The Sutra of Mercy

A Buddhist scripture in two volumes. It is also called the "Nio Gokoku Hannyaharamitta Sutra," "Nio Gokoku Sutra," or "Nio Hannya Sutra," and is said to have two Chinese translations: one by Kumarajiva and the other by Amoghavajra. The Tendai sect uses the former, and the Shingon sect uses the latter. This sutra consists of eight chapters, and its main purpose is to emphasize the Mahayana Buddhist idea of ​​wisdom, but at the same time, it has one chapter called the "Gokoku-hon," which is characterized by emphasizing the idea of ​​protecting the country and the need to protect the nation. For this reason, both the Shingon and Tendai sects in the early Heian period placed great importance on this sutra, and based on this sutra, they held ceremonies such as the Nino-e ceremony to pray for the peace of the nation, which continues to this day. The eighth volume of the "Taisho Shinshu Daizokyo" contains the Chinese translations of the two sutras mentioned above.

In addition, Daigoji Temple houses the "Niokyo Mandala" (created in the Heian period), which was painted based on the ritual texts of the "Niokyo Sutra" translated by Fuku.

[Seiichi Kato]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

仏教経典。二巻。『仁王護国般若波羅蜜多経(ごこくはんにゃはらみったきょう)』『仁王護国経』『仁王般若経』などともよばれ、鳩摩羅什(くまらじゅう)の漢訳と不空(ふくう)の漢訳との二部が伝えられている。天台宗は前者を用い、真言宗は後者を用いる。この経は八品(ぽん)（章）からなっており、その主旨は、大乗仏教の般若思想を強調するものであるが、それと同時に、なかに「護国品(ごこくほん)」なる一品があり、護国思想および鎮護国家の必要性を強調していることが特色である。このために、平安初期の真言、天台の両宗はこぞってこの経を重視し、この経典をもとにして仁王会(にんのうえ)などの法会(ほうえ)を修し、国家の安泰を祈願し、現在まで続いている。『大正新修大蔵経(たいしょうしんしゅうだいぞうきょう)』第八巻に前記二部の漢訳経典が収められている。

　なお、不空訳の『仁王経』儀軌(ぎき)をもとに描かれた『仁王経曼荼羅(まんだら)』（平安時代作）が醍醐寺(だいごじ)にある。

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