I am reading The Essential Lotus, a text originally written in Sanskrit by Shakyamuni Buddha who lived in the 5th-6th century, and later translated into Chinese in 406 by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva. Burton Watson translated this version of the sacred text, published in 2002, into English at the suggestion of Soka Gakkai International’s President Daisaku Ikeda. The text explains the not only translates the Lotus Sutra, it also provides insight on the historical context of the sacred text and offers questions and statements for further consideration.
The introduction and translator’s notes are easy to read and provide a rather short, but detailed explanation of the Sutra’s history and how it came to be presented in its current form. The second chapter translates the “Expedient Means” chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The third chapter covers the “Simile and Parable” chapter of the Sutra.
An excerpt from chapter 2 explains one aspect of the nature of Buddhahood:
These World-Honored Ones
have all preached the doctrine of the single vehicle,
converting countless living beings
and causing them to enter the Buddha way.
And these great sage lords, knowing what is desired deep in the minds
of the heavenly and human beings and the other living things
throughout al the worlds,
have employed still other expedient means
to help illuminate the highest truth.
If there are living beings
who have encountered these past Buddhas, and if they have listened to their Law, presented alms,
or kept the precepts, shown forbearance,
been assiduous, practiced meditation and wisdom, and so forth,
cultivating various kinds of merit and virtue,
them persons such as these
all have attained the Buddha way.
After the Buddhas have passed into extinction,
if persons are of good and gentle mind,
then living beings such as these
have all attained the Buddha way.
“Single vehicle” pertains to the one method of achieving a state of enlightenment. In the SGI branch of Buddhism, we advocate the chanting of the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which was established by Nichiren on 28 April 1253. To translate, the words mean:
Nam=Derives from Sanskrit, it means, “to devote oneself”
Myoho=the Mystic Law
Renge=lotus flower, which blooms and seeds at the same time. It represents the simultaneity of cause and effect.
Kyo=sutra, the voice or teaching of a Buddha
Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the primary practice of SGI members. We chant this phrase repeatedly once in the morning, and once at night, along with the two chapters of the Lotus Sutra mentioned above.
The process of becoming a Buddha is not a finite one. It is a high standard that one hopes to achieve and maintain over time. Buddhahood is placed at the highest state of enlightenment above nine other states of being which include the following from the lowest to the highest: hell, hunger/craving, animality, angry warfare, human beings, gods–these six lower worlds tend to take place in an ever-changing, fluctuating way within individuals, and also the world at large. Continuing upward, the last four holy states include: the voice hearers (shravakas) who hear the Buddha’s teachings, self-enlightened ones (they learn on their own, but they do not teach the knowledge), the bodhisattvas (or people with great compassion, they support the Buddhas), and finally, the Buddha, or Buddhas.
More thoughts and notes about Watson’s translation of the Lotus Sutra to come in the days ahead.
