Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

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授一生之記

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: to bestow assurance of a birth

Senses:

  • In one standard Mahayana vision of the bodhisattva path, the 'bestowal'  授 of a 'prediction'  記 is an event that is supposed to happen when a fledgling bodhisattva gives rise to the thought of awakening, vows in the presence of a buddha to attain awakening for the sake of all living beings, and then receives that buddhaʼs prediction that he/she will attain Buddhahood in some future life. In the context of Zen funeral rites, however, the 'prediction' sought for the deceased is that he/she shall attain 'a birth'  一生 in the pure land 淨域, the paradise of Amida Buddha. This prayer is found in Keizanʼs Rules of Purity (Keizan shingi 瑩山淸規) and in the Rules of Purity for Zen Monasteries (Zen'en shingi 禪苑淸規), the Song Chinese text that Dōgen 道元 relied on when establishing ritual procedures for Eiheiji 永平寺. [Griffith Foulk]
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    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2009-09-03

    Updated: 2010-02-12