Daie

大会 The Great Sermon

1 Source and/or Related Material

Miscellany of Ten Maxims 1

2 Author

Unknown

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Komparu, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

A monk (waki) who lives on Mount Hiei (northeast of present-day Kyoto) is visited at his hermitage by a mountain ascetic (maeshite) who says, as in many Japanese miracle tales, that the monk has saved his life when he was in the form of an animal, and he has come to grant the monk a wish. However, the mysterious ascetic is actually a tengu, a kind of devil who loves to play tricks on monks and lead them away from the Buddhist path into attachment and heresy. The monk wishes to be transported back in time to see and hear Shakyamuni Buddha preaching in the flesh, in ancient India. Promising to fulfil this desire, the mountain wanderer vanishes. Two tree-leaf tengu goblins (ai) enter, discussing preparations for the magical re-staging of Shakyamuni’s sermon. At last, the tengu appears before the monk disguised this time as Shakyamuni (nochishite), accompanied by tree-leaf goblins (ai) impersonating the Buddha’s disciples. They begin to perform the famous Sermon on Mt. Grdhrakūta, but suddenly the god Indra (tsure) appears, chastises them for trying to trick the monk into idolatrous attachment, and chases them away.