Lotus Sutra

thumb|upright=1.25|[[Japanese art|Japanese illustration depicting white lotuses in Chapter 25: "Universal Gateway" of the Lotus Sūtra. Text inscribed by Sugawara Mitsushige, Kamakura period, c. 1257, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.]]

The Lotus Sūtra (, , ; japanese language: 法華経; rōmaji: Hokkekyō; ) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. It is the main scripture on which the Chinese Tiantai and its derivative schools—the Japanese Tendai and Nichiren, Korean Cheontae, and Vietnamese Thiên Thai schools of Buddhism—were established. It has also influenced other East Asian Buddhist schools, such as Chan and Zen. According to the British Buddhologist Paul Williams, "For many Buddhists in East Asia since early times, the Lotus Sūtra contains the final teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha—complete and sufficient for salvation." The American Buddhologist Donald S. Lopez Jr. writes that the Lotus Sūtra "is arguably the most famous of all Buddhist texts," presenting "a radical re-vision of both the Buddhist path and of the person of the Buddha."

Two central teachings of the Lotus Sūtra have been very influential for Mahāyāna Buddhism. The first is the doctrine of the One Vehicle, which says that all Buddhist paths and practices lead to Buddhahood and so they are all actually "skillful means" of reaching Buddhahood. The second is the idea that the lifespan of the Buddha is immeasurable, and that therefore, he did not really pass on into final Nirvana (he only appeared to do so as upāya), but is still active teaching the Dharma.

Title

thumb|upright=1.35|Sanskrit manuscript of the Lotus Sūtra in South [[Turkestan Brahmi script.]]

thumb|upright=0.8|The Japanese title of the Lotus Sūtra ([[daimoku) depicted in a stone inscription. ]]

The earliest known Sanskrit title for the sūtra is the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra (सद्धर्म पुण्डरीक सूत्र), which can be translated as "the Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma" or "The Discourse on the White Lotus of the True Doctrine." In English, the shortened form Lotus Sūtra is more common.

Translations of this title into Asian languages include the following:

. This is the title of Kumarajiva's Chinese translation. The characters mean: subtle dharma lotus flower sūtra
Shortened title: ("Dharma Flower Sūtra")
The title of Dharmaraksha's Chinese translation is ("True Dharma Flower Sūtra")
(short: Hoke-kyō)
(short: ).
.
.
(short: ).
Old Uyghur: (Fapḫuaké atlïġ nom čečeki sudur) (Fapḫuaké is the Uyghur rendition of the )
Tangut (romanized):

The Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) regarded the title as the summary of the Lotus Sūtra teachings. The chanting of the title is the basic religious practice he advocated during his lifetime.

Main themes

thumb|upright=1.35|In the parable of the burning house (shown in the upper part of this Korean illustration of the sūtra), a father uses three types of carts as a way to get his sons to exit a burning house. However, when they escape the fire, they all receive only one type of cart.

One Vehicle, Many Skillful Means

The Lotus Sūtra is known for its extensive instruction on skillful means (Sanskrit: upāyakauśalya (उपायकौशल्य) or upāya (उपाय), Ch.: fangbian, Jp.: hōben), which refers to how Buddhas teach in many ways adapted to the needs of their disciples. This concept of Buddhist pedagogical strategies is often explained through parables or allegories. In the Lotus Sūtra, the many 'skillful' or 'expedient' practices and teachings taught by the Buddha (including the "three vehicles" to awakening) are revealed to all be part of the "One Vehicle" (Skt.: ekayāna (एकयान), Ch.:一乘; yīchéng), the supreme and all encompassing path that leads to Buddhahood. This can and has been interpreted by some figures in an exclusive and hierarchical sense, as meaning that all other Buddhist teachings are to be dispensed with.

The idea that the physical death of a Buddha is the termination of their life is graphically refuted by the appearance of another Buddha, Prabhūtaratna, who has taught the Lotus countless aeons ago. The Lotus Sūtra indicates that not only can multiple Buddhas exist in the same time and place (which contrasts with earlier Indian views), but that there are countless streams of Buddhas extending throughout all of space and through unquantifiable eons of time. The Lotus Sūtra illustrates a sense of timelessness and the inconceivable, often using large numbers and measurements of space and time. According to Stone, the sūtra has also been interpreted as promoting the idea that the Buddha's realm (Buddhakṣetra) "is in some sense immanent in the present world, although radically different from our ordinary experience of being free from decay, danger and suffering." In this view, which is very influential in Chinese Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism, "this world and the pure land are not, ultimately, separate places but are in fact non dual." In fact, Mañjuśrī says this sūtra was taught by other Buddhas innumerable times in the past.

Chapters 2–9

Modern scholars suggest that chapters 2–9 contain the original form of the text. In Chapter 2 the Buddha declares that there ultimately exists only one path, one vehicle, the Buddha vehicle (Buddhayāna). This concept is set forth in detail in chapters 3–9, using parables, narratives of previous existences and prophecies of awakening.

Chapter 2: Skillful Means

thumb|Chapter 2 (printed in [[Edo period)]]

thumb|Buddha and [[Śāriputra|Śāripūtra. Japanese illustration for explaining Chapter 2]]

thumb|A depiction of a hell realm from the “Jigoku-zōshi”, a 12th-century scroll from the [[Heian period. Tokyo National Museum.]]

Shakyamuni explains his use of skillful means to adapt his teachings according to the capacities of his audience. He also says that his ways are inconceivable. Śāripūtra asks the Buddha to explain this and five thousand monks leave because they do not want to hear this teaching.

Chapter 26: Dhāraṇī（陀羅尼品）

Hariti and several bodhisattvas offer sacred dhāraṇī (magical formulas) in order to protect those who keep and recite the Lotus Sūtra.

Chapter 27: Former Affairs of King Wonderful Adornment（妙莊嚴王本事品）

This chapter tells the story of the conversion of King 'Wonderful-Adornment' by his two sons.

Chapter 28: Encouragement of Samantabhadra（普賢菩薩勸發品）

A bodhisattva called "Universal Virtue" or "All Good" (Samantabhadra) asks the Buddha how to preserve the sūtra in the future. Samantabhadra promises to protect and guard all those who keep this sūtra in the future. He says that those who uphold the sūtra will be reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa and Tuṣita heavens. He also says that those who uphold this sūtra will have many good qualities and should be seen and respected as Buddhas. According to Jean-Noël Robert, Kumārajīva relied heavily on the earlier version. The Sanskrit editions are not widely used outside of academia. Kumārajīva's version is missing the Devadatta chapter which had been present in the Dharmaraksa version. The Walters Art Museum.]]

The third extant version, The Supplemented Lotus Sūtra of the Wonderful Dharma (Chinese: Tiān Pǐn Miào Fǎ Lián Huá Jīng), in 7 volumes and 27 chapters, is a revised version of Kumārajīva's text, translated by Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta in 601 C. E. This version included elements that were absent in the Kumārajīva text, including the Devadatta chapter, various verses and the concluding part of chapter 25. Later, these elements were added back to the Kumārajīva text.</blockquote>

Modern developments

thumb|Great Sacred Hall of [[Risshō Kōsei Kai, one of the many Lotus Sūtra centered Japanese New Religious Movements.]]

According to Shields, modernist Japanese interpretations of the Lotus Sūtra begin with the early 20th century nationalist applications of the Lotus Sūtra by Chigaku Tanaka, Nissho Honda, Seno'o, and Nisshō Inoue. Japanese new religions began forming in the 19th century and the trend accelerated after World War II. Some of these groups have pushed the study and practice of the Lotus Sūtra to a global scale.

According to scholar Jacqueline Stone, Soka Gakkai generally follows an exclusivist approach to the Lotus Sūtra, believing that only Nichiren Buddhism can bring world peace. Sōkka Gakkai no longer teaches the differences between the two gates or "divisions" of the Lotus Sūtra. Instead, the modern organization teaches that only the sincere recitation of the daimoku is the "Doctrine of Essential Teaching" and that this does not require any clerical priesthood or temples since the true sangha comprises all people "who believe in the Buddha Dharma of Nichiren".

Meanwhile, Risshō Kōsei Kai follows an ecumenical, and inclusive approach and is known for its interfaith efforts and focus on world peace. According to its co-founder Niwano Nikkyō (1906–1999), "Lotus Sūtra is not a proper noun, but the fundamental truth—God, Allah, or the one vehicle—at the heart of all great religions."

An English translation of the Lotus Sūtra from two Sanskrit manuscripts copied in Nepal around the 11th century was completed by Hendrik Kern in 1884 and published as Saddharma-Pundarîka, or, the Lotus of the True Law as part of the Sacred Books of the East project.

Western interest in the Lotus Sūtra waned in the latter 19th century as Indo-centric scholars focused on older Pali and Sanskrit texts. However, Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, based predominantly in China, became interested in Kumārajīva's translation of the Lotus Sūtra. These scholars attempted to draw parallels between the Old and New Testaments to earlier Nikaya sūtras and the Lotus Sūtra. Abbreviated and "Christianized" translations were published by Richard and Soothill.

20th century translations

After the Second World War, scholarly attention to the Lotus Sūtra was inspired by renewed interest in Japanese Buddhism as well as archeological research in Dunhuang in Gansu, China. In 1976, Leon Hurvitz published The Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma, a scholarly English translation of the Lotus Sūtra based on Kumarajiva's Chinese. Whereas the Hurvitz work was independent scholarship, other modern translations were sponsored by Japanese Buddhist institutions. For example, the 1975 Bunno Kato and Yoshiro Tamura translation of the "Threefold Lotus Sūtra" was promoted by Rissho-kosei-kai, the Burton Watson translation was backed by Soka Gakkai and the Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama translation was sponsored by Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai ("Society for the Promotion of Buddhism").

Translations into French, Spanish and German are also based on Kumarajiva's Chinese text. Each of these translations incorporate different approaches and styles that range from complex to simplified.

Lotus Sūtra practice

thumb|Lotus Sūtra in Vietnam, 1730s

According to Gene Reeves, "the Lotus Sūtra frequently advocates concrete practices, which are often related to the sūtra itself. They are often given as sets of four to six practices, but include receiving and embracing the sūtra, hearing it, reading and reciting it, remembering it correctly, copying it, explaining it, understanding its meaning, pondering it, proclaiming it, practicing as it teaches, honoring it, protecting it, making offerings to it, preaching it and teaching it to others, and leading others to do any of these things." The Sūtra also promotes the building of stūpas wherever the Lotus Sūtra is being preached.

The Lotus Sūtra also mentions the six paramitas and the Noble Eightfold Path. Other passages from the sūtra have been seen as promoting certain ways of living. For example, the story of Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva in chapter 20 has been seen by some as teaching that we should see all beings as potential Buddhas and treat them accordingly. Similarly, other parts of the sūtra have been interpreted as exhortations to share the Dharma of the Lotus with other people.

Art

Various events from the sūtra are depicted in religious art. Wang argues that the explosion of art inspired by the Lotus Sūtra, starting from the 7th and 8th centuries in China, was a confluence of text and the topography of the Chinese medieval mind in which the latter dominated.

Motifs from the Lotus Sūtra figure prominently in the Dunhuang caves built in the Sui era. In the fifth century, the scene of Shakyamuni and Prabhutaratna Buddhas seated together as depicted in the 11th chapter of the Lotus Sūtra became arguably the most popular theme in Chinese Buddhist art. Examples can be seen in a bronze plaque (year 686) at Hase-dera Temple in Japan and, in Korea, at Dabotap and Seokgatap Pagodas, built in 751, at Bulguksa Temple.

Literature

Tamura refers to the "Lotus Sūtra literary genre." Its ideas and images are writ large in great works of Chinese and Japanese literature such as The Dream of the Red Chamber and The Tale of Genji. The Lotus Sūtra has had an outsized influence on Japanese Buddhist poetry. Far more poems have been Lotus Sūtra-inspired than other sūtras. In the work Kanwa taisho myoho renge-kyo, a compendium of more than 120 collections of poetry from the Heian period, there are more than 1360 poems with references to the Lotus Sūtra in just their titles.

According to Gene Reeves, "Japan's greatest twentieth-century storyteller and poet, Kenji Miyazawa, became devoted to the Lotus Sūtra, writing to his father on his own deathbed that all he ever wanted to do was share the teachings of this sūtra with others." Miyazawa implicitly references the sūtra in his writings.

Theater

According to Jacqueline Stone and Stephen Teiser "the Noh drama and other forms of medieval Japanese literature interpreted Chapter 5, "Medicinal Herbs", as teaching the potential for Buddhahood in grasses and trees (sōmoku jōbutsu)."

Notes

References

Sources

(In Nāgarī) Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5.
(Saddharmapuṇḍarīkanāmamahāyānasūtra, dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo). Toh 113 Degé Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b. Translated under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. First published 2018. Current version v 1.14.15 (2021).
(Abridged)
(Romanized Sanskrit)

External links

An 1884 English translation from Sanskrit by H.Kern from the Sacred Texts Web site
A 1909 English translation by Hendrik Kern public domain scanned book at the Internet Archive
An English translation by the Buddhist Text Translation Society
An English translation by 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha