Why are sutras (kigyo) read in Chinese?

I think Isono-san's question is very valid.

I would like to answer in my own way.

In the first place, sutras are Buddha's sermons, and the disciples who heard them gave this kind of sermon after the Buddha died, so many disciples gathered and compiled them.

Therefore, it is based on the Indian language of the time. (Sanskrit or Pali)

It went to China, and it was translated into Chinese so that it could be understood in China, mainly borrowing the sounds of the kanji.

When they came to Japan, it seems that monks learned from people who can decipher sutras in the form of how to read them as a Chinese calligraphy.
In that sense, the Chinese literature reading can probably be called a Japanese translation for the time.

The reason you read it as it is is probably because things adapted to kanbun kun reading are difficult to use as recitation, even though they are used for study.

Reading sutras is also called a statement (shomyo), and it is also called a kind of Japanese music.

The fact that Japanese translation is difficult to fit into the rhythm of the statement is probably one reason.

As Isono-san points out, Buddhism is for living people, and there is certainly an aspect where it is difficult to convey if you don't understand the meaning.

My temple is the Jodo Shinshu sect, and the Shinshu religious groups are jointly trying to put it in the form of a Japanese translation (translation) called “Japanese translation of Masanobu.”

However, the reason it doesn't spread is that it seems that there are voices saying that they don't feel grateful if it's not in Chinese, it's hard to recite, and they aren't used to it.

There is inevitably a sense of incongruity in paraphrasing that it is different from previous recitation, and since definitive paraphrase work has not been decided, this does not mean that there are no questions about whether the meaning of the sutras can be conveyed correctly.

It is also called “Sutra religion is a mirror,” and we search for our own truth in sutras.

In that sense, even if the recitation is in Chinese, I think it may be important in a slightly different sense for yourself to listen to the Dharma or read a book and face the sutras yourself.

> I wish paraphrase work would spread even more...
I think so too. It's necessary for Buddhism to spread to more people, isn't it? In fact, I always recite sutras translated into modern languages during my wake. That's because most of the people who come to the wake are the first and last people to meet me.

> The ancients understood Chinese, so it seems that they didn't need to dare translate it into Japanese
How about that... Even if I had understood, I think they weren't a very small group of people.

Now, on to the main subject, I think the sutras currently being read in Japan include Indian words, Chinese words, ancient Japanese texts, and modern Japanese sentences. So, it's not just Chinese. Also, there are various ways to pronounce kanbun, such as Wu sound and Chinese sound. Since sutras explain (translate) the teachings of the Buddha, they probably come into many different words. On the other hand, what is called a mantra is “the word of the Buddha itself,” so it is a type of Sanskrit (sacred word).

Just as there are Japanese translations and subtitled versions when we watch movies, I think there is still demand for both. Both are important. It's just my ideal, but I think it would be good for the monks to “recite sutras whose meaning you don't really understand for the Buddha” and “explain the meaning for the attendees so that they can understand it.”

As Isono-san said, Buddhism is originally a teaching for living people, and for that reason, there are many chief priests who make various efforts, such as puja and temple reports.
However, as Todo wrote, “I don't feel grateful unless it's in Chinese,” may be a surprisingly common opinion.

It was about 7 to 8 years ago, and a chief priest in Tokyo was introduced on TV.
It seems that an electric bulletin board was set up inside the main hall with the thought “I want you to know the contents of the sutras that you don't understand even when you listen to them,” and it seems that modern translations of the sutras currently being recited are played.

However, opinions continued from parishioners saying “I'm thankful for the sutras because I don't understand the meaning” and “they don't have an atmosphere,” and they eventually stopped. There were probably positive opinions, but they were probably few.

Also, even if you read the sutras in the paraphrase, I think you'll probably read it with a verse. I think it's extremely rare for people to read it aloud so that the meaning can be conveyed properly.

I'm afraid it's a completely different story, but before, the monk said, “Boys never wear pretty colored clothes! Wear black clothes at any time!” A movement called this has occurred.
However, there was a strong demand from the parishioners to “wear splendid clothing and read sutras during the ceremony,” and it seems that it was canceled.

It may be that monks are required to have an “atmosphere as those who perform rituals” more than we monks think.

Isono-sama

Hello, I'm Inoue Hirofumi from hasunoha.

Well, I answered with an abrupt title, but a few years before I became a monk, I had similar problems.

I want to tell you more about the contents of the sutras!

That's what I thought.

At that time, the words that came back when I talked to a senior monk about that problem

“Well then, Mr. Inoue. Exactly how many Japanese people listen to the Beatles song and think they are moved after understanding the lyrics?” It was.

I see, I was convinced that it is possible to move the heart even if the meaning isn't necessarily conveyed.

Since then, when I read sutras even more, I have made an effort and become aware of every movement of voice, rhythm, dignity, and appearance.

Also, the fact that it is written in Chinese has a big advantage.

It doesn't make sense right away.

As Isonosama says, it's not just a disadvantage that I don't understand the meaning.

Because it's hard to understand, it's an opportunity to deeply enjoy the sutras.
For example, when I happened to say, “Ah! This is what that part means!” There are times when you can have a similar understanding with a flash of inspiration.

Buddhism is a way of life. Therefore, in order to slowly and deeply enjoy sutras while walking through life, I even think that Chinese characters that are difficult to understand are more suitable these days.

Also, as Masuda Toshiyasu says, even if sutras are difficult to understand, I think it is our role as monks to convey them in an easy-to-understand manner.

Hello Isono-san.
I have a question about “Why are sutras (kigyo) read in Chinese?”

Can you think of it as “praising the virtues of the ancients, etc.”
When I first entered the ascetic dojo, I was just chanting it like a spell.
I think there are basic readings of Chinese characters that are close.
If you think so, it can also be said that it's for “remembering.”
Because of the atmosphere, it might be close.

In other words, “to cheer,” “to remember,” and “to be able to speak.” And at the end, is it “to become one with the sutras”?

Below are questions I thought were related.
I want you to explain sutras in current words in an easy-to-understand manner
http://hasunoha.jp/questions/121

That's right.

As someone responsible for common work (Japanese translation) in the Shinshu sect, I feel like I would like to thank you for the question.
I'm happy if paraphrasing services will spread from now on.
However, there are also points I noticed while conveying the translation.

Familiarity and habits with sutras are also important.
When I worked at a facility for the elderly, people called people with dementia usually straightened their backs and chanted traditional Chinese sutras together in a dignified posture.
I thought it would be enough without bothering to tell the person who had been recited without making a mistake in the order of the sutras.

One more thing, in Buddhism, those that are easier to understand may be familiar, but that is the entrance story.
Whether in Chinese or translation, the goal is to incorporate the wishes contained in the sutras into one's own body as a habit and live a Buddhist lifestyle.

I think people in the old days took time and effort to search for it themselves and incorporated the meaning into their bodies, and recited Chinese sutras while imagining the world of sutras. It's as if you're imagining that world while reading a picture book.
As much time and effort was spent doing my own research, I can feel the expansion of the world in my mind.

As Mr. Inoue wrote, I think there is also a world like Western music where you can enjoy it without being bound only by meaning once you reach a certain stage.

I am grateful for the relationship where they come into contact with Buddhism in the wake of translation and cherish the original world of Chinese, Pali, and Sanskrit, etc.

Translate anything into Japanese... with a paraphrase...
Is that really fine, shall we do?
There is also a reason why it can only be done in Chinese.
Furthermore, there are times when the original meaning is broken by translation...

As the teachers answered, it means that it is also necessary to read the Chinese sutras and the Sanskrit sutras.