The Tale of Mokuren - Mokuren no soshi

Japanese: 目連の草子 - もくれんのそうし

A short story from the Muromachi period. Prince Mokuren, the son of King Kanrobon, was ordained at the age of 15 and became a monk, but lost his mother. On March 25th, when he was 37 years old, he died and traveled to the underworld, where he met his deceased mother in the Black Rope Hell. His mother had become a hungry ghost for the sin of stinginess in trying to give wealth to Mokuren, and had further fallen into hell, praying for the death of a great arhat in order for Mokuren, who had become a monk, to become a monk. Mokuren was resurrected on April 1st, and relieved his mother from suffering by copying sutras and holding an Ullambana ceremony on July 15th. This is a tale about the origin of Ullambana, but it differs from the stories in the Ullambana Sutra, the Chinese version, the Three Kingdoms Record, and the later Mokurenki.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

室町時代の短編物語。甘露飯王（かんろぼんおう）の太子の目連は，15歳で受戒して僧となるが母を失う。37歳の3月25日，死んで冥途に遍歴し，黒縄地獄の亡母と対面。母は目連に財を与えようとした慳貪（けんどん）の罪で餓鬼に堕し，さらに出家した目連のために大阿羅漢の死を願って地獄に堕していた。4月1日に蘇生した目連は写経供養して母の苦を救い，7月15日に盂蘭盆会（うらぼんえ）を行った。盂蘭盆の起源説話であるが，《盂蘭盆経》や中国の所伝，あるいは《三国伝記》や後代の《目連記》の所伝とは異なる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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