 1993.

Nihon reiki. Japanese legends of miracles / Trans. and comment. A. N. Meshcheryakova. St. Petersburg, 1995.

Nihon seki (Annals of Japan) / Translated and commented by A. N. Meshcheryakova and L. M. Ermakova. Vol. II. Sv. 22. SPb.: Gipsrion, 1997.

The Lotus Flower Sutra of the Wondrous Dharma (Sutra of Innumerable Meanings. The Lotus Flower Sutra of the wondrous dharma. Sutra o postizhenii dejanii bodhisattva Obshcheyshaya mudros') [Sutra on comprehension of Bodhisattva's Deeds Comprehensive Wisdom] / Translated and commented by A. N. Ignatovich, Moscow: Ladomir, 1998.

Uji shui-monogatari. / / Nihon koten bungaku taikei. Tokyo: Iwanami seten, 1974.

Hokke kenki / Translated by G. G. Sviridov / / Magic Japan, St. Petersburg: North-West Press, 2001.

Abc Ryuichi. The Weaving of Mantra. Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse. N.Y.: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Eubanks Ch. Illustrating the Mind. "Faulty Memory" Sctsuwa and the Decorative Sutras of Late Classical and Early Medieval Japan // Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 2009. № 36/2.

Lowe B.D. The Discipline of Writing: Scribes and Purity in Eighth-Century Japan // Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 2009. № 36/2.

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