Lotus Sutra
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The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (Sanskrit: सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra; 妙法蓮華經 Chinese: Miàofǎ Liánhuā Jīng; Japanese: Myōhō Renge Kyō; Korean: Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong) is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sutras in East Asia and the basis on which the Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.
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[edit] History and background
The Lotus Sutra was probably compiled in the first century CE in Kashmir, during the fourth Buddhist Council of the newly founded Mahayana sect of Buddhism, more than 500 years after the death of Sakyamuni Buddha. It is thus not included in the more ancient Agamas of Mahayana Buddhism, nor in the Sutta Pitaka of the Theravada Buddhists, both of which represent the older Buddhist scriptures which can be historically linked to Sakyamuni Buddha himself.
The Lotus Sutra appears to be a discourse delivered by Sakyamuni Buddha himself toward the end of his life. The tradition in Mahayana states that the Lotus Sutra was written down at the time of the Buddha and stored for five hundred years in the realm of the dragons (or Nagas). After this, they were re-introduced into the human realm at the time of the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir. The tradition further claims that the teachings of the Lotus Sutra are higher than the teachings contained in the Agamas and the Sutta Pitaka (the Sutra itself also claims this), and that humankind was unable to understand the Lotus Sutra at the time of the Buddha (500 BCE). This is the reason given for the need to store the Lotus Sutra in the realm of the dragons for 500 years, after which humankind was able to understand the Lotus Sutra.
[edit] Translation and Composition
The Lotus Sutra was originally translated from Sanskrit into Chinese by Dharmaraksa around 209 CE, before being superseded by a translation in seven fascicles by Kumārajīva in 406 CE. The Chinese title is usually abbreviated to ː₦ː, which is read Făhuā Jīng in Chinese and Hokekyō in Japanese, Beophwagyeong in Korean, and Pháp Hoa Kinh" in Vietnames. The Sanskrit copies are not widely used outside of academia. It has been translated by Burton Watson. According to Burton Watson it may have originally been composed in a Prakrit dialect and then later translated into Sanskrit to lend it greater respectability!
This sutra is well-known for its extensive instruction on the concept and usage of skillful means (Sanskrit: 'upaya'; Jp: hōben), mostly in the form of parables. It is also one of the first sutras to coin the term Mahayana, or 'Great Vehicle' Buddhism. Another concept introducted by the Lotus Sutra is the idea that the Buddha is more of an eternal entity, who achieved nirvana eons ago, but willingly chose to remain in the cycle of rebirth to help teach beings the Dharma time and again. He reveals himself as the "father" of all beings and evinces the loving care of just such a father. Moreover, the sutra indicates that even after the Parinirvana (apparent physical death) of a Buddha, that Buddha continues to be real and to be capable of communicating with the world. The idea that the physical death of the / a Buddha is the termination of that Buddha is graphically refuted by the movement and meaning of this scripture, in which another Buddha, who "parinirvana-ed" long before, appears and communicates with Shakyamuni himself. In the vision of the Lotus Sutra, Buddhas are ultimately immortal. A similar doctrine of Buddhic eternity is repeatedly expounded in the tathagatagarbha sutras, which share certain family resemblances in spirit to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
The Lotus Sutra also indicates (Chapter 4) that emptiness (sunyata) is not the ultimate vision to be attained by the aspirant Bodhisattva: the obtention of Buddhic Wisdom is indicated to be a bliss-bestowing treasure which transcends seeing all as merely empty.
In terms of literary style, the Lotus Sutra often uses astronomical numbers and measurements of time meant to convey a sense of timeless time, or to convey the inconceivable. Some of the other Buddhas mentioned in the Lotus Sutra are said to have lifetimes of dozens or hundreds of kalpas, while the number of Bodhisattvas mentioned in the "Earth Bodhisattva" chapter number in the millions, if not more. The Lotus Sutra also often alludes to a special teaching that supersedes everything else that the Buddha has taught, but the Sutra never actually says what that teaching is. This is said to be in keeping with the general Mahayana Buddhist view that the highest teaching cannot be expressed in words. This same point is also often cited by critics of the Lotus Sutra.
At least some sources consider that the Lotus Sutra has a prologue and an epilogue, these being respectively the Sutra of Infinite Meaning (無量義經 Jp: Muryōgi Kyō) and the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Worthy (普賢經 Jp: Fugen Kyō).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- An old translation into English by H.Kern, 1884, from the Sacred Texts Web site
- The first U.S. translation of a fragment of the Lotus Sutra, attributed to Henry David Thoreau and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, originally published in Ralph Waldo Emerson's magazine The Dial in 1844
- Lotus Sutra in Sanskrit (romanized) from Buddhist Sanskrit Texts No. 6 Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtram, Dr. P. L. Vaidya, ed, The Mithila Institute, Darbhanga, 1960 (scroll down to navigate chapters)
- The Lotus Sutra Study Center
- Digital Dictionary of Buddhism entry (log in with userID "guest")
- Article that comments on the Lotus Sutra, including origin and relationship with other Sutras
- "Chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra English Translation. Piece in female gender form
- "Better Than HD-TV," an article authored by a Soka Gakkai International-USA (SGI-USA) member that examines Nichiren's interpretation of the Lotus Sutra's Ceremony in the Air, also called the "Towering Assembly"
- The Art, 13 volumes of illuminated manuscripts inspired by the Lotus Sutra
- Lotus Sangha A Danish Buddhist Sangha dedicated to the practice and study of the Lotus Sutra
