Once upon a time, there was a temple called Anjitsu-ji in Uda District of Yamato Province (present-day Uda City, Nara Prefecture). A monk named Ren’en lived there. Ren’en’s mother was deeply misguided and did not understand the law of cause and effect.
As the years passed, Ren’en’s mother grew old and fell ill. Just before she died, she displayed ominous signs that clearly indicated that she would fall into one of the evil realms – the three evil paths of hell, hungry ghosts, or beasts.
Seeing this, Ren’en was overcome with grief. “How can I find out what will happen to my mother in her next life?” he wondered. He then resolved, “I will travel throughout Japan, visiting every place I have never been. I will practice the Fukyōgyō and devote myself entirely to discovering my mother’s fate in the next life.”
Ren’en traveled throughout the various provinces, practicing the Fukyōgyō as he had vowed. From the farthest reaches of Chinzei (Kyushu) to the distant northern lands of Mutsu (Tohoku), there was nowhere he did not visit. After spending several years on his journey, he returned.
He then went to Rokuharamitsu-ji and conducted an eight-session lecture series on the Lotus Sutra. He did this in order to discover the fate of his mother in the next life. Afterward, he returned to Anjitsu-ji, where he had originally lived.
Rokuharamitsu-ji Temple (Kyoto)
One day, Ren’en dreamed that he had arrived deep in a remote mountain. There he saw an iron castle.
As he wondered, “Where am I?”, an oni appeared. Its appearance was so terrifying that words could not describe it.
Ren’en asked the oni, “Where is this place? Who are you?”
The oni replied, “This is Hell. I am one of the wardens of Hell.”
“Is my mother here in this hell?”
The prison warden replied, “Yes, she is.”
“Could you show me what has become of my mother?”
“I will show you. Wait here for a while,” the warden replied, and opened the gate of the castle.
The moment the gate opened, fierce flames burst out into the distance. The terror of it was beyond description.
The warden took a spear, thrust it into a cauldron, pierced a human head, and brought it out. It was Ren’en’s mother’s head. Her body was nowhere to be seen.
Ren’en received the head in the sleeve of his robe and gazed at it through his tears. His mother, also weeping, spoke to him:
“My sins were grave, and I fell into this hell, where I have suffered unimaginable torments. But because you have practiced the Fukyōgyō for such a long time on my behalf and have lectured on the Lotus Sutra, I am now able to escape the suffering of Hell and will be reborn in Trāyastrimśa.”
When Ren’en awoke from the dream, he was drenched in sweat and tears. His heart was profoundly moved.
After this, Ren’en continued his religious practice with an even greater sense of peace and joy, never neglecting his training. It is said that he later entered Mount Kōya to devote himself to Buddhist practice and eventually became a revered monk.
The Hell Scroll (Jigokuzōshi, Heian – Kamakura period, Nara National Museum)
[Translation]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using chatGPT and Gemini to translate a modern Japanese translation into English, and then making some modifications. There may be errors in the English expressions. Please correct any mistakes.
[Commentary]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
The Fukyōgyō practiced by Ren’en refers to the practice of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging (Jōfukyō Bosatsu), who appears in Chapter 20, “The Bodhisattva Never Disparaging,” of the Lotus Sutra.
●Japanese
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