Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The contents of the separate chapters into which the Stra is divided may be described, summarily, as follows: 1. Prologue. 2. Awakening of the Lord from his mystic trance; display of his transcendent skilfulness, proved by the apparent trinity of vehicles, whereas in reality there is but one vehicle. 3. Prophecy of the Lord regarding the future destiny of Sériputra, his eldest son. Second turn of the wheel of the law on that occasion, with incidental commemoration of the first turn near Benares, Parable of the burning house, to exemplify the skill of the good father in saving his children from the burning pains of mundane existence. 4. Another parable, exemplifying the skill of the wise father in leading a child that has gone astray and lost all self-respect back to a feeling of his innate nobility and to happiness. 5. Parable of the plants and the rain, to exemplify the impartiality and equal care of the Lord for all creatures *. Parable of the blind man, to intimate that the phenomena have but an apparent reality, and that the ultimate goal of all endeavours must be to reach all-knowingness, which in fact is identical with complete nescience. 6. Sundry predictions as proofs of the power of the Sugata to look into the future. 4. He has an equal knowledge of the remotest past; his remembrance of the turning of the wheel by the Tathagata Mahabhighagnanabhibhi. Edifying history of the sixteen sons of the said Tathagata. 1 Chap. xiii, st. 53 seq. * Cf. Bhagavad-gita IX, 29, where Narayana declares: ‘I am equal towards all creatures, none is hateful to me, none beloved ;’ samo "ham sarvabhiteshu, na me dveshyo ’sti na priyas, XXX SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. 8. Prophecy regarding five hundred Arhats. 9. Prophecy concerning Ananda, Rahula, and the two thousand monks. 10. The Lord teaches how pious preachers of the law, who will come in after-times, ought to be duly honoured, and promises that he will always protect the ministers of religion. 11. Display of the miraculous power of Sakyamuni shown in the appearance of a Stipa, which, being opened by him, discloses to sight the frame of the expired Tathagata Prabhataratna, who is desirous of hearing the exposition of the Lotus of the True Law. How SAkyamuni in a former birth strove to acquire the Lotus. His great obligations to Devadatta. Episode of the wise daughter of the Ocean and her change of sex. 12. Prediction to Gautami, Yasodhard, and the nuns in their train. Promise of the host of disciples and Bodhisattvas to take up the difficult task of preaching the holy word in days to come, after the Lord’s Nirvaza. 13. Vocation of the ministers of religion, and practical rules for their conduct in and out of society. Parable of the king who rewards his valiant warriors; in the same manner the Buddha will reward those who struggle for his sake, by bestowing upon them all kinds of favours, at last the most valuable of his boons—eternal rest.
2Parable of the king who rewards his valiant warriors; in the same manner the Buddha will reward those who struggle for his sake, by bestowing upon them all kinds of favours, at last the most valuable of his boons—eternal rest. 14. Splendid phantasmagory of innumerable Bodhisattvas evoked by the creative power of the Lord. Long pause, during which the Tathagata and the four classes of hearers are silent. Perplexity of Maitreya on hearing that the innumerable Bodhisattvas have all been the pupils of the Lord. 15. The Buddha explains the fact by revealing the immense duration of his lifetime, in the past and the future. 16, Meritoriousness of the belief in the immense duration of the Tathagatas and all those who have once become Buddhas. 17. The Lord details the great merit attending a ready acceptance of the preaching of the law. INTRODUCTION. XXxi 18. Exposition of the advantages, worldly and spiritual, enjoyed by the ministers of religion. 19. Story of Sadaparibhita, exemplifying the superiority of simple-mindedness and pure-heartedness to worldly wisdom and scepticism. 20. Grand show exhibited by the two Tathagatas Sakyamuni and Prabhitaratna conjointly.. Pause after the performance. After the pause a great stir amongst gods, celestial and infernal beings, men, &c.? The Tathagata extols the Stra of the Lotus in which ‘all Buddha-laws are succinctly taught,’ as well as the keepers of this most eminent of Satras. Immediately after this chapter may have followed, in the oldest version, the epilogue entitled ‘Period of the Law ;’ the reasons for this opinion have been already stated above. The supposed additional chapters contain the following topics, briefly indicated : 21. Efficacy of talismanic spells (Dh4ramis). 22. Self-sacrifice of the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarsana, otherwise called Bhaishagyara4ga. Glorification of the Lotus as the most eminent of Sitras. 23. Visit of.the Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara to the Sahaworld. Extraordinary qualities and achievements of this worthy, incidentally narrated by the Tathagata. Return of the Bodhisattva to whence he came. 24. Grandeur and ubiquitousness of Avalokitesvara. 25. Wonderful and edifying story of the conversion of the king Subhavydha through the instrumentality of his two sons Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra, al. Bhaishagyaraga and Bhaishagyasamudgata. 26. The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra charges himself with the task of being a protector to the preachers of religion in after-times after the Lord’s Nirvaza'. 1! Both stretch their flaming tongues as far as the Brahma-world. In the Bhagavad-gita XI, 30 it is said of Narayana, when at the request of Arguna he shows himself in his full grandeur: lelihyase grasamdnah samantal lokan samagrén vadanair gvaladbhik, tegobhir apirya gagat samagram bhasas tavograk prapatanti, Vishzo ! ? Cf. Bhagavad-gita XI, 15. ’ There is some incongruity between this chapter and chapter x, because =, XXXii SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
3? Cf. Bhagavad-gita XI, 15. ’ There is some incongruity between this chapter and chapter x, because =, XXXii SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. This summary, however meagre, will be sufficient to show that there is no lack of variety in our Sdtra. We may, indeed, be satisfied that the compilers of it intended giving an exposition of the principal truths of their religion in general, and of the peculiar tenets of their own system? in particular, the whole with anxious care arranged in such a form that the Satra admitted of an exoterical and esoterical interpretation. It contains a revelation of the state of things in the present, as well as in the past and the future, a revelation derived from a virtually eternal source, so that the doctrine taught in it must be deemed valid not only for a certain spiritual brotherhood or church, but for the human race at large. The highest authority to whom the doctrine is referred, is not a certain individual having lived a short span of time somewhere in India, but the sublime being who has his constant abode on the Gridhrakiia, i.e. he who isy the terminology of other Indian creeds is called Kdzastha. As a general rule it may be said that in such works of ancient Indian literature as are anonymous, we must distinguish between the authority and the author. In the Lotus we meet after the invocation in some MSS. the following distich : Vaipulyasitraragam param4rthanaydvataranirdesam | Saddharmapuzdarikam sattvaya mahApatham vakshye 1 T.e. ‘I shall proclaim the king of the Vaipulya-sftras, that teacheth how one arrives at the (right) method of attaining the highest truth ; the Saddharma-pudarika, the great road (leading) to substantiality (being in abstracto).’ The person here speaking is not the Buddha, who is neither the author nor the writer of the work. Have we then to ascribe the distich to one of the ancient copyists? Burnouf? decidedly thinks so, and his opinion is corroborated by the fact that the verses do not occur in all MSS. I must con- in the latter it is the Lord himself who promises to be in future the protector of the preachers. 1 Le. of the Mahay&na, which according to TAranftha, Geschichte des Buddhismus, p. 274, stands above the division of the Bauddhas into various schools. 3 Lotus, p. 285. INTRODUCTION. XXXili
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The contents of the separate chapters into which the Stra is divided may be described, summarily, as follows: 1. Prologue. 2. Awakening of the Lord from his mystic trance; display of his transcendent skilfulness, proved by the apparent trinity of vehicles, whereas in reality there is but one vehicle. 3. Prophecy of the Lord regarding the future destiny of Sériputra, his eldest son. Second turn of the wheel of the law on that occasion, with incidental commemoration of the first turn near Benares, Parable of the burning house, to exemplify the skill of the good father in saving his children from the burning pains of mundane existence. 4. Another parable, exemplifying the skill of the wise father in leading a child that has gone astray and lost all self-respect back to a feeling of his innate nobility and to happiness. 5. Parable of the plants and the rain, to exemplify the impartiality and equal care of the Lord for all creatures *. Parable of the blind man, to intimate that the phenomena have but an apparent reality, and that the ultimate goal of all endeavours must be to reach all-knowingness, which in fact is identical with complete nescience. 6. Sundry predictions as proofs of the power of the Sugata to look into the future. 4. He has an equal knowledge of the remotest past; his remembrance of the turning of the wheel by the Tathagata Mahabhighagnanabhibhi. Edifying history of the sixteen sons of the said Tathagata. 1 Chap. xiii, st. 53 seq. * Cf. Bhagavad-gita IX, 29, where Narayana declares: ‘I am equal towards all creatures, none is hateful to me, none beloved ;’ samo "ham sarvabhiteshu, na me dveshyo ’sti na priyas, XXX SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. 8. Prophecy regarding five hundred Arhats. 9. Prophecy concerning Ananda, Rahula, and the two thousand monks. 10. The Lord teaches how pious preachers of the law, who will come in after-times, ought to be duly honoured, and promises that he will always protect the ministers of religion. 11. Display of the miraculous power of Sakyamuni shown in the appearance of a Stipa, which, being opened by him, discloses to sight the frame of the expired Tathagata Prabhataratna, who is desirous of hearing the exposition of the Lotus of the True Law. How SAkyamuni in a former birth strove to acquire the Lotus. His great obligations to Devadatta. Episode of the wise daughter of the Ocean and her change of sex. 12. Prediction to Gautami, Yasodhard, and the nuns in their train. Promise of the host of disciples and Bodhisattvas to take up the difficult task of preaching the holy word in days to come, after the Lord’s Nirvaza. 13. Vocation of the ministers of religion, and practical rules for their conduct in and out of society. Parable of the king who rewards his valiant warriors; in the same manner the Buddha will reward those who struggle for his sake, by bestowing upon them all kinds of favours, at last the most valuable of his boons—eternal rest.
2Parable of the king who rewards his valiant warriors; in the same manner the Buddha will reward those who struggle for his sake, by bestowing upon them all kinds of favours, at last the most valuable of his boons—eternal rest. 14. Splendid phantasmagory of innumerable Bodhisattvas evoked by the creative power of the Lord. Long pause, during which the Tathagata and the four classes of hearers are silent. Perplexity of Maitreya on hearing that the innumerable Bodhisattvas have all been the pupils of the Lord. 15. The Buddha explains the fact by revealing the immense duration of his lifetime, in the past and the future. 16, Meritoriousness of the belief in the immense duration of the Tathagatas and all those who have once become Buddhas. 17. The Lord details the great merit attending a ready acceptance of the preaching of the law. INTRODUCTION. XXxi 18. Exposition of the advantages, worldly and spiritual, enjoyed by the ministers of religion. 19. Story of Sadaparibhita, exemplifying the superiority of simple-mindedness and pure-heartedness to worldly wisdom and scepticism. 20. Grand show exhibited by the two Tathagatas Sakyamuni and Prabhitaratna conjointly.. Pause after the performance. After the pause a great stir amongst gods, celestial and infernal beings, men, &c.? The Tathagata extols the Stra of the Lotus in which ‘all Buddha-laws are succinctly taught,’ as well as the keepers of this most eminent of Satras. Immediately after this chapter may have followed, in the oldest version, the epilogue entitled ‘Period of the Law ;’ the reasons for this opinion have been already stated above. The supposed additional chapters contain the following topics, briefly indicated : 21. Efficacy of talismanic spells (Dh4ramis). 22. Self-sacrifice of the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarsana, otherwise called Bhaishagyara4ga. Glorification of the Lotus as the most eminent of Sitras. 23. Visit of.the Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara to the Sahaworld. Extraordinary qualities and achievements of this worthy, incidentally narrated by the Tathagata. Return of the Bodhisattva to whence he came. 24. Grandeur and ubiquitousness of Avalokitesvara. 25. Wonderful and edifying story of the conversion of the king Subhavydha through the instrumentality of his two sons Vimalagarbha and Vimalanetra, al. Bhaishagyaraga and Bhaishagyasamudgata. 26. The Bodhisattva Samantabhadra charges himself with the task of being a protector to the preachers of religion in after-times after the Lord’s Nirvaza'. 1! Both stretch their flaming tongues as far as the Brahma-world. In the Bhagavad-gita XI, 30 it is said of Narayana, when at the request of Arguna he shows himself in his full grandeur: lelihyase grasamdnah samantal lokan samagrén vadanair gvaladbhik, tegobhir apirya gagat samagram bhasas tavograk prapatanti, Vishzo ! ? Cf. Bhagavad-gita XI, 15. ’ There is some incongruity between this chapter and chapter x, because =, XXXii SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA.
3? Cf. Bhagavad-gita XI, 15. ’ There is some incongruity between this chapter and chapter x, because =, XXXii SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. This summary, however meagre, will be sufficient to show that there is no lack of variety in our Sdtra. We may, indeed, be satisfied that the compilers of it intended giving an exposition of the principal truths of their religion in general, and of the peculiar tenets of their own system? in particular, the whole with anxious care arranged in such a form that the Satra admitted of an exoterical and esoterical interpretation. It contains a revelation of the state of things in the present, as well as in the past and the future, a revelation derived from a virtually eternal source, so that the doctrine taught in it must be deemed valid not only for a certain spiritual brotherhood or church, but for the human race at large. The highest authority to whom the doctrine is referred, is not a certain individual having lived a short span of time somewhere in India, but the sublime being who has his constant abode on the Gridhrakiia, i.e. he who isy the terminology of other Indian creeds is called Kdzastha. As a general rule it may be said that in such works of ancient Indian literature as are anonymous, we must distinguish between the authority and the author. In the Lotus we meet after the invocation in some MSS. the following distich : Vaipulyasitraragam param4rthanaydvataranirdesam | Saddharmapuzdarikam sattvaya mahApatham vakshye 1 T.e. ‘I shall proclaim the king of the Vaipulya-sftras, that teacheth how one arrives at the (right) method of attaining the highest truth ; the Saddharma-pudarika, the great road (leading) to substantiality (being in abstracto).’ The person here speaking is not the Buddha, who is neither the author nor the writer of the work. Have we then to ascribe the distich to one of the ancient copyists? Burnouf? decidedly thinks so, and his opinion is corroborated by the fact that the verses do not occur in all MSS. I must con- in the latter it is the Lord himself who promises to be in future the protector of the preachers. 1 Le. of the Mahay&na, which according to TAranftha, Geschichte des Buddhismus, p. 274, stands above the division of the Bauddhas into various schools. 3 Lotus, p. 285. INTRODUCTION. XXXili
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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