Hobutsushu Explained

The is a Japanese anthology of setsuwa stories compiled by the monk Taira no Yasuyori in 1179. The same monk in the tale of the heike from the shishigatani incident who was exiled temporarily.^[1]

The stories take the form of a series of discussions between a Zen monk and an audience, and are intended to guide the reader towards satori.^[2] Among the subjects covered are the stories of Rama, derived from Indian and Chinese sources,^{[3] [4]} and the fate of Murasaki Shikibu, whom Taira no yasuyori condemns to hell for publishing fiction and even wrote the genji Sutra a Buddhist prayer for those that read genji monogatari and Murasaki Shikibu herself for salvation out of Buddhist hell.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: The Tale of the Heike . 2012-10-25 . Penguin . 978-1-101-60109-9 . en.
2. Book: Terry Kawashima. Writing Margins: The Textual Construction of Gender in Heian and Kamakura Japan. 27 June 2012. 2001. Harvard Univ Asia Center. 978-0-674-00516-7. 115.
3. Book: Mary Ellen Snodgrass. Encyclopedia of the Literature of Empire. 27 June 2012. 12 May 2010. Infobase Publishing. 978-1-4381-1906-9. 254.
4. Book: India International Centre. India and east Asia: culture and society. 27 June 2012. 1 January 2002. Shipra Publications. 978-81-7541-106-7. 156.
5. Book: Haruo Shirane. The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of the Tale of Genji. 27 June 2012. 1987. Stanford University Press. 978-0-8047-1719-9. 16.