Ashvaghosha's "Buddhacharita" Synopsis and Impressions - The great source of Buddhist biography, also known as the "Praise of Buddha's Place of Practice"! An epic poem on the life of the Buddha!
We are pleased to present the Complete Translation of Buddhacharita, translated by Yuichi Kajiyama, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Musashi Tachikawa, and Katsumi Mimaki, published by Kodansha in 2019.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
From his birth to his death and the distribution of his remains. The Buddhist poet Ashvaghosha has written a brilliantly beautiful account of Gautama Buddha's entire life in "Buddhacharita," a masterpiece in the history of Indian literature.
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The work, supported by a deep knowledge of Buddhist thought, is of great value as a source of Buddhist tradition, and has been praised in Indian Buddhist circles for several centuries. However, although up to 14 chapters of the Sanskrit text published in 1893 were later translated and published in Japanese, the latter 14 chapters remained missing for many years.
To complete the work, four Buddhist scholars have worked on a complete translation of the text in this book. The 28 chapters are reproduced as faithfully as possible to the original text, with careful supplementation of Tibetan and Chinese translations. The oldest and most beautiful Buddhist epic poem has been completely translated.
The current work, Buddhacharita, was written by Ashvaghosa, a Buddhist poet active in India around the 1st and 2nd centuries (horse cryThis is a Buddhist biography by In Chinese translation, it was translated by Cloudy I-Chen as "Haiku of the Buddha's Practices in the Buddhist Center". Kukai, Saicho, and the founders of Kamakura Buddhism must have read this Buddhist biography to learn about the life of Buddha.
In Baba Noritoshi's commentary at the end of this book on Buddhacharita and Ashvaghosa, he explains as follows.
This book is a complete modern translation of the Buddhacharita by Ashvaghosha, a masterpiece in the history of Indian literature, and a brilliant masterpiece in the history of modern Buddhist studies. （The translation is a brilliant masterpiece in the history of modern Buddhist studies.)
Ashvaghosha, who is thought to have been active around the second century during the Kushana dynasty that ruled northwestern India, is the first person known from extant sources to have written a work in the name of an individual in Buddhist history. (omitted).
Ashvaghosha was known not only as a poet but also as a great Buddhist, and his fame lasted for centuries in the Indian Buddhist world. In the first half of the 7th century, Xuanzang, who traveled to India, praised Ashvaghosha in his "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" (Da Tang Xi Ru Chi, vol. 8): "His knowledge pervades all things, and his practice of the Way of the Buddha is spread throughout the three realms" (Taisho Zang, vol. 51, page 913, top line, line 26). Furthermore, Gijo, who stayed in India in the latter half of the seventh century, is mentioned in Nanyoseki neibo den (Nanyoseki neibo den, vol. 4) as one of the great figures who appear only once or twice in each generation, together with Nagarjuna and Aryadeva (Taisho zo, vol. 54, p. 229, middle line 15), and in the "Buddhacharita" (Boddacharita) he is mentioned as a "great personage" who is likened to a sun, moon, or dragon elephant (Taisho zo, vol. 54, p. 229, middle line 15). (Taisho Kura, vol. 54, p. 229, the 15th line of the middle section), and "there was no one who did not chant the Buddhacharita" (Taisho Kura, vol. 54, p. 228, the 14th line of the upper section).
In preparing the Buddhacharita, Ashvaghosha did not create his own original content, but faithfully inherited the ancient traditions concerning the biography of the Buddha. Chapters 1 to 21 correspond in narrative order to the Buddhist biographical descriptions contained in the "Breaking the Monk's Discipline" of the "Nemoto Setsu Totsu Yubu Ritsu," while chapters 22 to 28 correspond to the "Nirvana Sutra. He referred to the traditions that preceded him and compiled their contents to compile the Buddhacharita.
Ashvaghosha, on the other hand, recounts the entire life of Gautama Buddha in a refined and beautifully written style, succeeding in vividly describing each scene. Ashvaghosha's poetic expression is everywhere in this book: in the tense exchange of argument between the two festival officials and Gautama (chapter 10), in the powerful army of monsters that Mara unleashes to frighten Gautama into abandoning his ascetic practice (chapter 13), and in the poignancy of the story itself.
Thus, to translate the Buddhacharita, which is both Buddhist literature and a literary work, requires not only knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures, but also knowledge of Indian aesthetic literature (kavya), which deals with themes such as love and battle, and knowledge of the codes and Knowledge of the Saankha philosophy is required. By having four distinguished scholars of Indian literature, Indian thought, and Indian Buddhist studies as translators, and by fulfilling the most desirable conditions for translating the Buddhacharita, this book is an outstanding translation based on an accurate and unparalleled understanding of the literature.
Kodansha, Yuichi Kajiyama, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Musashi Tachikawa, Katsumi Omaki, Translation "Complete Translation of Buddhacharita" p499-501
Ashvaghosha has succeeded in recounting the entire life of Gautama Buddha in a polished and beautifully written text, vividly depicting each scene."
This is exactly what it is, and if you read it, you will be amazed at the dramatic and brilliant flow of words.
In particular, the description of the women who seduce Buddha, as quoted above, is so vivid and seductive that the story is told in such a way that it makes one wonder if this is really a Buddhist story. Since I am here, I would like to introduce some of them.
sixteen The prince walked through the forest, surrounded by women. It was as if a bull elephant was walking through the forest of Himalaya with a herd of female elephants.
Kodansha, Yuichi Kajiyama, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Musashi Tachikawa, Katsumi Omaki, Translation "Complete Translation of Buddhacharita" p. 43
sixteen In the midst of that beautiful forest, the prince shone, attended by women. He shone as if he were Vyvasvat, who had been fixed by the celestial apsaras in the Garden of Vibhraja.
eighteen The young women used their drunkenness as an excuse to touch the prince with both of their beautiful breasts, which were hard, round, rich, and taut.
30 Another woman deliberately staggered to make a show, and forcefully teased the prince with her soft, vine-like arms that hung loosely from her slumped shoulders.
conjugation (inflection, declension) of ichidan verbs ending in "iru One woman, with red lips and a ro that smelled of alcohol, whispered in his ear, "Listen to my secret.
three and two One woman, with the perfumed oil on her body still drying, wanted to touch the prince's hand and said in a commanding tone, "Line up here and love me.
in small groups Other women often used drunkenness as an excuse to slip off their dark blue robes and flick their waistbands. As if it were a night of flashing lightning.
How about this? The scene continues in this atmosphere, or even more explicitly, seducing Buddha, for some time after this.
Previously on this blog, the Code of Sexuality in India to learn about Indian thought.The Kama Sutra."introduced.
In the Brahmin-Hindu world of India, there were three important things to pursue and enjoy in life: karma (sexuality), artha (practicality and economy), and dharma (religious law and truth). The code of kama (sexual love) is the famous Kama Sutra. It seems to me that the presence of the code of sexuality as an important part of the religious worldview shows the uniqueness of India.
In the above quote, Buddha is sexually tempted, but is completely unmoved. In the end, he is even disgusted.
This is not surprising to those of us who are familiar with Buddhist thought and the life of the Buddha, but in the Indian society of the time, this was not only a sexual issue, but was also in direct opposition to the religious views of India. This attitude of the Buddha was completely different from the norm of the people of that time.
Ashvaghosa was an Indian around the 2nd century AD. He is a person who truly knows the atmosphere of India. That is why he was able to write this temptation scene so vividly. When we read this temptation passage, we can clearly feel the atmosphere of the Kama Sutra.
And to begin with, I can't help but be impressed by the fact that Buddha himself was completely unmoved by the temptations he faced. Frankly speaking, I felt that if he did not have so much trouble and anguish, he would not be so averse to temptation.
Originally, Buddha was a prince, and moreover, he was good-looking, intelligent, and a great martial artist. In other words, he is a charismatic person whom everyone admires. He is popular with the ladies without any difficulty. Moreover, under the king's command, women keep coming to seduce him. There is no love there. There is no love there, only trickery. From Buddha's point of view, women are not something you have to struggle to get along with in search of love, but something that comes to you on its own. In that case, from the Buddha's point of view, women are no longer "unattainable" and "something to be pursued.
Buddha already enjoyed money, status, comfortable housing, clothes, and even women as a matter of course.
That is why there was little desire stirred up for them in the first place.
I think this is a mental situation that "have-nots" cannot easily understand. We tend to have an image of Buddha as a "tremendous great man who rebuked desires," but we may need to keep in mind that his starting point is clearly different from ours. Well, it is because of this that he was able to find the truth to save the people of the world, and for us, we are still grateful for that. After all, Buddha is special. Ordinary royalty would be content to find pleasure in maximizing their own pleasure. Hm? Oh, if you think about it that way, royalty is bound by the pleasure they get because it is greater than the people below them, isn't it? Then again, Buddha who was fed up with it must have been an unusual person... Oh, my thoughts are going round and round.
At any rate, listening to Ashvaghosha's narration, one naturally begins to have various thoughts about the inner life of Buddha and the story itself. This is the result of his wonderful writing.
Finally, there is one more point that particularly struck me when I read this book. I was struck by the following words of Buddha.
forty How can a wise man ascend to the throne, which is the dependence of deceit? Kingship comes with fear, pride, and fatigue, and can destroy righteousness by treating others unjustly.
forty-first of the sexagenary cycle Kingship is pleasant, but like a golden palace on fire, like an extraordinary feast with poison, like a lotus pond filled with crocodiles, it is a source of disaster. (omitted).49 If you enjoy peace of mind, your royalty will waver. If you use your will for kingship, your peace of mind will collapse. Peace of mind and severity of punishment do not go together. Cold water and hot fire do not mix.
Kodansha, Yuichi Kajiyama, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Musashi Tachikawa, Katsumi Omaki, Translation "Complete Translation of Buddhacharita" p. 102-103
These are the Buddha's words in the tension-filled exchange of argument between Gautama and the two ministers and court priests who came to bring back the ordained prince (Chapter 9), which was also mentioned in the commentary above.
Why did Buddha abandon the throne? Here is a straightforward example of how Buddha felt about the throne.
Buddha's fundamental motivation for ordination was to attain religious enlightenment. But that is only the ultimate and fundamental motive. There are also various motives in Buddha's life on a practical level. He saw sick and dead people during his Shimonsyutuyu, he was a contemplative, he saw beautiful women sleeping ugly, etc., etc., and a combination of factors finally led him to become ordained.
So we need to look at this aversion to the throne as one of the main reasons.
As was the case with the "Kama Sutra" I mentioned above.The Kautilya Theory of Reality.The Indian classic called "The World's Most Beautiful People" was also introduced on this blog.
For more details, please refer to the linked article, but the "Kautilya Pragmatics" explains many of the maneuvers that a king should perform. And this is what Machiavelli was talking about.The Monarchist.The book is a collection of essays on imperialism, which are quite serious and comparable to those of the
Reading this book, I do not envy you at all for being born in royalty. No matter how extravagant I could be, I would respectfully give back that right. When I read "Kautilya Theory of Reality," I thought that Buddha might have felt the same way.
And then, after many months, I came to read "Buddhacharita" and found that this was exactly what I had read! This surprised me too!
I was reminded once again that Buddha's life and thought were also a result of the historical background of the time and the individual circumstances in which he was placed.
Ashvaghosha's Buddhacharita, which was the major source of the life of Buddha as it is told today. It was a very interesting work as a story. The Chinese translation of "Buddhacharita" must have had a great influence on our Japanese Buddhism. I wonder if Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu, also read this work and thought about Buddha. It is very romantic, isn't it?
I highly recommend this book. The above is the "Complete Translation of the Buddha Charita" - the great source of Buddhist biography, also known as the "Praise of the Buddha's Place of Practice" by Ashvaghosha (Ma-Ming)! An Epic of Buddha's Life!" It was.
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