Tales of Time Now Past by Marian Ury

Author:Marian Ury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies
Published: 1979-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

5. ABOUT A MAN WHO COPIED THE LOTUS SUTRA TO SAVE THE SOUL OF A FOX

AT A TIME NOW PAST, there was a fine-looking young man. Who he was, I do not know, but he must have been some nobleman’s attendant. On his way back from somewhere or other, he was going past the place where Shujaku Road runs into Second Avenue. As he crossed in front of Shujaku gate1 he saw standing in the Avenue a woman of seventeen or eighteen, flawlessly beautiful, wearing layer upon layer of fine robes. It was impossible to pass her by, and he went up to her and took her hand.

He drew her aside to a secluded spot within the gate, and there they sat, the two of them, chatting idly and intimately. He said to her, “That we should meet in this way must have been predestined. I want you to love me as I love you. Dearest, do as I desire. I ask because I love you so.”

“I should like to do as you ask,” said the woman. “I should like to yield to your desires; but if I do, without a doubt I shall lose my life.”

The man did not understand what she was trying to say. “She’s just making excuses,” he thought and tried forcibly to embrace her. The woman wept piteously and said, “You’re a respectable man, with a position; I suppose you’ve a house and a wife and children. For you this is nothing but a fleeting affair, while I will have to die in your stead—and all for a few moments’ pleasure.” In such terms she protested, but in the end she yielded.

The sun set, and soon it was night. He rented a small house in the neighborhood and took her there. They lay together, and afterwards the whole night through they exchanged eternal vows of love. At daybreak, as she was about to go, the woman said, “Without a doubt I shall lose my life in your stead. Therefore copy the Lotus Sutra and dedicate it to me, to ease me in the life to come.” The man said, “Men and women make love every day. Why should you die of it? If you do die, of course I’ll copy the Lotus Sutra for you.”

The woman said, “Dearest, if you want to see whether I speak the truth, tomorrow morning go look by the Butokuden.2 And as a sign—” She took the fan he had been carrying and parted from him in tears. The man went home; he believed none of it.

The next day he began to wonder if there might not be some truth in her words and decided to take a look. He went to the Butokuden, and as he walked around it a white-haired old woman came out, tears streaming down her face. “Who are you?” he asked, “and why are you weeping so?” The crone replied, “Sir, I am the mother of the person whom you saw last night at the Shujaku gate.

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