TEXT 5

請菩薩出家表

Petition Requesting [Permission to Ordain] Bodhisattva Home-leavers

(JPN: Shō Bosatsu Shukke Hyō)

ATTRIBUTION

Translated into English by Rev. Jikai 慈海 Tyler Dehn デイーン

©Translation by Jikai Tyler Dehn @ The Saichō Repository 最澄典藏 Project, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Available at: [insert URL of specific text page].

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Text Overview:

The Petition Requesting [Permission to Ordain] Bodhisattva Home-leavers or Shō Bosatsu Shukke Hyō, demonstrates that long after Saichō‘s patron had passed (i.e. Emperor Kammu 桓武天皇 735 – 9 April 806 A.D.), he was still struggling to receive Imperial validation for his ordination proposals.

This document is directed toward Emperor Saga 嵯峨天皇 786 – 842 A.D., and it constitutes a humble attempt to remind His Majesty of his duty to uphold the will and aspiration of the late Emperor Kammu. Written four years before Saichō‘s own passing, the tone of the letter embodies the anxiety Saichō must have felt as the years progressed, and the future of his school was yet unsettled.

His proposals would only be granted after his death, and we can surmise that the Court may have used the passing of the Great Master, as a means of silencing remaining opposition. That is to say, voices that would have otherwise objected would have been less likely to express their distaste, because the Court had granted Saichō‘s proposals out of their grief at his loss.

The examples of monasteries “in the west” at the beginning of the text, and the “Tang petition” quoted in its middle, are both drawn from the writings of Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664 A.D.). Given that the most powerful school of Buddhism in Japan during Saichō‘s time, was the Faxiang or Hossō School 法相宗 founded by Xuanzang’s disciples, we can be sure that this is no ‘happy coincidence’. Saichō was intended to demonstrate that his vision was in line with Indian precedent, and the instruction of the Lotus Sūtra– even if this differed from how things were being done in East Asia. What’s more, he wanted to demonstrate that the sources of his most significant opponents, were the very basis for the proposals he was trying to institute.

TEXT:

ENGLISH	UNPUNCTUATED TEXT	PUNCTUATED TEXT
The śramaṇa Saichō [wishes to] relate [the following]:   To the west of Kāśmīr (in north-west India), the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna are cultivated separately. [But] to the east of Xuanpu (in north-west China), the incomplete and complete are [still] studied together.   Even though [the models presently employed] in east and west differ, [they should] both be directed towards the Wisdom of the Buddhas (Tathāgata Jñāna-darśana). To wit, the Ultimate (niṣṭhā) and Explicit (nītārtha) referent [for this wisdom] is the Pure and Perfect Teachings of the One Vehicle in the The Sublime Dharma of the Lotus Flower Sūtra. [And this scripture] prohibits seeking the counsel of Hīnayānists, and rules out abiding together in the lecture halls [with them]. [Having established this,] we now intend to comply with the Sūtra’s prohibitions to instruct future students.	沙門最澄言。罽賓以西。大小別修。玄圃以東。半滿兼學。東西雖別。同期佛慧。究竟了義。純圓教一乘妙法蓮華經。制問訊於小乘類。斷共住於講堂中。當今依順經制。將勸後學。	沙門最澄言:   罽賓以西，大、小，別修。玄圃以東，半、滿，兼學。   東、西，雖別，同期佛慧。究竟了義，純圓教一乘妙法蓮華經。制問訊於小乘類，斷共住於講堂中。當今依順經制，將勸後學。
I humbly submit [the following praise, in regards to], His Majesty (Emperor Saga 嵯峨天皇), the preeminent sage of the Kōnin [era], the Lord of [both] Literary and Martial [Arts]:   [Through his] virtue he unites heaven and earth; [In his] luminous-wisdom he rivals the sun and moon; [In his] fidelity and filial-piety [he is] without-precedent in antiquity; [In his mastery of] Rites and Music [he is] without-match in the present; He brings joy to all the provinces; He has brought the two barbarians [of the Emishi in the north, and the Ryukyu Islanders in the south] into the fold; [With him] heaven and earth are in mutual agreement; [And by him both legal] rulings and [moral] propriety are established and regulated.     Accordingly, there are [also] the wishes of the former Emperor [Kammu regarding], the School of Tendai [which need to be considered] (i.e. which the present emperor is obliged to maintain as a filial successor).	伏惟弘仁元聖文武皇帝陛下。徳合乾坤。明並日月。忠孝空古。禮樂新今。萬國歡心。兩蕃歸化。天地相感。定治制禮。乃有先帝御願。天台一宗。	伏惟: 弘仁元聖，文、武皇帝，陛下: 徳合乾、坤; 明並日、月; 忠孝空古; 禮樂新今; 萬國歡心; 兩蕃歸化;  天、地，相感;  定治制禮。   乃有先帝御願，天台一宗。
[Nevertheless, thus far] the notes have been high, [while] the melody has been low (i.e. the intentions have been out of step with actions). [That is to say,] the Dharma has been stressed [while] the practitioners (lit. ‘individuals’) [of that Dharma] have been under-developed (lit. ‘weak’/’lessened’). [As a consequence,] the support [shown to the Tendai School] has not been widely proclaimed, and the reverence for it has not been sufficient.   [This is why] it is absolutely essential that we develop regulations for our school to encourage and instruct future students. [Namely,] Mahāyānists and Hīnayānists [should] live separately, and vie to purify their minds on the Path. [But whether they live in] the mountains (like the Mahāyānists) [or live in] the cities (like the Hīnayānists), they should be of one-mind in their complete loyalty to protect the nation.	韻高和寡。法重人弱。獎訓未弘。鑽仰不至。誠須造一家式。勸誨後學。大小別居。爭澄心道。山邑同心。竭護國忠。	韻高，和寡; 法重，人弱。獎訓未弘，鑽仰不至。   誠須造一家式，勸誨後學。大、小，別居，爭澄心道。山、邑，同心，竭護國忠。
Therefore a Tang petition [by Xuanzang] says:   “The restless clamouring of the monkey that is feeling, is to be constrained. And the running hither-and-thither of the elephant that is thought, is to be restrained. But if one does not restrict these manifestations amidst the mountains, then they will not be successful.”	故唐表云。制情猴之逸躁。繋意象之奔馳。若不斂迹山中。不可成就也。	故唐表云: “制情猴，之逸躁。繋意象，之奔馳。若不斂迹山中，不可成就也。”
In supplication I request that:   henceforth the annually-allotted [students of] the Tendai [School] be ordained according to the Mahāyāna, at the Hall on Mount Hiei every year in the late spring on the seventeenth day of the third month. And in veneration to the [late] Emperor’s spirit, an imperial envoy [should] be dispatched [to authorise this accordingly].	伏望自今以後。天台年分。毎年季春三月十七日。差勅使一人。奉爲登天尊靈。於比叡山院。依大乘得度。	伏望:  自今以後，天台年分，毎年季春，三月十七日，差勅使一人，奉爲登天尊靈，於比叡山院，依大乘得度。
[If] the School’s Regulations [are followed] as specified, then the transmission of the Buddhayāna will sprout anew year on year. And the holders of that transmission will be [of] pure [character] each [and every] year.	宗式如別。然則所傳佛乘。年年新興。能傳學生。歳歳清淨。	宗式如別，然則，所傳佛乘，年年新興。能傳學生，歳歳清淨。
With utmost sincerity and without pretense, I respectfully submit this petition, advising of what I have heard.   In supplication I pray that: in your imperial mercy you might deign to condescend to our humble observations, and grant your approval to us, adding your efforts to our own.	無任誠懇之至。謹奉表陳請以聞。伏願天慈賜垂矜允。輕塵聽覽。追増戰汗。	無任誠懇之至，謹奉表，陳請以聞。   伏願: 天慈賜垂矜允，輕塵聽覽，追増戰汗。
Respectfully related:   On the twenty first day of the fifth month of the ninth year of Kōnin (818 A.D.); Submitted by the Head of the Tendai School, Saichō, the śramaṇa who formerly sought the Dharma in the Tang [Empire].	謹言。 弘仁九年五月二十一日(818 A.D.)　 前入唐求法沙門天台宗頭最澄上表。	謹言:  弘仁九年五月二十一日(818 A.D.)　 前入唐求法沙門天台宗頭最澄上表。

校正　　比叡山延暦寺藏宗祖眞蹟本。