Death and Defilement「死」と「穢れ」
Long ago, there lived a pious monk whose devotion to the gods was exceedingly deep. Every month without fail, he would visit the most sacred Jingu shrine at Ise.
One day, as he made his regular pilgrimage, he discovered the dead body of a woman lying by the side of the road.
Now, when entering the Ise Shrine, one must ensure one's body and soul are spotless. But though death is considered to be the gravest of impurities, the monk did not hesitate to approach the woman as he dutifully performed the customary rites for the dead.
In fact, this had been a test by the shrine gods. Through his actions, the monk had demonstrated that he had a truly compassionate soul, and that he did not fear defiling his own body by coming into contact with the dead.
After his visit, the monk returned to his own temple, which later came to be regarded as a place where one could pray to be freed of all manner of impurities.
Now then, to cleanse my body of impurities, and make for Jingu shrine.
My morning routine is a simple one. I pray to the Buddha at my own temple, and then to the gods at Jingu shrine. What more could a monk ask for in life?
Oh...? There's someone collapsed on the path ahead...
さて、しっかりと身を清めたし神宮へお参りに行くか。 朝は自分の寺で仏に祈り、その後に神宮へ行って神へ祈る。 僧として、これほど満ち足りた日々はない。 むむ…？ あれに見えるは…。
Dear me, what a tragic sight. But there is no mistaking it. She is dead.
They say that "death is defilement," and that one must be free of impurities when entering the hallowed ground of Ise Shrine. Yet to just leave this body like this would go against everything I believe...
Well, I have made up my mind. As a monk, my duty is to tend to the dead. If that offends the gods of the shrine, then so be it.
Hello there. Regular as ever, I see. Now tell me, was it you I heard intoning a sutra just now? It sounded rather like you were giving someone the last rites...
...I see. A woman's body, you say? But surely you don't mean to enter the shrine in your defiled state? Why, you would be angering the gods!
...Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you!
Despite the priest's warning, it seems I have made my regular pilgrimage without incident. And it's curious. I have never felt more in harmony with the world.
Hm, I wonder... Would it be too much to imagine that the gods of the shrine were testing me? Perhaps they wished to see whether compassion could overcome the aversion to the impurity of death.
Ha, the more I think about it, the more I think that must be what happened!
When I return to my temple, I will tell everybody about what occurred here today. May they take some wisdom from it!
- Where
- South of Yasaka Shrine
- Map
- Eastern Kyoto
- Region
- Eastern Kyoto
- Hand in to
- Lady Murasaki, Yasaka Shrine
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