Miraculous power - Reigen

It is also called "reiken." It refers to mysterious signs and effects beyond human understanding that can be obtained by praying to gods and Buddhas or by holding and reciting scriptures. The idea that a person's sincere prayer will always lead to the object of the prayer is widely accepted in China and Japan, but its origins can be traced back to the ancient idea of ​​sensitivity in the Book of Changes (Xiangua). Since ancient times, China has compiled a large number of miraculous stories and chronicles of divine intervention that record various miraculous powers. These include the ancient Meishoki (Records of Mingxiang) by King Yan of Southern Qi, the Ganyinzu (Records of the Emeralds) by King Yanxiu of Taiyuan, and the Sojinlu (Records of the Gods of Heaven) by Tao Yuanming. The Jishenzhou Sanbo Gantonglu (Records of the Three Treasures of God's Land) by Daoxuan of the Tang Dynasty is a collection of many accounts of Buddhist miraculous miracles that took place over a 600-year period from the Later Han Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty. In Japan, under this influence, "Nihonkoku Genpo Zenaku Ryoiki" (abbreviated as "Nihon Ryoiki") was written in the early Heian period, and many other miraculous stories were written afterwards, such as "Dai-Nipponkoku Hokke Genki", "Kasuga Gongen Miraigenki", and "Jizo Bosatsu Miraigenki". In addition, from the Heian period onwards, incantations and prayers in hope of miraculous powers became popular, and the people who performed these prayers came to be called "genja".

[Fujii Noriaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

「れいけん」ともいう。神仏に祈請したり、あるいは経典を受持(じゅじ)・読誦(どくじゅ)したりすることによって得られる、人知を超えた不思議なしるし・効験のことをいう。人間の真摯(しんし)な祈りは、かならずその祈りの対象に通ずるという考え方は、中国や日本において広く受け入れられているが、その起源は、古く『易』（咸卦(かんか)）の感応(かんのう)思想にさかのぼることができる。古来、中国ではさまざまな霊験を記録した霊験記・感応伝が数多く編まれており、古くは南斉王琰(おうえん)の『冥祥記(めいしょうき)』、太原(たいげん)王延秀(えんしゅう)の『感応伝』、陶淵明(とうえんめい)の『捜神録(そうじんろく)』などがあり、唐の道宣(どうせん)の『集神州三宝感通録(じゅうじんしゅうさんぼうかんつうろく)』は、後漢(ごかん)から唐初に至る600年の間の仏教上の神異霊験の事跡を多数集録している。わが国でもこの影響下に、平安前期に『日本国現報善悪霊異記(りょういき)』（略称『日本霊異記』）がつくられ、その後、『大日本国法華験記(ほっけげんき)』『春日権現(かすがごんげん)霊験記』『地蔵菩薩(じぞうぼさつ)霊験記』など多くの霊験記がつくられるに至った。また、平安時代以降、霊験を期待して加持祈祷(かじきとう)が流行し、この祈祷行者を験者(げんじゃ)とよぶようになった。

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