When the young Princess Sonshi became a Buddhist nun in the year 984, a scholar-official of the royal court was commissioned to create a guide to the Buddhist religion that would be accessible for her. He did so in the form of the illustrated works of fiction (monogatari) that appealed to women readers of her time and class. The text has survived in later manuscripts; the illustrations, if they ever existed, have not. This revised translation recreates Sonshi’s experience of receiving this multimedia presentation, with illustrations selected to help contemporary readers visualize its content and essays that provide context on the religious and cultural experience of the author. The Three Treasures is a unique document that opens a window onto the world of Buddhist religious experience—especially for women—in high classical Japan, the time of Sei Shōnagon’s Pillow Book and Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji.
Edward Kamens is Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies at Yale University.Ethan Bushelle is Assistant Professor of East Asian Religions and Culture at Western Washington University.
Part 1: StudyChapter 1: A Short History of Sanbōe (Edward Kamens) Chapter 2: A Reading of Sanbōe (Edward Kamens)Chapter 3: Sanbōe and the Oratorical Arts of Devotional Liturgy (Ethan Bushelle)Part 2: Translation(Edward Kamens and Ethan Bushelle)General Preface The First Volume: The BuddhaPreface to the First Volume 1.1 The Pāramitā of Charity: King Śibi 1.2 The Pāramitā of Discipline: King Śrutasoma 1.3 The Pāramitā of Forbearance: The Recluse "Forbearance"1.4 The Pāramitā of Effort: The Prince of Great Generosity 1.5 The Pāramitā of Meditation: The Recluse Śaṅkhācārya 1.6 The Pāramitā of Prajñā: Prime Minister Govinda 1.7 The Elder “Water-bearer” 1.8 The Lion Who Held Firmly to His Vows 1.9 The Deer King 1.10 The Himalaya Boy 1.11 Prince Mahāsattva 1.12 Prince Sudāna 1.13 ŚyāmaHymnThe Second Volume: The DharmaPreface to the Second Volume2.1 Prince Shōtoku2.2 En the Ascetic 2.3 Bodhisattva Gyōki2.4 The “Lump” Nun of Higo Province2.5 Kinunui Tomo no Miyatsuko Yoshimichi2.6 An Elderly Fisherman of Harima Province2.7 Dharma Master Gikaku2.8 Ono no Ason Niwamaro 2.9 The Go-Playing Śrāmaṇera of Yamashiro Province2.10 The Sūtra-box Patron of Yamashiro Province2.11Takahashi no Muraji Azumahito2.12 A Woman of Yamato Province2.13 Omisome no Omi Taime2.14 Nara no lwashima2.15 A Monk of the Nara Capital2.16 A Monk of Mount Yoshino2.17 A Miner of Mimasaka Province2.18 Yōgō of DaianjiHymnThe Third Volume: The SanghaPreface to the Third VolumeThe First Month3.1 Practices for the First Month3.2 The Assembly for the Royal Meagre Feast3.3 The Rites of Penitence at Hie3.4 The Bath3.5 The PoṣadhaThe Second Month3.6 Practices of the Second Month 3.7 Repentance Before Ānanda at Saiin3.8 The Nirvāṇa Assembly at Yamashinadera3.9 Stone StūpasThe Third Month3.10 The Assembly for the Transmission of the Dharma in Shiga 3.11 The Most Excellent Assembly at Yakushiji3.12 The Lotus Assembly at Takao3.13 The Flower Garland Assembly at Hokkeiji3.14 The Assembly for the Encouragement of Learning at Sakamoto on Hie3.15 The Assembly of Ten Thousand Lights at YakushijiThe Fourth Month3.16 The Śarīra Assembly at Hie3.17 The Great Prajñā Assembly at Daianji3.18 The Lustration of the Buddha3.19 The Ordination at HieThe Fifth Month3.20 Bodhisattva Precepts at Hatsuse3.21 The Rice DonationThe Sixth Month3.22 The Assembly of One Thousand Flowers at TōdaijiThe Seventh Month3.23 The Mañjuśrī Assembly3.24 The Ullambana [including the Confession]The Eighth Month3.25 The Ceaseless Nenbutsu on Hie3.26 The Assembly for Releasing Living Creatures at YahataThe Ninth Month3.27 The Anointment at HieThe Tenth Month3.28 The Vimalakīrti Assembly at YamashinaderaThe Eleventh Month3.29 The Assembly for Eight Lectures at Kumano3.30 The Assembly in the Month of FrostThe Twelfth Month3.31 The Buddhas' NamesHymn
“Dr. Kamens has researched his subject well and presents his study with a clarity that will be appreciated by students and scholars of Japanese literature, language, Buddhism, and history. The work of Tamenori is here translated into excellent English. . . . The Three Jewels is well researched and so well presented that it cannot fail to arouse interest in Western academic circles.”—Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (review of original edition)