Prince Shotoku and Buddhism

The dispatch of envoys to the Sui Dynasty in 6-7 years was closely related to Prince Shotoku, the ruler at that time. In AD 592, Emperor Suiko ascended the throne. As Japan's first female emperor, she appointed Prince Shotoku, the prince of Emperor Yomei, as regent in the second year of her accession to the throne (593), "taking care of everything." ?Since then, Prince Shotoku began a series of political reform activities. In 6?3 years, the prince first formulated the twelve levels of crown. The next year, a seventeen-article constitution was issued.

As an outstanding figure in Japanese history, Prince Shotoku has been highly praised by future generations. However, people's evaluation of Prince Shotoku mainly focuses on his Buddhist activities. This can be seen from the honorific title given to the prince. In addition to the general prince names "Prince Jihu" and "King of Shanggong", there are also three titles for the prince: "Shengde", "Holy King" and "King of Dharma". Taro Sakamoto believes that ① "Shōtoku" is the posthumous title after death. In the "Old Records" of "Ji Gong Ling Jie", as an example of "posthumous title", "Prince of the upper palace, called the holy and virtuous king type" is cited. Therefore, this posthumous title can be considered to have been considered by intellectuals in the Tianping era. The title of "Shengde" was first seen in the article "Inscription on the Dew Pan of Faqi Temple Pagoda" contained in Xianzhen's "Ancient and Modern Catalogs", where it was written as "Prince Shengde Dharma Emperor". According to the inscription, the pagoda was built in the year of Bingwu (the third year of the Qingyun reign of Emperor Munmu, that is, AD 76). ② Seongwang was the title given to the prince during his lifetime. This is related to the fact that King Seongmyeong of Baekje, who spread Buddhism to Japan, and the prince himself loved to use the word holy. ③ Dharma King is a Buddhist term. This can often be seen in the Three Classics written by Prince Zhishu. Dharma King is the title given by the monks to the prince during his lifetime in order to praise the virtues of Buddhism that prospered in the prince. ?

The ideological roots of Prince Shotoku’s Buddhist activities can be traced back to his childhood. As mentioned above, Prince Shotoku’s father, Emperor Yongmei, was a figure deeply influenced by Buddhism. This kind of family environment could not help but have an impact on Prince Shotoku's childhood. This can be seen from the battle of guarding the house in 588 AD:

At that time, the prince of Manghu tied his hair on his forehead and followed the army. I thought to myself that there will be no defeat, and it will be impossible to achieve without the source. Then he cut off the white rubber wood, quickly made a statue of the four kings, placed it on the top of his head, and swore: If I defeat the enemy now, I will worship the four kings as protectors of the world and erect a temple tower. ?

The prince, who was only fourteen years old at the time, not only participated in the crusade against Monobe Moriya of the Paibutsu sect, but also expressed his worship of Buddhism when he prayed for victory.

After the prince became the regent, he "learned internal teachings from the Korean monk Huici, and learned external classics from the doctor Jue'an". ?Buddhism, which is called the inner religion, and Confucian classics, which are called the outer canon, are the main contents of the prince's study. This cannot help but have an impact on the prince's ideological formation. The emergence of concepts such as "respecting the three treasures" and "the emperor governs heaven and ministers governs earth" in the 17-article constitution formulated by the prince is the result of the expression of the prince's personal thoughts.

From the prince's growth process and the prince's famous saying, "The world is false, only Buddha is true." It can be seen that Buddhist thought is the main component of Prince Shotoku's personal thoughts. It is natural that Buddhist thought dominates Prince Shotoku’s administrative activities.