The Lotus Sutra (Watson)

Book

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

Since its appearance in China in the third century, The Lotus Sutra has been regarded as one of the most illustrious scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist canon. The object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, Japan, and other parts of the world, it has had a profound impact on the great works of Japanese and Chinese literature, attracting more commentary than any other Buddhist scripture.

As Watson notes in the introduction to his remarkable translation, "The Lotus Sutra is not so much an integral work as a collection of religious texts, an anthology of sermons, stories, and devotional manuals, some speaking with particular force to persons of one type or in one set of circumstances, some to those of another type or in other circumstances. This is no doubt why it has had such broad and lasting appeal over the ages and has permeated so deeply into the cultures that have been exposed to it." (Source: Columbia University Press)

Citation

Watson, Burton, trans. The Lotus Sutra. Translations from the Asian Classics. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. https://ia802902.us.archive.org/13/items/lotussutraburtonwatson_202003_473_o/Lotus%20Sutra%20Burton%20Watson.pdf.

Publisher Link

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-lotus-sutra/9780231081610

Texts Translated

Kumārajīva, trans. 妙法蓮華經 Miào fǎ lián huá jīng (Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra), T262, 09: https://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT2012/T0262.html.

Translation of

Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra

Commonly referred to as the Lotus Sūtra, this text is extremely popular in East Asia, where it is considered to be the "final" teaching of the Buddha. Especially in Japan, reverence for this text has put it at the center of numerous Buddhist movements, including many modern, so-called new religions. The esteemed status of this scripture is epitomized in the Nichiren school's sole practice of merely paying homage to its title with the prayer "Namu myōhō renge kyō".

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