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The '''White Lotus of the Good Dharma''' (Skt. ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīka''; Tib. དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོའི་མདོ།, Wyl. ''dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po mdo''), popularly known as the '''Lotus Sūtra''', is taught by [[Buddha Shakyamuni|Buddha Śākyamuni]] on [[Vulture's Peak|Vulture Peak]] to an audience that includes [[bodhisattva|bodhisattvas]] from countless realms, as well as bodhisattvas who emerge out from the ground from the space below this world. Buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has long since passed into [[nirvana|nirvāṇa]], appears within a floating [[stupa|stūpa]] to hear the [[sutra|sūtra]], and Śākyamuni enters the stūpa and sits beside him. The Lotus Sūtra is celebrated, particularly in East Asia, for its presentation of crucial elements of the [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] tradition, such as the doctrine that there is only one yāna, or “[[vehicle]]; the distinction between expedient and definite teachings; and the notion that the Buddha’s life, [[enlightenment]], and [[parinirvana|parinirvāṇa]] were simply manifestations of his transcendent [[Buddhahood]], while he continues to teach eternally. A recurring theme in the sūtra is its own significance in teaching these points during past and future eons, with many passages in which the Buddha and bodhisattvas such as [[Bodhisattva Samantabhadra|Samantabhadra]] describe the great benefits that come from devotion to it, the history of its past devotees, and how it is the Buddha’s ultimate teaching, supreme over all other sūtras. <ref>84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.</ref>
The '''''White Lotus of the Good Dharma''''' (Skt. ''Saddharmapuṇḍarīka''; Tib. དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོའི་མདོ།, [[Wyl.]] ''dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po mdo'') ([[Toh.]] 113) , popularly known as the '''''Lotus Sutra''''', was taught by [[Buddha Shakyamuni]] on [[Vulture's Peak]] to an audience of [[bodhisattva]]. Buddha Prabhutaratna, who had long since passed into [[nirvana]], appears within a floating [[stupa]] to hear the [[sutra]], and Shkyamuni enters the stupa and sits beside him.  
 
The ''Lotus Sutra'' is celebrated, particularly in East Asia, for its presentation of crucial elements of the [[Mahayana]] tradition, such as the doctrine that there is only one [[yana]] (Skt. ''ekayāna''); the distinction between [[provisional meaning|expedient]] and [[definitive meaning|definite]] teachings; and the notion that the Buddha’s life, [[enlightenment]], and [[parinirvana]] were simply manifestations of his transcendent [[buddhahood]], while he continues to teach eternally.
 
A recurring theme in the sutra is its own significance in teaching these points during past and future eons, with many passages in which the Buddha and bodhisattvas such as [[Bodhisattva Samantabhadra]] describe the great benefits that come from devotion to it, the history of its past devotees, and how it is the Buddha’s ultimate teaching, supreme over all other sutras.<ref>84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.</ref>


==References==
==References==
<small><references/></small>
<small><references/></small>
==Tibetan Text==
* (Toh 113) [[Derge Kangyur]], vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b.


==Translations==
==Translations==

Revision as of 10:33, 10 January 2019

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Skt. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka; Tib. དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོའི་མདོ།, Wyl. dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po mdo) (Toh. 113) , popularly known as the Lotus Sutra, was taught by Buddha Shakyamuni on Vulture's Peak to an audience of bodhisattva. Buddha Prabhutaratna, who had long since passed into nirvana, appears within a floating stupa to hear the sutra, and Shkyamuni enters the stupa and sits beside him.

The Lotus Sutra is celebrated, particularly in East Asia, for its presentation of crucial elements of the Mahayana tradition, such as the doctrine that there is only one yana (Skt. ekayāna); the distinction between expedient and definite teachings; and the notion that the Buddha’s life, enlightenment, and parinirvana were simply manifestations of his transcendent buddhahood, while he continues to teach eternally.

A recurring theme in the sutra is its own significance in teaching these points during past and future eons, with many passages in which the Buddha and bodhisattvas such as Bodhisattva Samantabhadra describe the great benefits that come from devotion to it, the history of its past devotees, and how it is the Buddha’s ultimate teaching, supreme over all other sutras.[1]

References

  1. 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Tibetan Text

  • (Toh 113) Derge Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b.

Translations