Once upon a time, there lived a monk named Acharya Tankei. He was a disciple of the great priest Jikaku Daishi (Ennin). He had mastered the esoteric teachings of Mantra and was well-versed in both Japanese and Chinese scholarly traditions. He also excelled in many other arts.
Tankei practiced the rituals of Mantra and served both publicly and privately. WhenLord Tadahito (Fujiwara no Yoshifusa) fell ill, Tankei was summoned to perform prayers. His rituals had a remarkable effect, and Lord Tadahito recovered from his illness. He was then asked to stay for a while. While he was staying there, a young lady-in-waiting came to present offerings to him.
As soon as Tankei saw her, he was seized by intense lust. Secretly, he seduced her, broke his vow of celibacy, and engaged in sexual relations with her. He kept the matter hidden for a time, but eventually, it became known to all.
Long before, during his devout service to Fudō Myōō (Acala), Tankei had had a dream in which the deity appeared and warned him:
“You have faithfully devoted yourself to me. I shall protect you. However, because of karma from your past life, you will fall deeply in love with a certain girl in the land of □ and seek to become husband and wife with her.”
Wooden Standing Statue of Fudō Myōō (Late Heian Period, The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Tankei grieved and lamented over this prophecy.
“How could I fall for a woman and break my vow of celibacy? But if it is fated by karma, then I should find this girl and kill her. That way, I’ll be safe.”
Pretending to go on a pilgrimage, he secretly set out for the land of the girl.
When he found the house where she lived, the girl matched exactly what had been foretold. Overjoyed, Tankei snuck into the household to spy on her. Disguising himself as a servant, he peered into the south side of the house and saw a girl of about ten years old, graceful and pretty, playing in the garden. He asked a maid who passed by:
“Who is that girl playing there?”
“She is the only daughter of the master of this house,” the maid replied.
Tankei was convinced. “This is the one,” he thought, and left that day without doing anything.
The next day, he returned and again saw the girl playing alone in the garden. Seeing no one else around, Tankei rushed at her joyfully, seized her, and slit her throat. No one witnessed the act.
“Eventually someone will find the body and it will become a commotion,” he thought, and quickly fled back to the capital.
Believing that he had severed the root of his downfall, he thought he was safe. Yet unexpectedly, he later succumbed to desire and once again broke his vow of celibacy.
“Even though I killed the girl revealed by Fudō Myōō, I have still fallen into lust. How wretched,”
he thought, as he embraced a woman. While doing so, he noticed a large scar on her neck, as if it had been cauterized and healed.
“What is this wound?” he asked.
The woman replied:
“I am the daughter of someone from the land of □. When I was a child playing in the garden, a stranger appeared, grabbed me, and cut my throat. My family found me and searched for the culprit, but he was never found. Later, though I don’t know by whom, my wound was cauterized and my head reattached. I survived a life that should have been lost. After that, through a twist of fate, I came to serve in this household.”
Tankei was struck with terror and awe. He realized that a deep karmic bond connected them and that the vision from Fudō Myōō had indeed foretold the truth. He was overwhelmed with grief and wonder, and weeping, he told the woman the whole story. The woman, too, was moved with pity. From that day, they lived together as husband and wife.
Tankei had broken his vows. Lord Tadahito said:
“Tankei has already fallen into immorality and can no longer be a monk. However, he is a man deeply learned in both native and foreign teachings. We must not waste such talent. He should quickly return to secular life and serve the court.”
Tankei renounced the monkhood and took the name Takamuka no Kōsuke. He was granted the fifth court rank and served in government. People called him Lord Kō. As he had been an exceptional man to begin with, he performed flawlessly even at court. Eventually, he was appointed governor of Sanuki Province (present-day Kagawa Prefecture), and his household prospered. Lord Tadahito had not cast aside a man of true ability.
Though now a layman, Lord Kō was still well-versed in the esoteric teachings of Mantra. At a temple called Shinshōgokuraku-ji, there were wooden statues of the Two Realms , but their positions were incorrectly arranged.
Shinshōgokuraku-ji Temple (Kyoto)
“Who can fix this?” people asked.
Many Mantra monks were summoned, but they merely debated and could not correct the arrangement. When Lord Kō heard of this, he went to Gokurakuji, looked upon the images, and said,
“Indeed, the positions are all incorrect.”
He then took a staff, addressed the Buddhas:
“You should be over here. And you, you should be over there.”
As Lord Kō indicated with his staff, the Buddhas, without anyone touching them, moved of their own accord to the places he pointed to.
Many people witnessed this scene.
“Lord Kō has come to Gokurakuji to set the Buddhas in their proper places,”
they said. Nobles and high-ranking individuals who had heard in advance came to see. Seeing the Buddhas move into place, they wept in awe and reverence.
It is said that Lord Kō was not only learned in Buddhism but also in many paths both native and foreign.
[Translation]
Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using ChatGPT and Claude 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.
[Explanation]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
A tale of a monk who went so far as to kill a young girl in order to avoid the sin of sexual misconduct (taking a wife). Such was the gravity of the sin of lust for a monk.
The monk later returned to secular life and became a government official, where he made great contributions using the knowledge he had gained as a monk.
A monk, after all, was also a learned intellectual.
[Cooperation]
Shinichi Kusano
●Japanese
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