Lotus sutra two expedient means lotus sutra three simile and parable lotus sutra four belief and understanding lotus sutra five the parable of the medicinal herbs lotus sutra six. At that time the worldhonored one calmly arose from his samadhi and addressed shariputra, saying. Its simple logic, katie higgins, mark rogow and their. Academics who study just the words and miss the meaning of the sutra, complain that there is no actual teaching there. Because the thus come one is fully possessed by both expedient means and. Ten or more years ago, virtually everyone was reciting the nembutsu. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the heart of the lotus sutra. The buddha preaches the one great vehicle sariputra, ever since i attained buddhahood i have through various causes and various similes widely expounded my teachings and have used countless expedient means to guide living beings and cause them. Motifs from the lotus sutra figure prominently in the dunhuang caves built in the sui era. This pdf file may be printed and distributed according to the terms of use estab. Introduction to the lotus sutra toshiro tamura, gene. In this work, ikeda, in dialogue with members of the sgis study department, explores the relevance of the sutra to todays world and unpacks its profound principles from the. Id like to start by confirming something very basic. The wisdom of the buddhas is infinitely profound and immeasurable.
He taught that our existence is identical to the universe as a whole and the universe as a whole is identical to our existence. When the sutra speaks of the door to this wisdom, it is praising the provisional wisdom. The lotus sutra translated by burton watson chapter two. Shakyamuni of india taught the 28 character lotus sutra for those alive during his lifetime and in the former day. A disciple of the buddha shall not himself kill, encourage others to kill, kill by expedient means, praise killing, rejoice at witnessing killing, or kill through incantation or deviant mantras.
But in these more than forty years, i have not yet revealed the truth the lotus sutra and its opening and. In the expedient means chapter of the lotus sutra, how is the one vehicle expounded. Chapter 2, ways and means shakyamuni explains his use of skillful means to adapt his teachings according to the. Opening the way for the enlightenment of all people t. However, most historians believe the sutra was written in the 1st or 2nd century ce, probably by more than one writer. Later, in the lotus sutra, he indicates that he is discarding expedient means and will preach only the unsurpassed way lsoc, 79. In the second chapter, the buddha explains the importance of upaya, and he illustrates this in the third chapter with the parable of the burning house.
These dharmas were all for the sake of the one buddha vehicle. Daishonin never prescribed a specific format or number of repetitions. Buy daisaku ikeda ebooks to read online or download in pdf or epub on your pc, tablet or mobile device. Shakyamuni taught the dharma to different people in different ways, a style of. Sgi president ikeda and the study department leaders advance the dialogue to the second chapter of the lotus sutra, expedient means. Shariputra, the buddhas of the past, by means of limitless, countless expedient devices, various causes dharmas to living beings. For the record, i believe the lotus sutra is absolutely the eternal truth, and that your selfserving and infantile literal interpretations of nichiren daishonins gosho that cast doubts upon the lotus sutra, are completely wrong. Watson 3435 poceski chinese buddhism 18 the father understood his sons and knew what various toys and curious objects each child customarily liked and what would delight them. Employ expedient devices, the living beings they transform. Lectures on the expedient means and life span chapters kindle edition by ikeda, daisaku. This denotes that the lotus sutra is for all beings, not only human beings, but also for animals and.
Having developed a lifelong appreciation of the lotus sutra even carrying a dogeared copy with him through service in world war ii yoshiro tamura sought to author an introduction to this beloved work of buddhist literature. The lotus sutra saddharma pundarika sutra translated by burton watson chapter two. Ideas and values this is the translation of opening lecture for the exhibition lotus sutra a message of peace and harmonious coexistence in madrid, spain on february 17, 2012 carlos rubio t he lotus flower, paradigm of the strange beauty that grows, immaculate, deep in the mud, gives its name to the king of the. Lotus sutra five the parable of the medicinal herbs. It exemplifies the principle that earthly desires are identical with enlightenment, that the. Those sound hearers, because of their faith in the buddhas words. During gongyo, apart from chanting nam myoho renge kyo, we also recite two chapters from the lotus sutra, chapter 2 expedient means hoben and chapter 16 the life span of the thus come one juryo. Among ikedas writings on buddhism, that which deals most extensively and specifically with the lotus sutra is the sixvolume the wisdom of the lotus sutra series. Why it is not the ten factors emphasized by nichiren buddhism. The concept of skillin means is expounded upon in the lotus sutra where the buddha states that he has used countless expedient means to guide living beings and cause them to renounce attachments.
Skillful means is one of the major themes of the lotus sutra. Breaking any of these precepts is described as a major offense in the sutra. The lotus sutra translated by burton watson including rev. Lectures on the expedient means and life span chapters of the lotus sutra book.
The concept of the replacement of the three vehicles with the one. Miao fa lian hua jing, which was translated from sanskrit into chinese by kumarajiva includes index introduction expedient means simile and parable belief and. And the same thing holds true for all the people of japan. Profound meaning of the lotus sutra, in sections that were possibly added by zhiyis. Lotus sutra nanzan institute for religion and culture. It is an expedient means that acts as a corridor to the teaching of the buddhas enlightenment, a force p. To make the understanding of the lotus sutra, there are books available to enable you to grasp the essence of the lotus. Again, the expedient means chapter represents the ten worlds, or in another sense it represents ignorance or darkness. A beautiful translation with deep love from a lay buddhist practitioner. Ebook is available for purchase the lotus sutra and its opening and closing sutras. In this parable, a man comes home to find his house in flames while his children play happily inside.
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. Lotus claims to be a record of the words of the historical. 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. The lotus sutra is one of the most popular and influential mahayana sutras, and the basis on. Buddhism and the lotus sutra daisaku ikeda website. Both chapters are recited in chinese, so unless you are fluent, the meaning. Within the buddhist canon, the lotus sutra is one text that should be read. Lectures on the expedient means and life span chapters. Because if the buddha remains in the world for a long time, those persons with shallow virtue will fail to plant good roots but, living in poverty and lowliness, will become attached to. This book contains two chapters of the lotus sutra, expedient means and the life span of the thus come one, translated by burton watson, as well as some of the explanations of the terms from the glossary of his book. All these living beings, hearing the dharma from the buddhas, ultimately attain the wisdom of all modes. A translation of the lotus sutra from an ancient sanskrit manuscript was completed by hendrik kern in 1884.
Expedient means chapter dictionary of buddhism nichiren. The sutra s name in sanskrit is maha saddharmapundarika sutra, or great sutra of the lotus of the wonderful law. A pronunciation guide soka gakkai international sgi soka gakkai international. While one practitioner may benefit most from the rich symbolism and ritual of tibetan buddhism, another may make faster progress with a strippeddown zazen practice. What these academics miss is that the every emptiness of the lotus sutra provides the space within the structure of the expedient teachings within which we can pursue the. It is just a preface to a sutra that is never delivered. There were gathered gods, the rich and the poor, men and women, and also nonhuman beings such as deities in forms of beasts, birds, and fishes. Presently, in the latter day, however, even if you should carry out the practices of the former day of reading and reciting this sutra and copying it, you will gain no benefit. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Gongyo liturgy the key to bring out our kindness and. The second chapter of the lotus sutra, in which shakyamuni buddha reveals that the purpose of a.
And that means that nichiren daishonin employs expedient means to bring his followers to the truth, just as all the. Pdf the lotus sutra download full pdf book download. The lotus sutra bucknell digital commons bucknell university. The heart of the lotus sutra lectures on the expedient means and life span chapters. As an example, i may point to the fact that dozenbo has embraced the lotus sutra and fashioned an image of shakyamuni buddha, actions that came about because i spoke harshly to him. A karaokestyle guide showing the pronunciation and rhythm of gongyo, the recitation of excerpts from the lotus sutra. The expedient means chapter in the first volume of the lotus sutra states, the true aspect of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between buddhas. It is a matter of faith in some schools of buddhism that the sutra contains the words of the historical buddha. Skillful means of most enlightened buddhas is itself the highest teaching the lotus sutra itself, in conjunction with the sutra s stated tenets that all other teachings are subservient to, propagated by and in the service of this highest truth and teaching aimed at creating full buddhas out of pratyekabuddhas, lesser buddhas and bodhisattvas.
One is fully possessed by both expedient means and the paramita of wisdom. Both chapters are recited in chinese, so unless you are fluent, the meaning may be lost. In terms of the depth of its teaching, the lotus sutra unequivocally recognizes the possibility of all people, regardless of capacity. According to the lotus sutra, there are countless expedient means to approach the dharma, and i agree with this teaching. This is an expedient means which the thus come one uses to teach and convert living beings. She founded a website lotus happiness to share her experience in the areas of buddhism, spirituality and selfactualization for the benefits and happiness of humanity. The concept of skillinmeans is expounded upon in the lotus sutra where the buddha states that he has used countless expedient means to guide living beings and cause them to. The conversations in this sixvolume work, conducted over a number of years among daisaku ikeda, head of soka gakkai international sgi, and soka gakkai study department leaders katsuji saito, takanori endo and haruo suda, yield intrareligious insights of buddhists who regard the lotus sutra as the core teaching of mahayana buddhism. But he did recommend reciting the expedient means second and life span of the thus come one sixteenth chapters of the lotus sutra, which are the heart of all buddhist teachings.
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