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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: A Legend of Fugen-Bosatsu THERE was once a very pious and learned priest, called Shoku Shonin, who lived in the province of Harima. For many years he meditated daily upon the chapter of Fugen- Bosatsu [the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra] in the Sutra of the Lotos of the Good Law; and he used to pray, every morning and evening, that he might at some time be permitted to behold Fugen-Bosatsu as a living presence, and in the form described in the holy text.1 1 The priest's desire was probably inspired by the promises recorded in the chapter entitled " The Encouragement of Samantabhadra" (see Kern's translation of the Saddharma Pundarika in the Sacred Books of the East,— pp. 433-434): — " Then the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Samantabhadra said to the Lord: . . . 'When a preacher who applies himself to this Dharmaparyaya shall take a walk, then, O Lord, will I mount a white elephant with six tusks, and betake myself to the place where that preacher is walking, in order to protect this Dharmaparyaya. And,when that preacher, applying himself to this Dharma- parytya, forgets, be it but a single word or syllable, then will I mount the white elephant ,with six tusks, and show my face to that preacher, and repeat this entire Dharma- paryjya." — But these promises refer to "the end of time." One evening, while he was reciting the Sutra, drowsiness overcame him; and he fell asleep leaning upon his kyosoku.1 Then he dreamed; and in his dream a voice told him that, in order to see Fugen-Bosatsu, he must go to the house of a certain courtesan, known as the " Yujo-no- Choja,"" who lived in the town of Kanzaki. Immediately upon awakening he resolved to go to Kanzaki; — and, making all possible haste, he reached the town by the evening of the next day. When he entered the house of the yujo, he fou...
