Lotus Sutra

Category: Mahayana Sutras

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Chinese :  妙法莲华经 miàofǎliánhuājīng
• Japanese :  Myōhō Renge Kyō
• Korean :  Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong
• Sanskrit :  सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र saddharmapundarīka sūtra

The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma, is the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren Buddhism were established.

Historicity and Background to the Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra was probably put into writing in the first centrury AD in Kashmir, during the fourth Buddhist Council of the newly founded Mahayana sect of Buddhism, more than 500 years after the parinirvana of Gautama Buddha.

The Lotus Sutra was composed at the time of the Buddha and stored for five hundred years in the realm of the dragons (naga). 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, and that humankind was unable to understand the Lotus Sutra at the time of the Buddha (500 BC). 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.

Composition and Translation

According to translator Burton Watson, the Lotus Sutra may have originally written 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 skillfull 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.

The Lotus Sutra was originally translated into Chinese by Dharmaraksa around 290 CE, before being superseded by a translation in seven fascicles by Kumārajīva in 406 CE. It has been translated into English by Leon Hurvitz, Burton Watson, and others. The Chinese title is usually abbreviated to 法華經, which is read Fǎhuā Jīng in Chinese and Hokekyō in Japanese and Beophwagyeong in Korean.

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).

See also

• Eternal Buddha

References

• Lotus Sutra - Buddhist Bookstore
• An old translation into English by H. Kern, 1884, from the Sacred Texts Web site
• 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
• 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"