180. 



the Great Buddha of Nara (in 861), in which we read these 

 words: "You give motion to the Darkness and the Light; the 

 Dragon-kings retreat into the depths of the water regions, and 

 the stars spread all over the sky (i. e. by the influence of yOur 

 Law)". In the same supplication ' we find the well-known term 

 "Ryujin hachibu", bI 1$ A 'bP? "Dragons, Spirits, (or Dragon- 

 gods), and (other beings of) the eight departments", a variant of 

 TenryU hachibu, ^^^/\^, or Ryuten hachibu, ^| 3^ /V ^ **• 

 The Shasekishu^ (before 1312 A. D.) refers to a sutra entitled 

 Shinchikwan-kyo^, where we read: "If one wears only one Buddhist 

 sacerdotal robe, he can cross the sea without being annoyed by 

 poisonous dragons". So great is the reverence, even of these 

 dangerous creatures, for Buddha and his believers. 



§ 2. Dragons appear at the dedication of Buddhist temples. 



The Fuso ryakki^ (about 1150 A. D.) relates how in 596, when 

 the Buddhist temple called Hokoji "^ was dedicated at Nara, a 

 purple cloud descended from the sky and covered the pagoda as 

 well as the Buddha- hall; then the cloud became five-coloured and 

 assumed the shape of a dragon or phoenix, or of a man or an 

 animal. After a while it vanished in a western direction '. 



A work of much later date, the Yilhd nieisho ryaku^ (1697), 

 contains a legend about a Buddhist tenjple named Unrytizan, 

 "Cloud-dragon-shrine", in Fuwa district, Mino province. When 

 the abbot Ryushu ', who lived 1307 — 1388, was erecting this 

 sanctuary, on the day of his starting the work a dragon appeared 

 with a pearl in its mouth, a very good sign indeed. For this 

 reason he called the mountain Ryuslmho, "Dragon-pearl-peak" 

 (fl ^ ^). When the temple was ready, a rain of flowers fell 

 from heaven. 



1 P. 85. 



2 Cf. above, Introd., § 1, pp. 4 sq., note 5. 



3 Ch. VI, Jq^, p. 17. See above, p. 177, note 3. 



5 Ch. Ill, K. T. K. Vol. yi, p. 497. 



8 Ch. VI, p.^47. See above, p. 170, note 4. 



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