Hirotaka pred kraljem Enmo zaradi ženine tožbe

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Hirotaka pred kraljem Enmo zaradi ženine tožbe

This too took place long ago. There was a man named Fujiwara no Hirotaka who died and was summoned to the court of King Enma. When he came before what seemed to be the king’s seat, the king said, “A woman who conceived your child died in childbirth. She fell into hell and now suffers its torments. Because she has brought a complaint before this court, I have summoned you. First, is it true that such a thing happened?” Hirotaka replied, “It is true.” The king said, “Your wife’s complaint is this: ‘I lived with my husband, and together we committed sins. Yet I died giving birth to his child and fell into hell, where I suffer these unbearable torments, while he has done nothing at all for the repose of my soul. There is no reason why I alone should suffer. Summon Hirotaka here, so that he may share my torments.’ That is why you have been summoned.” Hirotaka answered, “Her complaint is entirely just. Amid the duties of public and private life, though I have thought of her, I have done nothing for her soul, and the months and days have slipped vainly by. Yet if I am summoned here now to suffer beside her, that will do nothing to relieve her pain. I beg you, therefore, to grant me leave this once to return to the world of the living. I will set all else aside, have images of the Buddha made and sutras copied, and hold services dedicating their merit to my wife.” “Wait here a while,” said the king. He summoned Hirotaka’s wife and asked what she thought of her husband’s proposal. “If he truly promises to have even images made and sutras copied, and to hold services for me,” she said, “please release him at once.” The king then called Hirotaka before him again, told him what she had said, and declared, “Then return this once. Be sure to have images of the Buddha made and sutras copied, and hold services for your wife’s repose.” With that, he sent him back. Yet Hirotaka still did not know where he was or who had spoken to him. Released, he rose from the courtyard and set off, but on his way he thought, “Who can it be who sits behind that jeweled curtain, passes judgment in this way, and sends me home?” So deeply did this uncertainty trouble him that he went back and knelt once more in the courtyard. From behind the curtain came a voice: “Was that Hirotaka not sent back? Why has he returned?” Hirotaka replied, “Through your unexpected mercy, I have been allowed to return to my homeland, a place I could scarcely have hoped to see again. Yet I do not even know who has commanded that I be sent back. To return without knowing would leave me deeply troubled and full of regret. Though I fear to presume, I have come again to ask.” “You are a foolish man,” came the reply. “In Jambudvipa, the human world, I am called the Bodhisattva Jizō.” Hearing this, Hirotaka thought, “So the one called King Enma is none other than Jizō! If I devote myself to this bodhisattva, surely I may escape the torments of hell.” On the third day he returned to life. Thereafter, he had images of the Buddha made and sutras copied, and held services for his wife. So it is recorded in the Nihon Hokke Genki.