This is a continuation of the introduction to Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition.
From Kyoko Motomochi Nakamura preface:
Minimum standards for monks
The official ordination system was aimed not only at controlling the number of monks but also at setting minimum standards for their doctrinal education. When Buddhism was first introduced, it was organized largely as a system of religious rites for the benefit of influential families. Many persons were ordained so that their masters might obtain merit and recover from illness. By the early eighth century, however, a minimal standard of learning was required for ordination. A decree issued in 734 states that no one was to be ordained without first memorizing a chapter of the Hoke-kyō [Lotus Sūtra] or the Saishōō-kyō [Golden Light of the Most Victorious Kings Sūtra] learning to perform Buddhist rites, and living under monastic discipline for at least three years. According to the record of the recommendations for ordination during the period from 732 to 745, the number of years spent under discipline ranged from four to fifteen, and the age of those who had undergone discipline, from thirteen to forty-eight. After that period the names of scriptures memorized and the number of years of discipline were not recorded, but evidence of participation in the construction of a temple, particularly Tōdai-ji, or the fact of being related to an official or a monk was noted. There was a tendency toward lowering the age and qualifications of monks as their numbers increased. (Page 22-23)
The purpose of religion
Both suffering and happiness were understood as a communal experience to be shared within the family, village, province, and state. Such a tendency, which emphasizes group participation and identity is a recurrent theme in the Japanese tradition. On the level of popular practice, there was little differentiation in the roles of Buddha, bodhisattva, and kami in helping people to lead happier lives. In spite of the fact that their symbolic forms differed, they referred to faith and happiness here and now. (Page 29)
The goal of stories on karmic causation
According to the Kao-seng chuan (Biographies of Eminent Monks), Hui-yüan introduced an innovation into the routine of the Buddhist ceremonial meeting by opening it with stories on karmic causation.
“Whenever there was a ceremonial meeting, he himself would ascend the high seat and personally take the lead in preaching, first elucidating the work of causation in the past, present, and future, and then discussing the significance of the particular occasions. Later generations continued this practice until it became a standard for all times.”
This is the beginning of ch’ang-tao the practice of preaching, and the stories used as illustrations treated the theme of the law of karmic retribution. Tradition says that Kumārajīva (344-413) wrote a work called “Treatises on the Past, Present, and Future” (inextant) and also emphasized the law of karmic retribution. Chinese Buddhist writers are fond of asserting that a result follows a deed in the same way that a shadow follows a form or an echo follows a sound. (Page 31)
Kyōkai’s primary concern
Kyōkai used the word genpō (hsien-pao), which in T’ang-lin’s preface refers to consequences that are manifested in this life, as the main theme for the collection of Japanese Buddhist legends. This may reflect his emphasis on present existence, even though he did not exclude stories dealing with the effects of past deeds upon a future life. He was uninterested in subtle arguments concerning the meaning of karma and samsara, or the question of whether there is something about man which is immortal. Rather, he compiled the Nihon ryōiki as an aid for monks in their preaching, should they wish to follow the fashion initiated by Hui-yüan in China, and as a guide for lay Buddhists. Kyōkai’s primary concern seems to have been in the salvation of his fellow beings and himself, which he hoped would be accomplished as a result of the merit accumulated in the compiling of the collection. He understood karmic retribution as a universal principle and stated that its operation was also discernible in the Chinese classics and in the pre-Buddhist age in Japan. (page 32-33)
Hoke-kyō and Faith
In contrast to the understanding of the law of causation as the law of nature, the Hoke-kyō gives another interpretation which may have influenced Kyōkai. The Hoke-kyō is the scripture most frequently quoted in the Nihon ryōiki, and it has been extremely popular throughout the history of Japanese Buddhism. Although the Hoke-kyō makes many references to karma (Chaps. i, ii, vii, x, xii, xv, xvi, xix, xxv), the main emphasis is on overcoming karma and obtaining salvation, rather than on the doctrine of karma itself. The recitation of the Hoke-kyō or even the invocation of its title, when done with faith, constitutes an act of merit which will overcome all other karma. Further, it says that dhārāṇi and mantra (Chap. xxvi), a remembrance of Kannon, or the calling of Kannon’s name (Chap. xxv) also transcend time and space, making possible the immediate attainment of Buddhahood. This message of the Hoke-kyō may be considered as a warning against a mechanical, static, or deterministic understanding of karma. Faith is the basis for salvation here and now, which is the work of the dharma body Buddha, both transcendent and immanent. (Page 33-34)
Love
Wisdom and compassion are means for fulfilling the bodhisattva’s vow. Wisdom is cultivated by looking at reality, by seeing things as they are. No discontinuity exists between the great mercy of Buddha and human love. What distinguishes them is the degree to which right knowledge sustains love. Ordinary men are conscious only of physical, carnal love as in the case of the mother with the crying child. But a sage’s love is based on right knowledge with which he may see events on a macrocosmic scale. Human love is never rejected, but it must be elevated and expanded on the basis of the right understanding of existence. (Page 80)