Altruistic Expression in the Heian Aristocracy: Prince Kaneakira 兼明親王 and His Kuyō jihitsu Hokekyō ganmon 供養自筆法華経願文

Abstract

A ganmon 願文 is a vow made to the Buddha expressing one’s aspiration for enlighten­ment. This paper takes the ganmon written by Prince Kaneakira 兼明親王 and discusses how he tried to realize the idea of altruism based on the Lotus Sūtra 法華経.