Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (Sanskrit: सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र Saddharmapundarīka-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 Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.

History and Background to the Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra was probably composed 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.

Composition and Translation

According to translator Burton Watson, the Lotus Sutra 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.

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 Lotus Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra was originally translated from Sanskrit 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. Earlier Sanskrit copies of the Sutra exist as well, but are not widely used outside of academia.

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

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
• Ida B. Wells Memorial Sutra Library includes versions of the Lotus Sutra and commentaries
• 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