Priest Jin’yū, commonly called Shōdaitoku of Koshi, had many names which need not be mentioned here. He was of the Koshi District of Echigo Province. He recited the Hokekyō and was devoted to his incomparably strict ascetic practices. Demon deities obeyed his orders, the lord of the region revered him from afar, and all those in the vicinity paid homage to him.

Now there was a mountain called Mount Kukami in the province, and wishing to do some good deed, a pious patron built a jeweled pagoda there. When he was about to offer a service of dedication for the pagoda, the thunder rolled and lightning struck and shattered the building. The sad patron grieved and lamented tearfully. He reconstructed the pagoda, but when he tried to offer the dedicatory service for it, just as before, the thunder rolled down with lightning and broke it into rubble. His pagoda was destroyed in this way three times. The patron grieved over his unaccomplished vow; he desired once more to reconstruct the pagoda and wished it to be safe from the thunder’s destruction.

Priest Jin’yū told the devout man, “Don’t lament any longer. With the power of the Hokekyō, I will protect the pagoda from destruction so that you may fulfill your vow.”

Priest Jin’yū stayed at the foot of the newly built pagoda and recited the sūtra. Suddenly the thunder began to roll through the clouds, a light rain fell, and lightning flashed. The devotee once more grieved for he was afraid that this was the sign that the thunder was trying to destroy the pagoda. Priest Jin’yū made a vow and continuously recited the sūtra in a loud voice.

At that moment, a boy fell from the sky. He seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen years old; he had unkempt hair and a furious look. He was bound in five places, including his body, knees, and head, and he cried loudly and tearfully.

Bowing and prostrating himself before Jin’yū, the boy said, “Have mercy and forgive me. I will never destroy the pagoda hereafter.”

When Jin’yū asked him why he had destroyed the pagoda, the boy replied, “The Earth Deity of this mountain is a close friend of mine. The deity told me, ‘A pagoda has been built on top of me and I have lost my place. Destroy the pagoda!’ So I have destroyed the pagoda each time for the deity. However, the mysterious power of the sūtra has subjugated everything, and the Earth Deity has moved elsewhere. I am also frightened and awestruck by such power as this.”

The patron now realized that his vow had been fulfilled and that the priest’s words were true. Priest Jin’yū said to the boy, the incarnation of the Thunder, “Since you follow the Law of the Buddha and do nothing contrary to it and are also developing a good mind without destroying the pagoda, you will be truly benefited by your virtue.

“Now when I look at the temple here, I see that it has no water. The priests have to go down to the valley and climb up here to fetch water. You, Thunder, must cause a spring to appear at this temple for the sake of the resident priests. If you don’t create the spring, I will bind you and won’t release you for months and even years. Also, you must not make any rolling noise within forty ri in the four directions about this temple.”

The prostrated Thunder respectfully received the priest’s orders and said, “I will produce the water as you said. Moreover, how could I dare make any rolling noise or even appear within forty ri about this mountain!”

The Thunder then poured a few drops of water from a container onto his palms. As soon as he had made a hole in the top of a rock with his fingers, the Thunder made a quick movement, and leaped up into the sky and disappeared. Clear and abundant water suddenly gushed from the hole in the rock. It was cold in summer to reduce the heat and warm in winter to prevent freezing.

The jeweled pagoda remained undamaged for several hundred years. Although the thunder rolled in all other places, it was never heard within forty ri in the four directions around Mount Kukami.

Truly the power of the Law is unusual and mysterious. Many priests gathered there and lived in the temple; they propagated the Law and benefited others. Owing to the power of the Hokekyō, Priest Jin’yū displayed marvelous virtue to the people and attained enlightenment. He expired during the era of Jingokeiun. (Page 101-102)

In the reign of Emperor Shōmu, a good man whose name is unknown lived in the Sagaraka District of Yamashiro Province. To repay the four kinds of obligations, he copied the Hokekyō. He also paid one hundred kan of money for purple and white sandalwood, hired a craftsman, and had him make a wooden casket to store the roll of the sūtra which he had copied.

The man examined the casket which was too short for the roll. Lamenting, the man wished to have another casket made, but could not obtain more of the valuable wood. Distressed, although strong in his faith, the man invited many priests and had them recite the Hokekyō for thirty-seven days, paying for more valuable wood for a new casket.

Twenty-seven days had passed and the man tried to place the roll in the casket. Although the roll did not quite fit well, the casket appeared to be somewhat larger. Thinking this extraordinary, yet rejoicing, the man encouraged the priests to continue their prayers.

On the thirty-seventh day, the man tried to place the roll in the casket. This time it fitted into the casket perfectly. Seeing this, the people were marveling greatly. Wondering if the roll had become shorter or the casket had become larger, they compared the roll with the original copy of the sūtra. Both the new and the old rolls were of the same length.

However when they tried to put both copies together in the casket, they could easily insert the new one, but not the old one. Again the people were impressed and knew that this marvelous happening was in response to the miraculous power of the Mahāyāna scriptures and to the man’s deep faith. The story appears in the Ryōiki. (Page 124-125)

A priest of the Ryūkaiji Temple of the Heguri District of Yamato Province was devoted to the Hokekyō and had recited it for years. His daily activities included reciting the sūtra, learning the meaning of the words, and lecturing on a chapter of the sūtra.

A dragon heard the priest’s recitation and was impressed with the noble lectures on the sūtra. He transformed himself into a man, came to the temple garden, and listened to the daily recitation for three years. Recognizing the dragon’s true faith, the priest developed a sincere friendship with the dragon. Soon their association became widely known among the public.

There was a drought in the country at that time. The plants of the five cereals were dying from lack of rain. The lamenting people appealed to the emperor. The emperor summoned the priest of the Ryūkaiji and said, “I hear that when you recite and lecture on the Hokekyō, a dragon comes and listens. Tell the dragon to cause rain. If you fail, you will be expelled from this country of Japan.”

With the imperial command, the lamenting priest returned to his place and explained his predicament to the dragon. The dragon said, “Thanks to listening to your recitation of the Hokekyō, I no longer suffer from my bad karma and now enjoy the benefits. I would like to repay your favor at the cost of my life. However, this drought has nothing to do with me but is caused by the Bonten Ō, the Great Deva King, who wishes to end evil in this country, and has caused the rains to cease. If I go and open the Gates of Rain, I will be killed immediately. Yet I would like to cause rain for three days and sacrifice my life to serve the Law.

I beg you to bury my corpse and to build a temple on the site of my death. Temples should be built at each of four places where I will appear and should be regarded as sacred to the Buddha. As the dragon finished, he parted from the priest who immediately reported all this to the emperor.

When the promised day arrived, the sky suddenly became cloudy, the thunder rolled and a torrential rain continuously fell for three days and nights. The land became fully irrigated and the revived plants became abundant. The pleased emperor invited the priest and had him offer lectures on the Hokekyō.

As agreed with the dragon, a temple named Ryūkaiji, Dragon Sea Temples was built. More temples, including the Dragon Gate Temple, Ryūmonji, Dragon Heaven Temple, Ryütenji, and Dragon King Temple, Ryūōji, were constructed. The priest spent the remainder of his life lecturing on the Law. Many other extraordinary things which happened during his life are not recorded. (Page 89-90)

Holy Man Shōkū of Mount Shosha was from Nishinokyō of the Heian capital, and his secular clan was called Tachibana. He was born with his right hand clenched. His parents forced his fist open and found a needle in his hand. Three days later, the baby Shōkū was missed. He was found sitting comfortably in the bushes of the front garden, smiling and playing with flowers.

From youth until old age, he always had a kind smile, spoke soft and gentle words, avoided coarse and erroneous language, relied on the Teachings of the One Vehicle, and only wished to attain Buddhahood.

For difficult ascetic practices, he lived in a hut in a deep mountain where not a single bird was heard. He spent days without meals and months without fire. The marvelous power of the Hokekyō and of his priestly robe protected his physical self which was as transient as the overnight dews.

Sometimes he dreamed of having a tray of delicacies. Even after he awoke, his stomach felt full and his mouth held a delicious taste. At another time he dreamed of beautiful white rice appearing from the sūtra. He also dreamed that someone brought him something. After awakening, Shōkū actually found various foods besides him. The rice cakes, which he dreamed had appeared from the sūtra, tasted as delicious as if they were Heavenly Sweet Dews. He surpassed others with his stately appearance and well-rounded and supple body.

On a severely cold night, Shōkū’s unclothed body became as cold as ice, but as he recited the sūtra and withstood the coldness, a thick quilted robe descended of its own accord from the ceiling of the hut and covered his body. Someone concealing his identity came and asked questions. Might it be a bodhisattva or a Buddha? Others came in their forms and appearances to run errands for Shōkū. Were they Heavenly Boys or Dragon Deities? Such extraordinary incidents frequently happened to Shōkū.

After having completed his self-cultivation, Shōkū descended from the recesses of the mountain to cultivate the people. He had lived to practice the Way on Mount Shosha and at other places where many people including the priests and the laymen, the high and the humble, gathered like clouds. Their name cards left with Shōkū were piled high and their offerings to him were as abundant as the sea water. Some who had seen Shōkū felt as if they had met a Buddha. Others who had heard him thought they had listened to a sermon as of a Buddha. Those who received a grain of Shōkū’s rice felt as if they had obtained part of a relic of the Buddha and those who had gotten a piece of Shōkū’s robe cherished it as if they had gotten a robe of the Buddha.

Emperor Hanayama visited Shōkū a few times, had Shōkū’s picture made with Ajari Engen, and had Shōkū’s manners recorded, both in his practices at night and in the early morning. As they began to draw his picture, the earth and mountain trembled. Shōkū explained to the shocked emperor and the frightened people, “Do not fear. The earth quaked because this picture of a humble priest, me, is going to be finished. Soon the earth will tremble again.”

When the picture was completed, the mountains and earth were greatly shaken again, and the emperor descended from his seat to pay homage to Shōkū.

Towards the end of his life, Shōkū learned the time of his death. He entered a room to meditate, recited the Hokekyō with serene composure, and finally passed away. (Page 71-72)