However, the lotus sutra tells us at times that the lotus sutra is about to be preached, at other times, it says that the lotus sutra has already been preached. The lotus sutra is the ultimate buddhas teachings for it encapsulates the secret treasure of tathagata. In the lotus sutra, he declares that the earlier teachings have been set forth as expedient means to prepare people for the teaching of the sutra, which is the supreme vehicle of buddhahood, the goal of the buddhist practice. Whitehead and charles hartshorne with the buddhism of the lotus sutra. Here are the 10 quotes about the one buddha vehicle in the lotus.
Lotus sutra most inflential sutra of mahayana buddhism. An invaluable guide to an incomparable spiritual classic, this book unlocks the teachings of the lotus for modern readers while providing insights into the central importance of commentary as the vehicle by which ancient writings are given contemporary meaning. Do not delight in this triple world, which is like a burning house, in these miserable forms, sounds, odours, flavours, and contacts. The first, the sutra of innumerable meanings, is considered by many to be a kind of prologue to the lotus sutra. The lotus sutra also claims to be superior to other sutras and states that full buddhahood is only arrived at. Discussion of the threevehicles and onevehicle practice. The lotus sutra second revised edition the lotus sutra is one of the most important of all the mahayana sutras.
Because the lotus sutra is such an important and timely scripture, i have long cherished the hope that all people. The lotus sutra audiobook by hendrik kern, nicolas. By means of these three vehicles he attracts the creatures and speaks to them thus. Recently i read the xiu xing dao di sutra translated by dharmaraksa, who is known as dun huang bodhisattva. The early commentators in china noticed that the book sort of falls into two halves.
The lotus sutra by gautama buddha 20120802 gautama buddha on. Because of the sutra s capacity to integrate the paths of all the buddhist vehicles, it has been given the highest place in the mahayana canon. Subsequent to the three sincere requests by his chief disciple shariputra, the buddha agreed to speak of the one buddle vehicle. The stories of the lotus sutra by gene reeves, paperback. Buddha is about to expound the sutra of the great vehicle mahayana called the lotus. The lotus sutra download pdfepub ebook gets free book. Lecture on the sutra hoben and juryo chapters by josei toda. Wang argues that the explosion of art inspired by the lotus sutra, 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. It also is the very sutra that fulfilled the ultimate purpose of his advent in this world. Then he immediately stood up, pressed his palms together, gazed up in reverence at the face of the honoredone, and said to the buddha, just now, when i heard from the worldhonored one, this voice of the law, my mind seemed to dance and i gained what i had never. The lotus sutra translated by burton watson chapter three. The lotus sutra sees all other teachings are subservient to, propagated by and in the service of the ultimate truth of the one vehicle leading to buddhahood. Lotus sutra project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The many skillful or expedient means and the three vehicles are revealed to all be part of the one vehicle, which is also the.
In the theoretical teaching, the buddha declares that the three vehicles, the teachings for. This author has also translated the lotus sutra saddharma pundarika sutra. His most recently published book is the stories of the lotus sutra. The lotus sutra illustrates that these apparent differences are simply expedients utilised in order to reach as many sentient beings as possible. The lotus sutra of buddhism is considered as the first sutras to use the term mahayana in its text which means great vehicle. In the second section, the daishonin clarifies the great blessings contained in the five characters of myohorengekyo, the title of the lotus sutra. But the lotus sutra says that the three vehicles are one vehicle, the buddha vehicle, through which all beings become buddhas. Does the one vehicle practice take us further than the three vehicle practice. The lotus sutra also claims to be superior to other sutras and states that full buddhahood is only arrived at by exposure to its teachings and skillful means. Lets wrap things up by talking about what you meant by that. With very few exceptions the readings in these two editions are almost. It is the root text, so to speak, of the pure land schools, which.
According to lotus sutra, buddha is considered as an eternal being who attained nirvana yet he chose the cycle of samsara so that he could be reborn to teach the wheel of dharma again and again. They are sacred words, phrases, parables transmitted. The sutra s key message is that buddhahood, the supreme state of life characterized by boundless compassion, wisdom and courage, is inherent within every person without distinction of. Many people often view the three vehicles as separate, and contradictory. The lotus sutra is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential sutras, or sacred scriptures, of buddhism. The lotus sutra is arguably the most influential of all of the mahayana sutras, and an understanding of it and its themes is essential to the study of east asian buddhist doctrine and practice. In the lotus sutra the buddha says to a bodhisattva. The great teacher dengyo points out that the words to the one buddha vehicle chapter two, expedient means represent the basic lotus teaching which replaces the three vehicles with the one vehicle, and that outside of the wonderful law, there is not so much as one line of any other sutra. The threefold lotus sutra consists of three sutras. Don, in your final chapter you say that the lotus sutra is a book of twos. The sutras of innumerable meanings and meditation on the bodhisattva universal virtue have never before been translated into english, while the present version of the lotus sutra itself is based on the translation from the chinese made by bunno kato and w. Saddharma pundarika sutra or the lotus of the true law scripture of the lotus blossom of the fine dharma. Saddharmapuarikasutra scripture of the white lotus of the marvelous law into chinese in 406 c.
Finally, he states that only the lotus sutra enables women to attain buddhahood, and urges the. The lotus sutra, revised second edition bdk america. In particular the concept of one vehicle, which permeates the work, has had great influence on multiple schools. The lotus sutra is king because it unifies all the three vehicles. Motifs from the lotus sutra figure prominently in the dunhuang caves built in the sui era. On the ten worlds wnd ii nichiren buddhism library. It appears that researchers have not come to any conclusions. The lotus sutra translations from the asian classics i love to tell the truth chinese english. All buddhas of past, present and future become enlightened to this eternal universal law or truth, the wonderful, or mystic, law of the lotus sutra.
The lotus sutra, as it is generally known in the west, is one of the most important of all the mahayana sutras, and especially in japan, where it is popularly known as the hokekyou, it has been held in high regard ever since prince shoutoku included a commentary on it in his set of commentaries on three mahayana sutras sangyougisho. Whether youre experienced with the lotus or have never endeavored to read it, youll have a deeper understanding. The daimoku of the lotus sutra wnd i nichiren buddhism. The lotus sutra translated by burton watson including rev. But since the theoretical teaching of the lotus sutra is designed to show that persons of the two vehicles can actually attain buddhahood, it says, in that other land. They identified a central teaching to the first half and the second half, and then those two halves then took. The work has both literary and philosophical merit, combining verse and parables with clarity of insight, earning it a permanent spot in the history of buddhism. Next comes the lotus sutra itself, also known by the longer title of the sutra of the lotus flower of the wonderful law. The hokekyo lotus sutra not merely represents all the teachings of shakyamuni which were revealed for the period of fifty years since he had attained enlightenment. Then he immediately stood up, pressed his palms together, gazed up in reverence at the face of the honoredone, and said to the buddha, just now, when i heard from the worldhonored one, this voice of the law, my mind seemed to dance and i gained what i had never had.
Here, lopez provides what he calls the plot summary of the lotus sutra. The schools based on lotus sutra always use extensive practice on the. The concept of equality in the lotus sutra 41 the expedient means chapter of the lotus sutra says, there is only the law of the one vehicle, there are not two, there are not three, except when the buddha preaches so as an expedient means. The three vehicles the three vehicles include, first, the hinayana or lesser vehicle. The lotus sutra is one of the most important mahayana texts and the most widely read, chanted and revered, particularly in asian buddhist countries, notably china and japan. Historical background after about 100 years of the buddhas. This lotus sutra is known for its extensive instruction on the concept and usage of skillful means sanskrit. In the theoretical teaching, the buddha declares that the three vehicles, the teachings for voiceh. The two most important teachings found in the lotus sutra are both contained in chapter 16. Essays on the lotus sutra, which he edited, was published in 2002. The sutras are not books written by sakyamuni buddha nor recorded by someone else. While the lotus sutra is considered an esoteric buddhist doctrine in the general sense, and in the sense of tientais ranking system, true word jpn shingon has claimed the title of esoteric buddhism due to the fact that the people of japan employed the use of it for its esoteric practice. Sincerely, richard h brown a votary of nichirens lotus sutra.
This concept is expressed as the replacement of the three vehicles with the one vehicle. In translating the chinese text into english we used the kasuga edition of kumarajivas version of the lotus sutra as the basic text, rather than the taisho edition. In it, shakyamuni expounds the ultimate truth of life to which he was enlightened. The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life is found in only one place, hidden in the depths of the life span chapter of the essential teaching of the lotus sutra. Reeves is currently working on a buddhist natural theology which attempts to relate the process philosophy of a.
635 81 1223 1513 788 739 1103 766 238 337 1528 30 439 1539 1453 666 1302 1092 246 553 386 1214 22 1214 929 111 409 280 442 594 1594 1523 1241 1275 1275 370 1121 960 672