Written by: Gene Reeves, a philosopher of religion, former dean of Meadville / Lombard Theological School (Chicago) and Professor in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, he taught for several years in Japan in Tsukuba University. Currently leads the International Buddhist Congregation at Rissho Kosei-kai
Introduction
In Symbol and Yugen: Shunzei's Use of Tendai Buddhism, William La Fleur examines the poetry that emerged in the twelfth century in Japan under the influence of Tendai philosophy and, above all, of the Lotus Sutra. What he says is that under the influence of the 'ontological egalitarianism "of the Tendai, for whom" the abstract is no less real than real, "the Japanese poets rejected all distinctions between the sacred and the profane in favor of a "strong reaffirmation of the phenomena and the empirical world." The idea of \u200b\u200bTendai Chih-i leave blank and enter the provisional became, for the poets, the rejection of the allegory to address the immediacy of things like trees and plants [1].
In my view, social responsibility depends on an underlying sense of the value of this world. This value can be countered is turning inward and turning to other worlds, beyond or above the time. Internal or external, such worlds are typically ideal, or pure lands of the kingdom of heaven itself pure or constructed to be both more valuable and more real than the world of ordinary daily life.
may seem paradoxical that the Lotus Sutra, which speaks of many supernatural events and proposes a cosmic and universal Buddha Shakyamuni, in every world and every time, do what not to dismiss the historical Shakyamuni or the temporal world, but to affirm the their supreme importance. And their importance lies in the fact that in this world that we, having received the teachings of the historical Buddha, we are called to embody the life of the Enlightened One, in our daily acts. That is why in the liturgy of Rissho Kosei Kai-kan dojo says the so-called "Know that this is the place where Buddha attained perfect enlightenment. In this and all the places the Buddha reached enlightenment perfect
" .
There are, of course, many ways to read a sutra and, especially, the Lotus Sutra!
Personally, I consider it essentially a religious text, that is, a text whose primary purpose is soteriological. Whatever the polemical purposes to which it may be served in some kind of India would be some kind of Buddhist community, the text is addressed to readers at any time and place, for their salvation. Watch text from this point of view will not produce consistent results, but may lead to consider it as a text essentially ethical, in that it offers a moral theory or a set of commandments, but in the sense that recommends a certain lifestyle, led by About one above.
The sole purpose is nothing less than salvation, happiness, the whole world, a purpose rooted in a symbolic vote of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to save all living beings.
To this end, the Lotus Sutra uses several closely related themes, such as the upaya or adequate means of single vehicle, the Buddha-Nature, the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha and the practice of bodhisattvas, all subjects che, in un modo o nell'altro, affermano l'importanza di questo mondo e della vita in esso del lettore.
Il Dharma nelle storie
Il Sutra del Loto è, forse soprattutto, un libro di storie. Ne contiene più o meno ventisei, usate come espedienti educativi. Sebbene il Sutra non eviti di proporre la dottrina direttamente, per comprendere ciò che insegna veramente occorre prestare attenzione alle sue storie, e non solo ai versi in esse contenuti o ai versi che le spiegano, ma anche al loro tema e alla loro funzione globale.
Non è un caso che il Sutra del Loto originale probabilmente cominciasse con il capitolo sugli upaya e poi, nel capitolo successivo, raccontasse la parabola della casa in fiamme, per illustrarli and explain them. And that chapter, "parable" was immediately followed by the chapter adhimukti that was built around the story of the rich father and son's poor.
Effectively, as we have today, the entire Sutra, or at least the first twenty-two chapters, tells a story, that when the Buddha on a mountain called "Peak", preached the Lotus Sutra.
Compared to the abstract doctrine, the stories are real. They embody the teachings and, so to speak, give humanity to them in a way in which abstract principles can not. If you intend to fully understand this Scripture should be studied carefully to his stories. Thus it becomes possible to see that the extensive use of stories is a kind of affirmation of the concrete. The stories - seems to mean the Sutra - are important incarnations of the Dharma as any abstract statement. They tell of actions that embody the Dharma. It is such actions that are considered practical in this Sutra Bodhisattva, the Dharma is more concretely embodied and therefore more valuable and more real.
Stories of supernatural events
Several years ago, when I told my teacher of philosophy, Charles Hartshorne, which I was working on the Lotus Sutra, he replied that that was a long time but that did not look at what he remembered was that it contained many "miracle stories", something he did not like very much. The whole setting
of the Lotus Sutra is supernatural, in it, from first to last chapter, there is nothing that claims to be historical. But, while in other miraculous stories may have been used to assert some power in this world Otherworldly, their function in the Lotus Sutra is quite different. This is partly due, I believe, the fact that the whole setting is Sutra of the supernatural.
In the Bible, for example, miracles take place in history, they appear within a historical account. But in the Lotus Sutra, although there are brief references to historical events, the reader understands from the outset that miracles take place within a story. And these are stories of espedienti, degli abili mezzi, per impartire insegnamenti. Non hanno la pretesa di essere dei resoconti storici.
Non essendo resoconti storici, è importante vedere come funzionano, a quale fine servono. Personalmente, ritengo possa essere dimostrato che essi servono soprattutto per affermare l'importanza, il valore e la realtà fondamentale di questo mondo e ciò al fine di affermare il valore e l'importanza della vita e della pratica bodhisattvica del lettore. Per dimostrare ciò, vorrei esaminare prima alcune storie di miracoli.
Lo stupa ingioiellato e i Buddha-replica
Sicuramente una delle più interessanti storie sovrannaturali del Sutra del Loto è quella dello stupa del Buddha chiamato Molti-Tesori. At the very beginning of Chapter 11, tells of a large stupa, beautifully bejeweled and finely decorated that rose from the ground and began to float in front of Buddha Shakyamuni. The smell spread to the far corners of the world. The thirty-three gods rained flowers on it, while thousands of other gods and demigods of all kinds made offerings of flowers, incense, garlands, ribbons, music, etc.. In his honor.
From inside the stupa was a strong voice that begged Shakyamuni to teach the Lotus Sutra. The monks, nuns and lay people gathered were delighted to be amazed.
Seeing this, the Bodhisattva-called Great Speech [2] asked the Buddha because the stupa had emerged from the ground and a voice had come out of it. The Buddha then explained that long ago, in a distant world to the east, had lived a Buddha named Many Treasures-[3], when he was a bodhisattva, he promised that after his death, if someone had preached the Sutra Lotus, he would raise his large stupa in front of the preacher as witness to the truth of the sutras, the teachings would have heard directly and praised the man who was giving them.
Grande-Eloquence said that the congregation wanted to see the Buddha inside, then explained that the Buddha Shakyamuni, Many Treasures also promised that if such a meeting had wanted to see him, the Buddha stava predicando il Sutra avrebbe dovuto convocare in quel posto tutti i buddha delle dieci direzioni - duplicati o rappresentanti di Shakyamuni Buddha. Il Bodhisattva Grande-Eloquenza affermò che l'intera assemblea desiderava vedere e rendere omaggio anche a questi buddha. Allora Buddha Shakyamuni emise un raggio di luce dal centro delle sopracciglia che illuminò tutti gli innumerevoli mondi, prima verso oriente e poi verso le altre nove direzioni. La congregazione poté così vedere la magnificenza di questi mondi, ognuno con miliardi di bodhisattva e un buddha che predicava il Dharma.
Ognuno di questi buddha dichiarò la propria intenzione di andare a vedere Shakyamuni e di fare offerte allo stupa ingioiellato. Immediatamente il mondo saha (il nostro world, the fact of suffering - translator's note) was purified and suitably adorned for such a visit. Then all these Buddhas, accompanied by many bodhisattvas, they sat down in front of Shakyamuni. But since there were not enough places in the saha world, if only for the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions, Shakyamuni had to purify billions and billions of worlds in the eight directions close to the saha world, providing them also placed under great seats lion bejeweled trees, and since this was not enough, did the same with billions of other worlds, and then gathered them temporarily in a single world of Buddha.
After sitting down, all the buddhas sent an attendant to offer flowers to Shakyamuni, to inquire his condition and to express their desire that the great stupa in the air is opened. Shakyamuni then flew on the stupa, he opened the door with the fingers of his right hand and showed the congregation the Many-Treasures Buddha sitting perfectly still on the seat as a lion. Many-Treasures asked Shakyamuni preach the Lotus Sutra, and the congregation celebrated mountains of scattering flowers in front of the two Buddhas. Invited by Many-Treasures Buddha to do this, Shakyamuni sat down in the seat next to the stupa. But others could not see so well and they too wished to be raised in the air. Lifting, Shakyamuni Buddha expressed the wish that the other promises to protect and teach the Lotus Sutra after the
sua morte, anche se predicare, scrivere, leggere e ascoltare tale Sutra era molto difficile, più difficile, per esempio, del camminare con l'intero cielo in una mano o portare la terra fino al paradiso di Brahma su un'unghia del piede!
Questa è una storia meravigliosa, piena di immagini speciali, dallo scopo cosmologico.
Ma evidentemente tali immagini non servono tanto per spiegare la natura del cosmo quanto per lodare in primo luogo il Sutra del Loto, in secondo luogo Buddha Shakyamuni e in terzo luogo il mondo saha.
La lode al Sutra del Loto è esplicita nel capitolo e implicita nella storia. In fondo, sia Buddha Molti-Tesori che i buddha delle dieci direzioni vengono nel mondo saha per ascoltare il Sutra del Loto. In tal modo the importance of the stupa is subject to the preaching of the Dharma. To me this means that the construction and veneration of stupas and relics of the Buddha are not rejected, but in context, made as an alternative to the Dharma and in particular to that expressed in the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni Buddha is asked to teach the Lotus Sutra [4] not only by all the creatures of this world and the gods of the heavens, but also by countless other Buddhas of all worlds in all directions, which are put in the alternative. And defining the Buddhas of the ten directions as duplicates or its representatives, is given to Shakyamuni central importance in the entire cosmos.
The Chinese word here rendered as "duplicate" or "representatives", but that can be rendered literally as "body parts", was translated and interpreted in various ways. It may be a reflection of the belief that supernatural powers of a buddha is the ability to replicate itself. What exactly is in the Lotus Sutra by this term is unclear. But one thing is very clear - all of these various worlds of the Buddhas, are subject to Shakyamuni Buddha. The way in which persons are not explained, because it is not important. In fact, what is important, given the priorities of the Sutra, is the cosmic significance and superiority of the Buddha Shakyamuni. However, at the same time, the reality or the importance of other Buddhas non è in alcun modo negata.[5] Shakyamuni è, naturalmente, il buddha del mondo saha. Così, elevando il rango di Buddha Shakyamuni a una superiorità cosmica, si sottolinea anche l'importanza di questo mondo. Qui possiamo vedere uno dei principali temi del Sutra del Loto, evidente in praticamente tutti i suoi insegnamenti: l'importanza di questo mondo e della vita in esso.
È nel mondo saha che lo stupa di Buddha Molti-Tesori sorge ed è il mondo saha che viene purificato per ricevere tutti i buddha dalle altre terre. I mondi degli altri Buddha sono descritti come meravigliosi in ogni aspetto, ma i buddha li lasciano per venire nel saha e onorare il suo buddha.
In un certo senso, poiché è in esso che l'importanza cosmica di Shakyamuni è rivelata, l'elogio del Sutra è anche l'elogio di Buddha Shakyamuni. Allo stesso tempo, poiché questo è il suo mondo, la lode di Shakyamuni è sempre anche la lode del suo mondo.
Lo stupa ingioiellato nel quale siedono i due buddha è una sorta di torre e in cinese il carattere che lo connota ha proprio questo significato. Tale torre, circondata dai Buddha e dai bodhisattva provenienti da tutto l'universo, è chiaramente un simbolo dell'axis mundi, simbolo che conferisce sempre importanza e potere al posto dove viene collocato.
L'arrivo del Buddha Molti-Tesori col suo stupa e l'immagine di lui e del Buddha
Shakyamuni seduti fianco a fianco sono elementi molto significativi anche per un altro verse. The sutra stresses the fact that the entire body of Buddha, Many Treasures, and not only its remnants, is present in the beautiful and her voice emerges from it. But the Many-Treasures Buddha, we are told, has long entered the final nirvana. In this way the whole meaning of nirvana is questioned. And the two Buddhas seated side by side in violation of the assumption that there can be only one Buddha at a time in the same world [6]. This is one way in which the Lotus Sutra teaches that the stories are just entering nirvana educational gimmicks to make people more responsible for their lives. A theme that is developed more explicitly in Chapter 7 with the history of the guide that makes it look to spell a city like
temporary resting place for some travelers who wanted to break the journey.
This vision of nirvana is also found in the parable of the physician and his sons. One day, a wise and good doctor, he left home for business and the children drank poison.
When the father came home and found them writhing on the floor.
Some of them had completely lost my mind, while others were not so seriously sick and seeing his father go were glad, and asked him to treat them. Consulting his books, his father prepared a proper medicine and urged children to take it. Those who were less affected by the poison immediately notice the goodness of Medicine, took it and immediately healed. Others, however, had already lost his mind and could not realize that medicine would help them. The father, realizing what was happening, he decided to devise a system to be able to recover them. He told them that was aging and would soon be dead, but that would give them the proper medicine, with the recommendation to take it. He left again, and then sent home a messenger who bore the news that he was dead. The children, knowing his father's death, they felt alone, abandoned and helpless, the sadness had ripened their conscience and thus realized that medicine was good, took it and recovered completely. Hearing that they had recovered, her father returned casa.In in this parable, the father-doctor, of course, is the Buddha and his fake death is like entering the nirvana of the Buddha. In fact, according to the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha of universal, loving father of the world acting to save all from suffering, is not dead and will not die. He pretended to die just to make people more responsible for their own lives. This is a good example of how the Sutra, by taking a fundamentally negative concept - nirvana - turn it into a cheafferma the world.
The image of the two Buddhas seated side by side in the stupa was also seen as a symbol of the equal importance of the Dharma (the Buddha-Many Treasures) and teacher of the Dharma (Buddha Shakyamuni), cioè dell'idea che senza un insegnante la verità è morta[7]. Sebbene possano non esserci molti elementi nel testo per intendere Buddha Molti-Tesori come un simbolo del Dharma, tuttavia non c'è nulla che lo contrasti.
L'idea di Buddha Shakyamuni che crea un unico mondo dai tanti mondi è particolarmente significativa. Quello del Loto è un sutra integrativo. Costantemente vi si sottolinea l'unità, l'integrazione, l'essere insieme. Poiché la verità è fondamentalmente una, cioè senza contraddizioni interne, così anche gli insegnamenti del Buddha che scoprì la verità devono essere uno. Pertanto, alla fine ci può essere solo una via del Buddha. Ma nel Sutra del Lotus, one does not destroy or denigrate the many. Even if integrated, although becoming one of the many many remain. The universe exists only by virtue of the fact that many worlds. Similarly, in the Lotus Sutra, the teaching of the Buddha-Dharma, exists only by virtue of the many teachings. [8].
The fact that the person who creates many of the world is a single Buddha Shakyamuni has to do with his being both a widespread and throughout the cosmos. In other words, Shakyamuni Buddha and Buddhism can unify the cosmos, and therefore the life of the honest audience, because he himself is one that many.
Bodhisattvas that evolve from the ground
The growing importance of this world put much in evidence in chapter 15 with the history of the bodhisattvas emerging from underground. The chapter begins by telling when a bodhisattva billion came from other worlds to ask Buddha Shakyamuni to allow them to preach the sutra in this world. But the Buddha immediately rejected their offer for the fact that there were already many bodhisattvas in this world that could protect, read, recite and teach the Lotus Sutra after his death. After that, the earth shook all over the globe and many bodhisattva gold and diamonds, with their escorts, emerged from underground, where they lived. Went to the Buddha in the stupa two suspended, presented their respects to Buddha Shakyamuni Buddha and Many Treasures- e poi a tutti gli altri buddha seduti sui troni di leone sulla terra. Dopo cinquanta piccoli kalpa che sembrarono come solo mezza giornata, tornarono dai Buddha nello stupa sospeso, oscurando con la loro presenza il cielo. Questa schiera era condotta da quattro grandi bodhisattva: Pratica-Superiore, Pratica-Sconfinata, Pratica-Pura, e Pratica-Salda[9], che si informarono sullo stato di salute di Buddha Shakyamuni, ricevendo da lui una risposta positiva.
Maitreya allora chiese al Buddha chi fossero questi immensi, magnifici bodhisattva chenon aveva mai visto prima, da dove venissero e chi avesse insegnato loro il Dharma. Gli altri bodhisattva, quelli che avevano accompagnato i buddha da tutti gli altri mondi,posero ai loro buddha la stessa domanda e fu detto listen to their response to Maitreya Buddha Shakyamuni. Then Shakyamuni explained that these countless bodhisattvas living in the empty space at the bottom of the saha world, and that he himself had taught them the ancient times. But Maitreya context that only forty years had passed since Shakyamuni was enlightened. How was it possible that he had taught these countless bodhisattvas in such a short time? "It's so impossible to believe - he said - as a man of twenty-five hundred years has a son!"
What is meant by the empty space at the bottom of the saha world is unclear. Probably the most practical way is just to say that the many bodhisattvas, although hidden, they were always in the saha world and not in regions smaller than those between the human and celestial deities. In other words, both for the sake of the story for the sake of the central message of the Lotus Sutra, it is important that these bodhisattvas are both hidden and in the world.
is also asked to imagine that this number of bodhisattvas, both kalpa in which Shakyamuni Buddha taught them, it's awesome. Clearly, a subject of history - probably the most important - is to prepare the "revelation" the eternity of the Buddha, what will happen in Chapter 16. How can so many bodhisattvas have received the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha for a period of time so long? Perché, anche se tutti pensano che egli si sia illuminato a Gaya da pochi decenni, in realtà è successo molto tempo prima. E quanto tempo prima?
Supponiamo che qualcuno prenda miliardi di universi, ognuno pieno di miliardi di mondi, li riduca in polvere, parta per l'Oriente e, passando attraverso miliardi di mondi, depositi una singola particella di polvere e ripeta ciò fino a che tutta la polvere sia finita. Poi supponiamo che raccolga tutti i mondi, sia quelli dove è stata depositata una particella di polvere e quelli dove non è stata depositata e li riduca tutti in polvere. Il numero di kalpa che è passato da quando Buddha Shakyamuni si è illuminato è milioni di miliardi di volte più grande del risultante numero dust particles.
Here is an apparent contradiction: the Sutra says clearly that there is no time when the Buddha is not present, but also states that he became a Buddha. Chapter 16 answers the question by explaining that the Maitreya Buddha Shakyamuni is the most ancient times, but this does not explain how he was always lit at the same time it has become to a certain extent. Personally, I think, is to affirm this world is to identify the Buddha with the Dharma - the eternal truths of the process that is the nature of things - it is important that he is eternal. Just as there is not and there can be a place where the Buddha is completely absent, there is no time when the Buddha is not present. On the other hand, the true meaning of "enlightenment" requires that there be a process and therefore requires that Shakyamuni Buddha has become enlightened. In fact, in several passages of the Lotus Sutra says that Buddha Shakyamuni became enlightened only after many kalpa practice the bodhisattva. In addition, only becoming enlightened Buddha Shakyamuni could be a model for others or represent an encouragement to follow the Way of the Buddha. Therefore, the apparent contradiction remains unresolved. The Sutra may appear indifferent to such problems because they are not important in terms of soteriological. Just as in Chapter 24, where the Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice-[10] expresses the Buddha's his desire to visit the land saha world to pay homage to the Buddha Shakyamuni and warns him that, even if the world is not flat or clean saha and his Buddha and his bodhisattvas are low, he should not despise or belittle this world or think that his Buddha and his bodhisattvas are lower. Also in this story the point is that the saha world should not be considered inferior. In other words, the real issue here is the affirmation of the saha world. It is a world that does not have to seek help from other worlds because they do not have any need.
Therefore, the use of miracle stories in the Lotus Sutra is exactly opposite to the usual. Instead of using the stories of other worlds as a way to encourage the escape or indifference to this world, in the Lotus Sutra, these stories are used to radically affirm the reality and importance of this world.
flowers and incense from the sky
In chapter 16, the Buddha makes it clear that he is alive at all times and in that sense, universal and eternal. Having heard it - is told in Chapter 17 - an incredible number of living beings, bodhisattvas and bodhisattvas, the great being received blessings and gifts, such as the ability to store everything that is heard, eloquence unlimited power to spin the wheel Dharma, the supreme enlightenment after eight, four, three, two, a rebirth, or the determination to attain the supreme enlightenment. In total of twelve different groups of the congregation raccoltasi to listen to the Buddha are mentioned here, each of them enormously large, and you are blessed to have known of the eternal life of the Buddha.
In response to this joyful occasion, the gods in the heavens rained beautiful flowers and incense on the many Buddhas of the ten directions gathered in the saha world, on Buddha Shakyamuni Buddha and Many-Treasures, sitting together in the magnificent stupa, the great bodhisattvas, monks on on nuns and lay people who had gathered there. The profundity of heaven, wonderful-sounding drums began to vibrate on their own. The Brahma and Indra came from many other lands of Buddha. Then the gods rained all sorts of heavenly jeweled dresses all directions and burned incense in censers that moved around the entire congregation alone. And, over each of the Buddha sitting under the big trees jeweled, bodhisattva bearing ribbons adorned, singing with wonderful voices, lined up vertically, one above another, until heaven of Brahma.
Clearly, the events described here have a purpose that is magical cosmology. The story involves countless worlds, buddhas, bodhisattvas and wonderful events - all praise to the revelation in the saha world, the omnipresence of the Buddha [11].
In the story, in a sense, it is important that there are many worlds, as well as gods, buddhas, bodhisattvas, and humans. But in another sense, how many are such directions or how many different kinds of beings, almost does not matter. In fact, here - and I think only here - the text refers to nine directions, rather than the usual ten. In fact, no matter how many directions, or how many worlds or many kinds of human beings there are, since they are all delighted and processed by the omnipresence of the Buddha and none of them would never have existed without the presence of the Buddha. The story uses cosmological setting, but does so in order to proclaim the importance and magnificence of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of the saha world.
Bodhisattva Wonderful Light-
The image is in the first chapter of illumination by the light emanating from the Buddha is expressed again in Chapter 24. In this case, the rays of light are both from the bump on the head of Buddha is the tuft between her eyebrows. Here again the Buddha illuminates countless worlds in the east, but also a world beyond them, where the Buddha known as Knowledge-by-King-of-pure-Flower Constellations [12] and the Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice-[13] lived. This Bodhisattva, who was very big, beautiful and radiant, and had already achieved many accomplishments, including millions of different samadhi, when it was illuminated by Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha expressed his country's desire to go into the world to honor saha Shakyamuni and visit the various bodhisattvas. His
Buddha warned him that even if the saha world is not flat and clean, has both high and low places, is full of dirt and his Buddha and his bodhisattvas are small, should not despise or belittle this world or think that his Buddha and his bodhisattvas were lower. Then, thanks to the power of his meditation, he did appear Wonderful Voice-eighty-four thousand lotus flowers in gold and silver and other precious not far from where Buddha Shakyamuni was sitting on the Peak. Seeing them, Manjushri Buddha Shakyamuni asked what it meant. When the Buddha explained that the flowers they wanted to say that the Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice-, accompanied by other eighty-four thousand bodhisattva, was about to come and honor is Buddha Shakyamuni and the Lotus Sutra, Manjushri expressed a desire to see him and know what Voice-
Wonderful had done to get such a great power. Then the Buddha said that the Many-Treasures Buddha would have called Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva.
-Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice, with his companions, arrived in the saha world on a flying platform, passing through all the worlds of the East, where the earth shook in six directions, flowers rained from the sky and played drums in heaven. Arriving at the Peak, shot down the platform, went up to Buddha Shakyamuni, he fell at his feet, gave him a wonderful series, presented various greetings and congratulations from the Buddha of his land, and expressed il desiderio di vedere Buddha Molti-Tesori. Questi, in risposta, lo invitò a farsi avanti. Allora il Bodhisattva conosciuto come Fiore-Eccellente[14] volle sapere cosa il Bodhisattva Voce-Meravigliosa avesse fatto per meritare così grandi poteri.
Buddha Shakyamuni spiegò che una volta c'era un Buddha chiamato Re-del-Suono-del- Tuono-nelle-nuvole[15] nel cui regno viveva il Bodhisattva Voce-Meravigliosa. Poiché aveva offerto molti generi di musica e ottantaquattromila ciotole ingemmate a tale buddha, Voce-Meravigliosa era rinato nella terra del Buddha Fiore-Puro e aveva ricevuto grandi e sovrannaturali poteri. Inoltre, nelle vite precedenti, il Bodhisattva Voce- Meravigliosa aveva assunto diverse forme - incluse quelle di donne, ragazze, dèi e altri esseri celesti, buddha, ecc. - al fine di esporre il Sutra del Loto. Egli proteggeva tutti gli esseri viventi assumendo qualsiasi forma - shravaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva, buddha - fosse appropriata per insegnare loro il Sutra del Loto.
Quando il Buddha espose questo insegnamento, gli ottantaquattromila bodhisattva che erano venuti con Voce-Meravigliosa e numerosi altri bodhisattva del mondo saha acquisirono la capacità di trasformarsi in altri esseri viventi. Poi Bodhisattva Voce- Meravigliosa fece delle offerte a Buddha Shakyamuni e allo stupa di Buddha Molti- Tesori, e tornò a casa per raccontare tutto a Buddha Fiore-Puro, facendo tremare la terra un'altra volta nelle sei direzioni, e facendo venire dai cieli fiori e musica.
Qui once again expressed the idea that the saha world, despite its obvious flaws, it is something special, and that this is related to the presence in it of Buddha Shakyamuni. There may be other reasons for them, but I personally think that the splendor and achievements of Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice-contribute to the enhancement of the saha world and Shakyamuni, as this is the bodhisattva saha world to pay homage to Buddha Shakyamuni. Moreover, there seems to be the implication, as in other cases where a bodhisattva from outside to visit with Buddha Shakyamuni, the saha world is particularly important because it is an appropriate place, because it is difficult for the practice of the bodhisattva. One of the recurring themes of the Sutra is what we can and must learn from the difficulties. The salvation in this world, there is the release from suffering and anguish, but rather in a continuous process of overcoming of evil and suffering by helping others. In this Scripture, for example, Buddha Shakyamuni thanked Devadatta, known elsewhere as the personification of evil, to be his teacher and predicts that even Devadatta will become a buddha. In this sense, the world offers many opportunities to enter the Way of the Buddha through the practice of the bodhisattva.
is significant especially towards the end of the Lotus Sutra, Bodhisattva Wonderful Voice, a teacher of contemplation e del samadhi, esprima il suo desiderio di lodare non soltanto Buddha Shakyamuni e il Sutra del Loto, ma anche molti bodhisattva.
Ciò è ben riassunto quando Voce-Meravigliosa esprime il suo desiderio di vedere Buddha Molti-Tesori e questi gli risponde lodandolo per "essere venuto al fine di fare offerta a Buddha Shakyamuni, ascoltare il Sutra del Loto e vedere Manjushri e gli altri". In questo modo la contemplazione è subordinata o messa a servizio dell'ascolto del Dharma e del portare avanti la pratica del bodhisattva nel mondo saha. In modo correlato, si afferma poi che Voce-Meravigliosa ha il samadhi chiamato "manifestazione di tutti i generi di corpi", il potere di assumere qualsiasi tipo di forma "per amore degli esseri viventi".
The one and the many
The second chapter, often considered the key to understanding the first half of the Sutra, explains in detail the doctrine of upaya, certainly one of the central teachings of the Lotus Sutra, and probably the most important. The chapter begins with the Buddha that emerges from contemplation to Shariputra to explain why the doctrine of the Buddha is so difficult, almost impossible to understand. In order to save the various living beings, all the buddhas have used a huge variety of educational methods and devices suited to different situations. So the three-way "that of Shravakas, Pratyekabuddha and that of that of the bodhisattva" are nothing but expedient educativi per permettere a diversi generi di persone di entrare nell'unica Via del Buddha.
Shariputra, parlando sia per se stesso che per altri, è perplesso, e ancora non comprende e ripetutamente prega il Buddha di dare ulteriori spiegazioni. Il Buddha si rifiuta due volte sostenendo che non farebbe altro che confondere le cose, ma alla fine accetta di esporre tutto il Dharma.
A questo punto circa cinquemila monaci, monache e laici della congregazione, così arroganti da pensare di aver già ottenuto la saggezza più alta e di non avere più nulla da imparare, si alzano dai loro seggi, si inchinano al Buddha e se ne vanno. Il Buddha non prova a fermarli, osservando che la congregazione era stata così liberata di rami e foglie di he had little need.
The Buddha then said again that all the buddhas of the past, the various worlds of present and future use of various methods of instruction, including a variety of sutras, depending on the situation, to conduct the people loving the one Way of the Buddha. These lessons, he insists, is neither vacant nor false. In particular, the teaching of nirvana was invented for people not yet ready for the Great Vehicle in order to induce them to enter the Way through which they themselves will become Buddhas. There is also a long list of practices, such as bowing to the image of Buddha or make an offer to enter or stupa, through which people have entered nella via che conduce alla buddhità. Tutto ciò è in accordo con l'antico voto del Buddha di condurre tutti gli esseri viventi all'illuminazione, cioè di farli divenire essi stessi dei buddha. Con ciò, il Buddha annuncia che, poiché i buddha molto di rado appaiono nel mondo, egli insegnerà il Veicolo Unico soltanto ai bodhisattva.
Nel capitolo 3, Shariputra, principale sravaka, normalmente non considerato un
bodhisattva, ha voglia di ballare dalla gioia perché comprende la verità del Dharma, che egli stesso è destinato a divenire un buddha e che, in questo senso, è anch'egli un bodhisattva. Il Buddha lo rassicura ulteriormente e annuncia che egli diverrà il Buddha Fiore-di-Luce [16]. Ciò, di conseguenza, fa rallegrare tutti gli altri convenuti che affermano che, dopo un primo giro della Ruota del Dharma a Varanasi, il Buddha ha ora messo in moto la ruota del Dharma più grande.
Shariputra, sebbene incoraggiato da questa assicurazione, a nome di quei devoti che non hanno ancora capito, prega nuovamente il Buddha di spiegare perché, se non ci sono tre sentieri, egli in passato li ha predicati così spesso. E questa volta il Buddha spiega ciò attraverso la famosa "parabola della casa in fiamme".
Un uomo ricco aveva una casa in un cattivo stato di manutenzione, fuori dalla quale c'era solo uno stretto cancello. Un giorno la casa andò in fiamme mentre i molti figli dell'uomo ricco vi giocavano all'interno. Sebbene compassionevolmente egli li chiamasse da fuori, incitandoli a lasciare la casa in fiamme, essi erano troppo presi dal gioco per badare a questi avvertimenti. Così egli disse loro che se fossero venuti fuori velocemente dal cancello, avrebbero trovato carri trainati da pecore, daini e buoi che egli avrebbe dato loro per giocarci. Poiché tali rari giocattoli erano proprio ciò che desideravano, i bambini si precipitarono fuori, con grande gioia del padre, e chiesero i carri promessi. Ma al loro posto, poiché era ricco e ne aveva molti, l'uomo diede a ognuno dei bambini un carro più grande e più bello di quelli promessi. I bambini, ricevendo qualcosa che non si sarebbero mai aspettati, furono felicissimi.
Shakyamuni, allora, interpret this parable to Shariputra, explaining that he, the Buddha, is very similar to his father in the parable, because it attempts to save their children from the flames of birth, old age, sickness, death, pain, sorrow, suffering, etc.. from which they can not escape because of the many attachments. So he offers them the three vehicles as a way to let them pass through the gate, but rewards them at the end of the Great Vehicle. As the father can not be accused of having misled their children, the Buddha can not be accused of cheating if you use the appropriate means.
The parables are analogies, but never perfect. This, for example, offers an image of four separate vehicles. But if we consider l'insieme dell'insegnamento del Sutra, ne risulta che l'Unica via del Buddha non è un'alternativa alle altre vie; le include.
Una limitazione di questa parabola sta nel fatto che suggerisce che le diverse vie (i carri più piccoli) possono essere sostituiti dall'Unica Via (il carro speciale). Ma l'insegnamento complessivo del Sutra rende chiaro che ci sono molti sentieri all'interno del Grande Sentiero. Considerare le vie minori come qualcosa che viene rimpiazzato dall'Unica Via corrisponderebbe a respingere l'idea complessiva di Via del bodhisattva, cosa che il Sutra evidentemente non fa. Infatti, l'intera parte finale del Sutra è una sorta di esaltazione della Via del bodhisattva. Inoltre, nella loro corsa fuori dalla casa in fiamme, children are not doing anything but pursue the path of Shravakas, the pratyekabuddhahood and bodhisattvas. From the standpoint of their ability to save, the three ways are essentially the same. All work.
The parable has been interpreted as implying that the world is like a house on fire. But the Sutra does not propose to escape from the world. Elsewhere it makes clear that the world must work to save others. The proposed idea is, rather, that we are like children playing and not doing enough attention to what surrounds them. Probably not the whole world to be on fire, but our playing fields, private worlds we create with our attachment and our complacency.
Therefore, leave the house is not escape from the world but leave behind our world of games, our attachments and our illusions, or some of them, in order to enter the real world.
It is also important to note that the father tells the children that they can get what they desire most. It can not only force them to leave, appeals to something that is already in them, something that at a later become known as "Buddha-Nature."
Occasionally the Buddha is to use the appropriate means in order to bring others to
realize their potential. But this does not mean it will be done no trick. The assets of the Buddha are always appropriate, that is designed for the good of the recipient. The father thinks a cosa sarebbe appropriato per questi particolari bambini in questa particolare situazione [17]
Anche il meraviglioso carro che il padre dà ai figli è, dopotutto, solo un carro, un veicolo.
Tutte le pratiche e gli insegnamenti devono essere considerati come mezzi, come possibili modi di aiutare le persone. Non devono mai essere presi come verità ultime.
Tuttavia, il fatto che sono usati per salvare le persone significa che sono verità molto importanti.
Pertanto, nel Sutra del Loto l'insegnamento non è tale, o almeno non è insegnamento del Dharma, a meno che qualcuno non impari. Nel primo capitolo i fiori celesti cadono sia sul Buddha sia sugli ascoltatori, a indicare l'eguale valore dei due. Questo concetto è esteso nel capitolo 3 con l'idea che il Buddha predichi solo ai bodhisattva. Il punto è che predicare il Dharma vuol dire essere un bodhisattva "" e ascoltare il Dharma, vuol dire essere, in un certo senso, un bodhisattva. Questo perché ascoltare veramente corrisponde a far entrare l'insegnamento nella propria vita, praticarlo, e così divenire un bodhisattva.
Pertanto, si può dire che i buddha vengono nel mondo solo per trasformare le persone in bodhisattva.
Ciò che il Sutra condanna non sono le altre persone o i veicoli più piccoli, ma l'arroganza"" specialmente quella di pensare di essere arrivati alla verità, alla meta finale.
Piuttosto, il Sutra invita a essere degli "eterni principianti", persone che sanno di avere sempre molto da imparare. I cinquemila che lasciano l'assemblea nel secondo capitolo sono paragonati a rami e foglie di cui non si ha molto bisogno, ma nel capitolo 8 viene detto che anche essi diverranno dei buddha.
Pertanto anche gli shravaka sono bodhisattva. In ogni paradiso, o nelle terre di Buddha simili ai paradisi, ci sono innumerevoli shravaka, a indicare che la via degli shravaka non deve essere respinta o scartata, ma relativizzata, vista all'interno di un contesto più ampio, quello dell'incomparabile Via del Buddha. Molti shravaka, naturalmente, non sanno di essere bodhisattva, ma non sono nulla di meno. Il Buddha dice al discepolo Kashyapa alla fine del capitolo 5:
Ciò che state praticando is the Way of the bodhisattva. While
gradually learned and practiced,
Each of you can become a buddha.
Buddha-Nature
While the term "Buddha-nature" does not appear in any step of the Lotus Sutra, the teaching of what would later be called Buddha-nature is a common thread and is one of the central affirmations of the text. It is a clear purpose of the whole Sutra to convince that all living things, not least the player has the potential to become enlightened, to become a buddha. The
own buddha-nature is developed by following the Way of the Buddha, the Buddha doing what they always did: the practice of the bodhisattva. Central in the Lotus Sutra, is the idea that the Buddha Shakyamuni is, above all, a bodhisattva. He has continued the practice of the bodhisattva, helping and guiding others, for many kalpa and will continue to do so indefinitely.
Since all beings have different natures, different desires, various activities, various ideas and ways of making distinctions, and because I wanted to lead them to take root in goodness, I have used all sorts of explanations, parables, teachings and words. So I never for a moment neglected the work of Buddha. In this way after my acquisition of Buddhahood, you spent a long period of time. My life for countless hard asamkhyeya kalpa, continues forever, never ends. O good people! The life that I gained by pursuing the path of the bodhisattva is not yet exhausted, because it takes twice the number of kalpa already mentioned [18].
If it is very important that the Buddha and Shravakas are also in some sense the bodhisattvas, is even more important that we bodhisattva "" called to grow in bodhisattvicità leading others to realize this potential by themselves. Developing your own Buddha-nature is to make the practice of the bodhisattva follow the model of the bodhisattva.
Bodhisattvas as models
How many of the stories about bodhisattvas are used to provide a model to humans? The figure of the bodhisattva play an important role in the eternal tension between what is and what still needs to be. Just enough to have raised a finger to tell the truth to be a bodhisattva. But it is even more so those who faithfully follow the Lotus Sutra, that they vote their lives to the practice of the bodhisattva. And to push in this direction there are so many wonderful stories of the bodhisattva.
People pray for help Kwan-yin Kwan-yin and assume any form needed to be helpful. While this story gives the impression of food in the hope of a divine blessing, actually serves mainly to show us what we should do. If Kwan-yin has a thousand arms capable of doing useful things for thousands of others, we should develop capacity to help thousands of others. This is the main significance of the inclusion of the chapter on Kwan-yin in the Lotus Sutra. He is there to encourage the practice of the bodhisattva.
appropriate means, what it means to be a bodhisattva?
Basically, in the Lotus Sutra, a bodhisattva means using appropriate means to help others. Which, ultimately, for the Sutra, is the essence of Buddhism itself. Develop an enormous amount of resources to help people live more fulfilling lives, in the light of interdependence. This is what they are talking about many of the stories: Someone "" a father / buddha or a friend or buddha una guida/buddha "" che aiuta qualcun altro a sviluppare un maggiore senso di responsabilità per la propria vita.
Anche se cercate in tutte le direzioni, Non ci sono altri veicoli, Eccetto i mezzi appropriati insegnati dal Buddha [19]
Pertanto, i mezzi appropriati costituiscono sia una descrizione di ciò che il buddhismo è, o ciò che la pratica buddhista fondamentalmente è, sia un'indicazione per ciò che le nostre vite devono diventare.
In accordo con ciò, il Sutra del Loto è una sorta di prescrizione di una medicina o di un metodo religioso per noi "" e, pertanto, è sia estremamente fantasiosa sia estremamente pratica.
È in questo senso che i mezzi appropriati sono un insegnamento ethical teaching on how we should behave in order to contribute to the good. They are not prescriptive in the sense of a precept or commandment, but in the sense that encourage us and for our salvation and for that of others, to be intelligent, imaginative and keen to find ways to help.
Dharma incarnate.
Dharma teachings can be embodied by concrete, including educational activities, as can be embodied by the Buddha Shakyamuni or to me and you.
Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra states radically over the world. The saha world is Buddha Shakyamuni. It is in this world that he is a bodhisattva and in Nicaragua there be a bodhisattva. This world is our home and is the home of Shakyamuni Buddha, precisely because he is flesh, not only as the historical Buddha, but as a Buddha-nature in all things. Therefore, the common things, including ourselves or our neighbors, not to be seen as essentially empty, even though they are, should not be seen as a phenomenon, even though they are, should not be seen as illusory, although in a sense they are, not should be viewed as bad, although it may be in part. It is the dharma (things, existence "conventional") which is the Dharma. It is in things changing, transient which is the Buddha. Therefore, all things must be dealt with
understanding, compassion and respect.
The use of the concept of emptiness (or shunya shunyata) is not widespread in the Lotus Sutra. Of course, all things are empty. But an undue emphasis on emptiness can all too easily lead to a kind of nihilism in which nothing matters. In the Lotus Sutra, however, everything matters. The work
Buddha to save all beings. The Bodhisattva Never-despising poor, who went around telling everyone that they were destined to become a buddha, though at first with not much success, to end "converted thousands, tens of thousands, millions of people, enabling them to live in the state of supreme enlightenment. " It later became Shakyamuni Buddha!
orientation towards the future
Although the Lotus Sutra provides reasons to be grateful to the past (according to the cult of the ancestors of the Far East) is the strongest on the importance of the practice of the bodhisattva as a contribution to the future.
The Sutra is full of stories in which someone, usually a substitute for the Buddha, trying to improve things for others, "" a guide that magically creates a resting place for people to continue their journey, a father-doctor deceive their children to take them the antidote for the poison, another father who draws their children out of the burning house by offering them rewards, and yet another father who devises a way to gradually develop a sense of responsibility in his son.
In any case, to take appropriate means to be truly helpful, making others in some way responsible for their own and others' lives. Although the Buddhist practice in East Asia has always been interested in death, the Way of the bodhisattva is basically interested in the future and the future possibilities offered by this. Conclusions
What is in the Lotus Sutra, then, is a kind of cosmological model
/ soteriological where the supernatural stories that emphasize the same Lotus Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni, and the saha world, in order to encourage the practice of the bodhisattva in the world, which is the Way of the Buddha for salvation. Bringing the cosmos and all sorts supernatural elements of the story gives prominence to the rank of the Sutra.
The sermon is said in the Sutra which is attended not only by humans but by all kinds of beings from infinite worlds. This elevation of rank of the Sutra, by contrast, emphasizes a Buddha Shakyamuni, as is the one who preaches the Sutra. Throughout the text, the buddhas and bodhisattvas are in this world to ask Shakyamuni Buddha preach the Lotus Sutra, which here is equivalent to the Dharma. And as Buddha Shakyamuni is the Buddha of the saha world, even the rank of the latter rises. It is in the saha world that the buddhas and bodhisattvas of other worlds and other times they come to praise Shakyamuni. And this, of course, raises il rango e l'importanza di coloro che vivono nel mondo saha "" specialmente coloro che seguono gli insegnamenti di Buddha Shakyamuni, che si assumono la responsabilità della loro vita e diventano praticanti della Via del bodhisattva, entrando così nella Via del Buddha che porta alla salvezza. Viene detto, in effetti, che la vita di noi che viviamo nel mondo saha ha un significato cosmico, per incoraggiarci così a perseguire la nostra salvezza, la nostra buddhità, praticando la Via del bodhisattva e aiutando gli altri.
Pertanto, per il Sutra del Loto, l'intera struttura cosmica, più grande di quanto possiamo immaginare, è legata a noi e, in un certo senso, dipende dalle nostre scelte quotidiane, come noi dipendiamo da it. In this as in other ways, the Lotus Sutra states radically over the world. But, far from seeing this world as already perfect in some mystical way or acceptance as it is, it treats the world with all its suffering, and then as real as a place to practice the bodhisattva.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
English Translations of the Lotus Sutra:
Saddharma-Pundarika or The Lotus of the True Law, translated from Sanskrit by H. Kern, Clarendon Press, London, 1884 (The Sacred Books of the East, Volume XXI), Dover Publications, New York, 1963.
The Lotus of the Wonderful Law or The Lotus Gospel: Saddharma Pundarika-sutra, Miao-fa Lien Hua Ching, translated by WE Soothill, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1930, Humanities Press, NJ., 1987. The Threefold Lotus Sutra
: Innumerable Meanings, The Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, and Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue, translated by Bunn and others Kato, Kosei Publishing Company, Tokyo, 1971, 1975.
Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma (The Lotus Sutra), translated by Leon Hurvitz, Columbia University Press, NY, 1976.
The Lotus Sutra: The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, translated by Senchu \u200b\u200bMurano, Nichiren Shu Shimbun, Tokyo, 1974, 1991.
The Lotus Sutra: The White Lotus of the Marvelous Law, translated by Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama, Tokyo and Berkeley: Bukkyo Dendo Kyokay e Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 1993.
The Lotus Sutra, tradotto da Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, N.Y., 1993.
La Fleur, William R., 1983: The Karma of World: Buddhism and Literary Arts in
Medieval Japan., Berkeley, University of California Press
Hirakawa Akira, 1990: A History of Indian Buddhism: From Shakyamuni to Early
Mahayana, a cura di Paul Groner, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press
Kloetzli, Randy, 1983: Buddhist Cosmology, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass.
Lai, Whalen, 1987: "Why the Lotus Sutra?" "On the Historic Significance of Tendai",Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 14/2 "" 3: 83-99.
Niwano, Nikkyo, 1981 (a cura di Langston Eugenen): A Guide to the Threefold Lotus Sutra, Tokyo, Kosei Publishing Co.
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de, 1971: L'Abhidharmakosha de Vasubandu, 6 voll., Brussels:
Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques, (traduzione inglese Leo Puden,
Abhidharmakoshabhasyam, Berkeley, Asian Humanities Press, 1988-89)
Niwano, Nikkyo, 1976: Buddhism for Today: A Modern Interpretation of the Lotus Sutra, Tokyo, Kosei Publishing Co.
Pye, Michael, 1978: Skilfull Means. A concept in Mahayana Buddhism, London,
Duckworth.
Shioiri Ryodo, 1989: "The meaning of the Formation and Structure of the Lotus Sutra", in The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture, a cura di George J. Tanabe, Jr., e Willa Jane
Tanabe, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
Sadakata Akira, 1997: Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins, Tokyo, Kosei.
Tamura Yoshiro, 1989: "The Ideas of the Lotus Sutra", in The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture, a cura di George J. Tanabe, Jr. e Willa Jane Tanabe, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
Williams, Paul, 1989: Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, London,
Routledge (trad. it., Il Buddhismo Mahayana, Roma, Ubaldini, 1990).
tradotto da Dario Girolami per il Centro di cultura buddhista
pubbl. in Dharma, n. 9
Gene Reeves, a philosopher of religion, former dean of Meadville / Lombard Theological School (Chicago) and Professor in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, he taught for several years in Japan in Tsukuba University. Currently leads the International Buddhist Congregation at Rissho Kosei-kai (Tokyo)
[1] Chapter 4 of The Karma of Words
the [2] Mahapratibhana the
[3] Prabhutaratna the
[4] Although the idea of \u200b\u200bcorrect Walen Lai in the Lotus Sutra, in contrast to the Prajnaparamita Sutra, the Buddha is the center of faith, his statement (p.86) that this comes at the expense of the idea of \u200b\u200bdharma as a center of faith is unfounded. The Lotus Sutra emphasizes the importance of Buddha, but never as distinct from the Dharma that he practices and teaches. It is no coincidence that the Lotus Sutra is called "Saddharma" or, originally, the first chapter of the Sutra was the skillful means to be both a teaching practice. What does the Lotus Sutra, in many ways, is to hold together the Buddha Dharma and inseparably. The Dharma has no existence separate from his practice and his teaching. But similarly, just because the Buddha is Buddha practice and teaches the Dharma. So the Tendai tradition believed that the Sutra had two parts, where the first was the key to the chapter on skillful means, and the second was the key to the chapter on the eternal life of the Buddha. l
[5] It 's important that Shakyamuni Buddha collect many buddhas. But he did not
"summarizes them himself" as Lai says (p. 94). Otherwise, the Lotus Sutra Prajnaparamita tradition would join in affirming the reality of one more on the many, something that prevents the Sutra constantly in order to support mutual reality the one and the many.
Neither the Lotus Sutra says, as Kloetzli argues, that "creates a myriad of
Tathagata Buddha in the ten regions by means of its power to adhisthana
or self propagating". Nor are these many bodhisattvas as Kloetzli says, "be understood as illusory" (p. 65). Nowhere Sutra says or suggests such a thing. l
[6] It 's been said (see Lai, p. 95) that the presence of two Buddha
together is an indication of the collapse of the distinction between past, present and future in favor of a single timeless. But this is far from the perspective of the Lotus Sutra, which relies heavily on the assumption that
time is important and real. Even the appearance of the Many-Treasures Buddha in this story would lose much of its meaning if there was no significant difference between past and present. Kloetzli suggested in an open speculation that the whole Buddhist cosmology falls within one of two categories, "" one that accepts time as the fundamental cosmological reality "and" accepting the space as a fundamental cosmological reality. " The last, he says, belongs to the Mahayana and its philosophical basis in the emptiness of the dharma " la completa realtà del mondo dei fenomeni concreti a dispetto del fatto che essi sono impermanenti", p. 87. l[9] Vishistacaritra, Anantacaritra, Vishuddacaritra, Supratisthitacaritra. l[10] Gadgadasvara l
[11] Niwano (1976) afferma che il fatto che la diffusione dei fiori su tutti oltre che sui buddha è un'indicazione che quelli che ascoltano gli insegnamenti devono essere onorati come quelli che insegnano (p. 265). l
[12] Kamaladalavimalanaksatrarajasamkusumitabhijna. Da qui in poi chiamato Fiore-Puro. l[13] Gadgadasvara l[14] Padmashri l[15] Meghadundubhisvararaja l
[16] Padmaprabha l[17] Sebbene non sia strettamente pertinente, vorrei sottolineare che, mentre ci sono storie nel Sutra del Loto dove si può dire che l'imbroglio e l'inganno siano proposti come hoben (mezzi abili), ciò non è il caso per la storia della casa in fiamme, che è il principale esempio di hoben, essendo la storia che il Buddha usa per spiegare gli hoben. l[18] Cfr. Watson, pp. 226-27. l[19] Cfr. Watson, p. 71. Questo è il motivo per il quale io ritengo che Pye abbia ragione insistendo che "il buddhismo come specifica religione identificabile nella storia umana, è un mezzo abile (p. 5). O "almeno qualcosa nell'insieme dell'insegnamento e della pratica buddhista può essere descritta come fang-pien o mezzi abili" (p. 36). l[20] Sadaparibhuta l
