CONTENTS

CHAPTER X. THE SŪTRAS Sacred scriptures of Buddhism, believed to be the oral teachings of the Buddha. USED IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY . . . . . 427

List of the sutras, in chronological order, 427.

CHAPTER XI. THE GOLDEN LIGHT SUTRA original: "Konkwōmyōkyō" AND THE SOVEREIGN KINGS OF THE GOLDEN LIGHT SUTRA original: "Konkwōmyō-Saishōōkyō". JAPANESE BUDDHISM IN GENERAL IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY . . 431

A. The Golden Light Sutra. 1. Contents of the Golden Light Sutra, 431. — 2. The Golden Light Sutra in China, 434. — 3. The Golden Light Sutra in Japan, 436.
B. The Sovereign Kings of the Golden Light Sutra. 4. Contents of the Sovereign Kings of the Golden Light Sutra original: "Saishōōkyō", 438. — 5. The Sovereign Kings commentaries in China and Japan, 441. — 6. The Three Festivals of Nara The capital city of Japan from 710 to 794, and a major center of early Japanese Buddhism., 443. — 7. The Sovereign Kings Sutra, the Kokubunji State-sponsored temples established in every province of Japan., Kokushi Provincial governors or officials responsible for regional administration and religious oversight., and Japanese Buddhism in general in the eighth century, 446. — 8. The Sovereign Kings Sutra in later times, 471.

CHAPTER XII. THE GREAT WISDOM SUTRA original: "Daihannyakyō" OR THE GREAT PERFECTION OF WISDOM SUTRA original: "Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra" 489

1. The Perfection of Wisdom original: "Prajñāpāramitā" and its principal text, 489. — 2. The Ceremony of the Great Wisdom Sutra original: "Daihannya-e", 494. — 3. The Ceremony of the Great Wisdom Sutra, celebrated in the Daigokuden The Great Hall of State, or main audience hall within the Imperial Palace. of the Imperial Palace and in temples during the ninth century, 499. — 4. The Great Wisdom Sutra in the tenth century, 507. — 5. The Great Wisdom Sutra in the eleventh century, 512. — 6. The Great Wisdom Sutra from the 12th to the 19th century, 514.

CHAPTER XIII. THE DIAMOND SUTRA original: "Kongō-hannyakyō" OR THE DIAMOND-CUTTER PERFECTION OF WISDOM SUTRA original: "Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

1. The text and translations of the Diamond Sutra, 520. — 2. The Diamond Sutra in Japan during the seventh and eighth centuries, 522. — 3. The prominence of the Diamond Sutra in Japan during the ninth century and its decline in the tenth, 524.

CHAPTER XIV. THE MEDICINE BUDDHA SUTRA original: "Yakushikyō" AND THE SUTRA OF THE SEVEN MEDICINE BUDDHAS original: "Shichi-butsu-Yakushikyō" 533

1. Contents of the Medicine Buddha Sutra, 533. — 2. Contents of the Sutra of the Seven Medicine Buddhas, 541. — 3. Famous images of Yakushi Nyorai The Medicine Buddha (Bhaisajyaguru), the Buddha of healing and medicine., his attendant Bodhisattvas Enlightened beings who delay their own nirvana to help all sentient beings achieve salvation. and the Twelve Yakṣa Nature spirits or guardian deities who serve as protectors of the Buddhist law. Generals, 543. — 4. Explaining the Medicine Buddha Sutra, and the Yakushi Repentance Ritual original: "Yakushi-kekwa" in Japan, 558. — 5. Names of priests connected with the cult of the Medicine Buddha, 560. — 6. The mystic Rituals of the Medicine Buddha original: "Yakushi-hō", 564. — 7. The Rituals of the Seven Medicine Buddhas original: "Shichibutsu-Yakushi-hō", 567.