Benevolent Kings Sutra
Benevolent Kings Sutra
仁王経 (Chin Jen-wang-ching; Jpn Ninno ﾭkyo )
Also known as the Benevolent Kings Wisdom Sutra. The full title is the Benevolent Kings Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in the early fifth century, the sutra, regarded as the concluding sutra of the Wisdom sutras, consists of a discourse between Shakyamuni Buddha and Prasenajit, the king of Kosala. It enumerates seven disasters that will occur when the correct teaching perishes. It then stresses that the only way to avoid these disasters and ensure the protection and prosperity of the nation is to uphold the teaching of the perfection of wisdom. In China, Korea, and Japan, the Benevolent Kings Sutra was revered widely as a sutra for the protection of the nation. In Japan, the sutra was one of the three scriptures believed to protect the nation, the other two being the Lotus Sutra and the Golden Light Sutra. There is another Chinese translation of the Benevolent Kings Sutra done by Pu-k'ung in 765, which is used mainly by the Japanese True Word (Shingon) school.
