Some Thoughts on Buddha's Foootprints Bunpo Kojima

Some Thoughts on Buddha's Foootprints Bunpo Kojima Whenever things happen to us, we think of our fathers, we dream of our mothers and we think of our native land. We, Buddhists, think of the Buddha and dream of India at all times. Our forefathers, in contemplating the fatherly Buddha, expressed their affection toward Him with stupas, dharma cakras, bodhi trees, His footprints and others. Of course the stupa, a little hill containing Buddha's relics, symbolizes Buddhakaya or Buddha's Body; the the cakra expresses Buddha's sermons; the bodhi tree symbolizes Buddha's enlightenment; and His footprint expresses traces of His propagation. These examples, however, represent a fraction of the Buddha. As time went by it has, become more difficult to grasp the true meaning by mere representation. At the same time, influenced by Greek art, our forefathers made statues which resembled that of Greek Gods and fully satisfied their affection toward the Buddha. Since people were apt to forget the basic principle of Buddha's teaching, it was in the Pala period (10 to 11 century) that inscription of Engi (1) Ho A (Gatha of Pratiya Samutpada) began to appear on the pedestal and (1) a. In Pali : ye dharma hetuppabhava tesam heturn tathagata aha tesan ca yo nirodho evam vadi mahasamano (Vinaya-pitaka, Mahavagga 1) b. In Sanskrit: ye dharma hetu prabhava hetu tesam tathagato by advat tesam ca yo nirodho evam vadi mahacramanab (E. Senat, Mahavastu, vol. 3, p. 461, 1. 15-16) c. In Chinese: 若法所因生如來読是因若法所因滅大沙門亦説此義四分律巻33 (大正. 22, 律部1, 798, c) 諸法從因生諸法從因滅如是滅與生沙門説如是佛本行集経巻48(大正. 3, 本縁部, 上, 896, b-c) 諸法因生者彼法随因滅因縁滅則道大師説如是 -736- (48) Some Thoughts on Buddha's Footprints (B. Ko jima) halos of His statue. We are able to see the same phenomenon in Buddha's footprints found in Japan. For instance, the footprint found in Kokawa-dera Temple in Wa- kayama prefecture, Japan, made by Gankai (1822-1873) has inscription of Engi Ho Ju in Sanskrit. This inscription is dated the Third Year of Bunkyu (1863) and the gatha is engraved virtically in 4 lines in Siddhan letters. The following is the Gatha: ye dharma hetu prabhava he to tesam to () gata hri e vam vale tesam ca yo niro da evam vadi mahekhravani All existence is the result of Karma. Tathagata teaches those causes. And those extinctions, too. The great Shaman is such an advocator. Gankai, I believe, tried to fulfill his affection toward Buddha with the dharma with the dharma of causation, the basic principle of Buddha, expressed through the stone of Buddha's footprints. Few characteristic of Japanese receptiveness of stones of Buddha's f ootprints are as follows. Myoe (1173-1232) of Kozanji Temple in Togano, Kyoto, was rigorous follower of the sila and was one who pined the country where the Buddha was born. With the thought that sea water reaching his native country, Wakayama, is connected to India Sea, he dipped his foot in sea water and contemplated the Buddha, and wishing to think of Buddha at all times with (2)h is followers he authored Shizakoshiki. "Firstly, the wonder of Bodhi Tree is that it is found 17 miles (a) southwest of the mountain of PRAG BODDHI in Magada Country. Bodhi tree is the pip- 佛本行集経巻48(大正. 3, 本縁部, 上, 877, a) 諸法從縁生是法縁及蓋我師大聖王是義如是説大智度論巻18(大正. 25, 192, b) (2) Taisho Edition, Vol. 84, p. 902. -735- (1) (2) (3) Some Thoughts on Buddha's Footprints (B. Ko jima) (49) pala tree. Tathagata sat under this tree and attained the supreme enlightenment. And, therefore, this (tree) is called the Bodhi Tree." "Secondly, length of his foot is isshaku -hassun (about 1 ft. 9 in. ) and width is rokusun (about 7 in.). On both of his feet there are cakras and on all of ten toes designs of flowers. Shape of fish appears and, at times, light brightens. Let us now think of few priests in Edo period who have made Buddha's (3)f ootprints with woodblocks and contemplated the Buddha with his people. These woodblock prints may be regard as literary propagation just as the stone-rubbing prints. One of such example is Shingyo of Daigyoji Temple in Kyoto who made the Right Diagram explaining the Buddha's Footprint (佛足石正圖) in 1855. The following sentences, together with right diagram of Buddha's footprint, are originally printed in Japanese. ".....On tip of his toes are suvastika, and near the big toe there is Diamond Pounder which resembles a wooden pestle. This is a picture of defeating the evils. Pictures of fish scales put together side by side is an exemplification of Buddha's salvation in the ocean of samsara. Flower pot is a symbol of dharma pot that praises the undefiled dharma water. Cakra treasure (輪寳) symbolizes virtuous picture of the glory of dharma kaya which is beyond all bound in ex- tinguishing humanly attachments as if crushing a mountain. The trumpet shell symbolizes the sound of his sermons. 'Blowing the trumpet shell and preaches the doctrine of salvation' found in the Larger Sutra are examples of this. There are examples in the Lotus Sutra, too." Next is the diagram of Buddha's footprint (佛足石圖) made by Kokue of Zentoku Zen Temple in Kyoto in 1733. Left foot is drawn on the center and there are proses in Chinese on both above and underneath the drawing. On top it is written, ".....says in Kanbutsuzammai Sutra that by seeing one thousand cakras, one is able to extinguish deep sin of ten kalpas. Underneath the Buddha foot is seen 1, 000 cakras." and on bottom it says, "In India there are seen many rocks which have Buddha's footprint isshaku-hassun (abot 1 ft. 9 in.) long and rokusun (about 7 in.) wide. At the tip of toes there are suvastikas. Besides the cakra there are bottles with flower designs. This is (3) Woodblock prints of Buddha's footprints is also found in Yakushi ji Temple, Toshodai ji Temple, Kokawa-dera Temple, and Oka Temple. -734- (50) Some Thoughts on Buddha's Footprints (B. Ko jima) popularly called the symbol of the Eastern cloud. It is said that above was transmitted from T'ang to Todaiji Temple. Another example is ARi, QTA3, a copy of Shamon Shungyoku reproduced in 1849. The left footprint of Bud- dha lay between hundred little circle marks on left and right sides, and on the bottom of is an inscription in Chinese letters which reads: "Underneath the foot of tathagata, there are four characteristics and sixteen kinds. In detail it is found in Sutra of Byakufu Sogonso and Maha Prajna Paramita Sutra." Of the 'O' marks the inscription reads: "At every 1,000 recitation of the Nembutsu one circle mark is erased and completing the 100,000 recitation of the Name...." and, thus, stresses the recitation of the Name. One footprint which should not be forgotten is the stone and the monu- (4) ment found in the famous Yakushi ji Temple in Nara. Rhythmic pattern of the 'uta' engraved on the monument is in 5, 7, 5, 7, 7, 7 and has 21 uta's which expresses deep affection for Buddha and which expresses great exer- tions in discovering of one's self. One example is Misoji-amari-/futatsu no katachi/yasogusa to/sodareru hito no/fumishi ato- dokoro /mare ni mo aru ka mo. and translated, Rare indeed are the footprints where trod the man who lacked none of the thirty-two marks and the eighty signs (of Buddha-hood)! (By Douglas E. Mills) Foregoing is exceedingly meaningful as ant aspect of how our fathers in Japan received and understood Buddhism. (4) The Buddha's Footprint Stone Poems: Douglas E. Mills, (Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 80, No. 3, pp. 229-242, 1960) 9.) -733-.

Load more