Japanese Buddhist Folktales

Japanese Buddhist Folktales

Kobo's Well

It happened long, long ago, in a place called Komori in the village of Ryokami. This village was not blessed with plentiful water. With even a little dry weather, the water would evaporate, and all the people there were troubled.

One day, it was blistering hot. An itinerant monk of shabby appearance came and stopped at the house of the poorest woman in the village.

"My throat is parched. Please give me a cup of water," he asked.

There was only a little water left in the bottom of the water jug. The old woman took the dipper and scraped around the bottom of the jug, finally scooping up a cup of water, which she gladly gave to the monk.

"If only a little rain would fall, then I could give you as much water as you like. . . ," she muttered to herself.

The itinerant monk, hearing from the old woman how this area suffered from a severe drought, thanked her from the bottom of his heart for sharing with him her precious water.

"Then let me give you a well," he said.

He poked the staff he was carrying into the earth, and from that very spot pure water came gurgling up out of the ground.

Later, the villagers learned that the itinerant monk was, in fact, Kukai, who was later known by his posthumous Dharma title as the Great Teacher Kobo. And so the villagers called it Kobo's Well, and always took very good care of it.

(A story from Saitama Prefecture)

The Rabbit in the Moon

It happened long, long ago. One day, a sage who was a former incarnation of Shakyamuni Buddha came down from his retreat deep in the mountains. He was thin after undergoing strict ascetic practices, nothing but skin and bones.

A rabbit, a monkey, and a fox that happened to be there saw the glint of virtue in his emaciated form and were deeply moved. They said to him:

"Why don't you wait here for a little while and we will fix you something to eat."

And so the three of them left. Soon, the monkey, who was good at climbing trees, brought some fruit, and the fox, who knew his way around the village, brought some vegetables. However, although the rabbit did his best and searched everywhere in the forest, he found nothing. The monkey and the fox urged him on, saying:

"Hurry and find something to give him to eat." At a loss, the rabbit asked them to gather some kindling and make a fire.

And then it happened, as a pillar of flames was roaring. The rabbit gave his body a good shake to throw off the fleas, and then he jumped toward the hotly burning flames.

"What extraordinary sincerity, to give his very body as an offering. . . ."

So impressed was the sage that he immediately reached into the flames, grabbed the rabbit by his ears, and tossed him high up. The moon in the heavens received the rabbit, which began to live in the realm of the moon. From that time on, the rabbit has lived happily ever after, pounding rice cakes all year round.

(A story from Okinawa Prefecture)

The Gourd's Revelation

Long ago, in the land of Bingo, there was a poor old couple. When the festival of Bodhisattva Myoken (Excellent Eyesight) came every autumn, they did not have a single copper coin or cup of rice. They wanted to make some offering, but when they talked about what they should do, they had no idea.

One morning, the old man woke up and looked in the garden, and a large gourd happened to be standing there. The old man was so surprised and amazed that he blurted out, "Where did you come from?"

Then the gourd started speaking. "I came from Osaka to make some money. I heard I could find lots of yams around these parts, and I'm going to sell them at the seaside and buy some wine."

As soon as he had said so, he vanished.

"Well, if that gourd said such a thing, then there must be yams on this mountain."

The old man quickly went to the mountain, and there were yams everywhere. He took them to the seashore, and they sold so well they almost flew out of his hands. Happily, the old man and his wife could make an offering to Myoken, thanks to the money he made.

Some time later, the old man went to pray before Myoken, and there was an offering of a gourd that looked just like the gourd from before. The old man looked intently at the gourd, and even though the wind was still, it made a rattling sound.

"Why, that gourd gave me a revelation from Myoken!"

The couple gave deep thanks, and always venerated Bodhisattva Myoken.

(A story from Hiroshima Prefecture)

This article was originally published in the October-December 2006 issue of Dharma World.


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