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The Joy of the Dharma: Esoteric Buddhism and the Early Medieval Transformation of Japanese Literature

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The Joy of the Dharma: Esoteric Buddhism and the Early Medieval Transformation of Japanese Literature The Joy of the Dharma: Esoteric Buddhism and the Early Medieval Transformation of Japanese Literature The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Bushelle, Ethan David. 2015. The Joy of the Dharma: Esoteric Buddhism and the Early Medieval Transformation of Japanese Literature. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17467509 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA The Joy of the Dharma: Esoteric Buddhism and the Early Medieval Transformation of Japanese Literature A dissertation presented by Ethan David Bushelle to The Department of East Asian Language and Civilizations in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May 2015 © 2015 Ethan David Bushelle All rights reserved. Advisor: Ryūichi Abé Author: Ethan David Bushelle The Joy of the Dharma: Esoteric Buddhism and the Early Medieval Transformation of Japanese Literature Abstract This dissertation explores the nexus between Buddhism and literature in Japan’s early medieval period. Specifically, it elucidates the process by which forms of court literature such as Chinese-language verse (kanshi), Japanese poetry (waka), and romance tales (monogatari) were incorporated into Buddhist rites and liturgies from the tenth through twelfth centuries and attempts to show how this process supported and was supported by Esoteric Buddhist discourse. I call special attention to a discourse on ritual performance that understands the chanting of a mantra, hymn, or poem as an act of giving the joy of the Dharma (hōraku) to the kami and buddhas. By attending to this discourse and the rituals through which it was articulated, this dissertation sheds light on the doctrinal reasons why and the practical paths by which even literary genres that were considered to be “worldly” such as nature poetry, love poetry, and romance tales were reconceived as vehicles for offering the joy of the Buddha’s teachings. The three body chapters examine a variety of rites and liturgies intended for a lay audience—often called “Dharma assemblies” (hōe) in Japanese-language scholarship— and endeavor to demonstrate how they contributed to key transformations in Japanese literature. Chapter 1 investigates the liturgy of the lecture assembly (kō-e) at Shinto shrines and elucidates how it shaped the formation of a key genre of medieval Japanese iii poetry called “Dharma joy” waka (hōraku waka). Chapter 2 analyzes repentance rites dedicated to Fugen (Sk. Samantabhadra) bodhisattva and considers their impact on the invention of Buddhist love poetry. Finally, Chapter 3 looks at sutra-offering ceremonies and clarifies their role in the consecration of the exemplary Heian-period romance tale, The Tale of Genji, and the imagination of its author, Murasaki Shikibu. In addition to situating a particular transformation of court literature in its ritual context, each chapter also locates a given example of ritual in its discursive locus. I show that at the center of this locus lies a system of Esoteric Buddhist doctrine and ritual concerned with demonstrating the identity of the esoteric teachings (mikkyō) with those of the Lotus Sūtra. Terming this system “Lotus-Esoteric discourse,” I show how it provided the epistemic framework for the practice of using a mantra, hymn, or poem as a medium for giving the joy of the Dharma to others, rather than receiving it for oneself (jiju hōraku), as was stressed in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism of the late ancient period. In short, through its attention to Lotus-Esoteric discourse on Dharma joy, this study offers a corrective to an over-emphasis on the liturgical formula of “wild words and fanciful phrases” (kyōgen kigo), which has been the focus of many previous studies on the relationship between Buddhism and medieval Japanese literature, and clarifies the concrete discursive strategies and ritual practices by which Buddhism in early medieval Japan consecrated new liturgical uses for three representative genres of court literature— kanshi verse, waka poetry, and monogatari tales. In this way, it endeavors to show how Buddhist discourse on Dharma joy—in both its doctrinal and ritual dimensions—may constitute a new paradigm for understanding the early medieval transformation of Japanese literature. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iii! Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vii Abbreviations & Conventions .......................................................................................... ix Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One Songs of Dharma Joy: Esoteric Buddhism and Medieval Japanese Poetry ............... 24 1! The Economy of the Buddha’s Body: Lotus-Esoteric Discourse on Buddhist Ritual Language ................................................................................... 26! 2! Esoteric Modes of Performance in the Mid-Heian Period: Hymn Singing as Mantra and the Development of Pure Land Liturgy ............... 54! 3! Esoteric Modes of Performance in the Late Heian Period: Waka as Mantra and the Transformation of Buddhist Liturgy for the Kami ................... 141! Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 185 ! Chapter Two The Poet’s Repentance: Shikan Contemplation and Love Poetry in Shunzei’s Korai Fūteishō ............................................................................................. 187! 1! Dialogical Context: Princess Shikishi and Love Poetry on Buddhist Topics ... 195! 2! Waka Poetry and Tendai Shikan I: The Sacred Vocalizable Text ..................... 203! 3! Waka Poetry and Tendai Shikan II: Voice as the Middle Way ......................... 211! 4! The Original Heart of Waka Poetry: Love Poetry as Buddhist Practice ........... 262! Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 277 ! Chapter Three The Afterlife of Murasaki Shikibu: Genji Offerings and the Imagination of the Female Author ....................................................................................................... 279! v 1! Waka Poets and the Transformation of Buddhist Discourse on Monogatari .... 283! 2! Chōken’s Invocatory Statement for Kaga’s Genji Offering .............................. 296! 3! Preaching Buddhahood for Women: From Yasutane to Chōken ...................... 304! 4! The Kannonization of Shikibu: Critical Perspectives on Genji Offerings ........ 317! Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 326! Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 328! Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 334! vi Acknowledgements In acknowledging the many people who made this dissertation possible, I would like to thank, first and foremost, my advisor, Professor Ryūichi Abé, for his constant guidance and encouragement throughout my graduate studies. I have benefited greatly from Professors Melissa McCormick, James Robson, Edwin Cranston, and Tomiko Yoda, whose seminars allowed me to develop my understanding of literature, religion, and history. Their exacting standards of scholarship and dedication to their craft were touchstones in the writing of my dissertation. I am grateful also to Professor Edward Kamens of Yale University for agreeing to join my dissertation committee and for generously sharing his incisive comments on my work. Two years of dissertation research were conducted in Japan with the support of a Fulbright-IIE Fellowship to Japan and a Waseda University Junior Visiting Researcher Grant. Professor Komine Kazuaki sponsored my first year of study at Rikkyō University. Then and since, I have been inspired by his scholarship and mentorship. I also owe a great debt to Professor Ōkubo Ryōshun at Waseda University, who provided rigorous training in the close reading of Buddhist texts. These two years in Japan were preceded by six summer research trips generously supported by the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University. I extend my special thanks to Professor Araki Hiroshi of the International Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken). His patient instruction over the course of many long hot summer days in Ōsaka and Kyoto made possible the close readings of literary and liturgical texts that form the center of this study. My deep gratitude is also due to professors at universities across Japan who went out of their way to include me in various workshops and conferences
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