After the arrival of Buddhism, shuzen 修善 (“cultivating good acts”) was encouraged in Japan and its merits were preached. In the Rikkokushi
六国
史, compiled from the late eighth to the early tenth century,
shuzen meant the reading of sūtras, making donations, enabling persons to take the tonsure, and so on. Also in the same text
shuzen for the elimination of misfortune was sometimes combined with repentance for transgressions. However, in Fujiwara no Tadahira’s 藤原忠平 diary,
Teishinkōki 貞信公記, it is not clear what Buddhist activities were conducted as
shuzen, and some entries indicate that
shuhō 修法 (esoteric Buddhist rituals) were considered as such. In contrast to the case in the
Rikkokushi, I did not find any
Teishinkōki entries indicating that repentance for transgressions was carried out as part of a set before or after
shuzen. Moreover, there is an entry in the
Teishinkōki about separately engaging in sūtra reading at the same time as
shuzen. From this entry, we can infer that most of the
shuzen in the
Teishinkōki refer to
shuhō, as is the case in Fujiwara no Michinaga’s 藤原道長
Midō kanpakuki 御堂関白記, rather than “Buddhist good acts” such as the reading of sūtras found in the
Rikkokushi.
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