THE WORLD CIVILIZATIONS AND INDIA , PART-33

ARBIND KUMAR BLOG

LOTUS SUTRA AND JAPAN

The most important BUDDHIST literature that got importance in JAPAN was LOTUS SUTRA . Actually it is a CHINESE translation of the Sanskrit book called SADDAHM-PUNDRIC- SUTRA . It was translated by the great Indian BUDDHIST Philosopher KUMARJIVI and in the JAPANESE language he is called KUMARAJU . He was the master of the CHINESE LANGUAGE whose style of writing in the CHINESE language was much appreciated in the past and followed even today by the CHINESE writers . An interesting thing about KUMARJIVI was that in view his intelligence , honesty , scholarship and loyalty to the then CHINESE EMPEROR YAOHITSUNG , the CHINESE Emperor thought that why not all these virtues of KUMARJIVI be used for the improvement of the CHINESE race genetically . So , he sent ten extremely beautiful CHINESE girls in the services of KUMARJIVI . And as a hardy man he started molding his life as per the wishes of the Emperor . Now he propagated among the CHINESE people this message that since the Lotus was grown in the mud , so people should take only Lotus leaving the mud . But sad thing about him was that all of his sons and grandsons from those ten CHINESE girls did not proved to be worthy as per the aspirations and wishes of the Emperor . However , his LOTUS SUTRA had a sizable impact on the minds of the JAPANESE people as such . And the thought propounded in the LOTUS SUTRA had guided JAPANESE people since thirteenth century onwards as they believed that all the transcendental pleasures could be attained by following the sermons given in the LOTUS SUTRA and assured by it . LOTUS SUTRA written in the JAPANESE HIEROGLYPHS ‘ KANJI ‘ is the best example of the the emotional bindings of the two countries like INDIA and JAPAN .

ARBIND KUMAR BLOG

COTTON SEEDS AND THE INDIAN YOUTH

The incident is that of 799 AD . A youth of 20 years of age while flowing in the sea reached MICAVA beach of JAPAN because his ship had broken in the sea near JAPAN . He had no cloth over his body except a coat and underpants made up of the MUNJ grass . When landed on the beach of MICAVA nobody understood his language . After some years when he learnt the JAPANESE language , he told the people of JAPAN that he was an INDIAN and then he was given shelter at the KOBADERA BUDDHIST MONASTERY of JAPAN . Two JAPANESE writers : NIHAN-KOKO and RUIJU KOKUSHI had written that the INDIAN youth had brought seeds of cotton from INDIA with himself and cotton cultivation in JAPAN started with that and later JAPAN became one of the cotton growing countries of the world .

ARBIND KUMAR BLOG

RICE AS STAPLE FOOD OF JAPAN

Rice is the staple food of the people of JAPAN . The rice in the JAPANESE language is called URUCHI . As per the JAPANESE scholars the rice came in JAPAN from INDIA . And as per the JAPANESE tradition if you are eating rice with other things , you are not supposed to leave a single rice grain in your eating plate as rice is cultivated by putting much labor in it . And it is considered as a moral crime as such if you are leaving a single grain of rice in your eating plate . This tradition is similar to what we have in INDIA and this percolated deep in the minds of the JAPANESE people especially since HEIAN PERIOD since JAPANESE PEOPLE started coming in touch with the INDIAN BUDDHIST MONKS and scholars . In early period of the spread of BUDDHISM in JAPAN the BUDDHIST MONKS were pure vegetarians . Even common people also liked vegetarian foods except fish . But beef eating was started later on by the first AMERICAN representative in JAPAN known as TOWNSAND HARRIS . He used to live on the IJU island of JAPAN . One day he expressed his wish that he wanted to eat beef . By that time JAPANESE were not having beef at all . So , it was very difficult for them to fulfill the wishes of that AMERICAN representative in JAPAN . But it is said that a very kind JAPANESE farmer gave him a cow . The cow was tied in a lemon tree and was butchered for that AMERICAN representative in JAPAN . But for many years he had to hid himself in a temple fearing threat of his life by some cow devotees which might cause rift in relation between the two countries i.e AMERICA and JAPAN . And in this way beef eating was started in JAPAN by an AMERICAN as such .

NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .

TO BE CONTINUED ………………

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