Imagining Rāhula in Medieval Japan

Abstract

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)Among the many koshiki associated with the Kamakura-period revival of the old Nara schools is the koshiki ..., a liturgy that pays homage to Sakyamuni's son, Rahula (Jp. ?? or Ragora ? ??). Although clerics belonging to the Nara schools created and performed many different koshiki during this time, attention to the koshiki in particular sheds light on the monastic goals and values shared by these groups, especially those committed to the revival of the vinaya and the return to Indian practices such as devotion to Sakyamuni and his disciples. This article will describe and analyze the koshiki, addressing not only its use and content, but also its place in the religious life of medieval Japan. Ultimately I will argue that the text's author, Yuishin ?? (dates unclear), presented Rahula both as a model for young novices and as a savior figure capable of saving sentient beings.Rahula Veneration in Medieval NaraThe koshiki, which venerates the Buddha's son, is one of only several koshiki that honor disciples of the Buddha. The others that fall into this category include the Juroku rakan koshiki ?????? (Koshiki on the sixteen arhats) and the Anan koshiki ???? (Koshiki on Ananda). As the other articles in this issue demonstrate, there were many categories of koshiki created in medieval Japan. More visible categories of koshiki include those that celebrate Sakyamuni himself, including his birth, teachings, final nirvana, relics, and so on; those that honor particular Buddhas, bodhisattvas, heavenly beings, and kami (there are scores that fall into this category); those that praise eminent monks; those that mark particular ritual occasions or goals of Buddhist practice; and those that commemorate particular texts (such as the Lotus Sutra, the Heart Sutra, the Ullambana Sutra, the Brahma Net Sutra, the Abhidharma Kosa Sastra, and so on).In some ways the koshiki may appear an unusual or marginal text for, as Sekiguchi (1998) points out, there is little evidence that widespread cults to the Buddha's son, Rahula, ever existed in Japan. Veneration of the arhats as a group did become popular in Japan, especially within Zen lineages. In the Kamakura period, devotion to the sixteen arhats became popular, especially among Zen groups, and in the Edo period, we see the spread of cults to the five hundred arhats as well (Mross 2007, 20). Although Rahula was commonly depicted in devotional images of the arhats, it was extremely rare for such images to feature Rahula as a stand-alone figure. Within the context of the medieval revival of the old Nara schools, however, rites honoring Rahula appear to have reached a certain level of popularity. Today two known copies of the koshiki are extant: one belonging to the archives of Toshodaiji ????, with a postscript stating that it was copied during the fifth month of 1312, and another held in the archives of Todaiji's ??? library. According to its postscript, this second version was copied in the year 1315. There are also a handful of related texts found in Ritsu-school circles: notable here are the kuyo no gi ????? (Ceremony for making offerings to Rahula), copied at Saidaiji ??? in 1290, and the ko no hossoku ????? (Procedures for the koshiki on Rahula), held at Shomyoji ??? and dating to the Kamakura period. These texts also make mention of separate, relevant works, such as a hyobyaku ?? (a chanted text stating the intent of a given liturgy) in honor of the ko kuyo and a kada (Sk. gatha) called Raun (Sekiguchi 1998, 4-5). Taken together, the survival of these various texts suggest that priests active in Nara circles-at places like Toshodaiji, Todaiji, Saidaiji, and Saidaiji's Kanto temple Shomyoji-actively promoted the veneration of Rahula using koshiki and related kuyo during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.Indeed, references to these rites appear in a number of historical records as well. …