Lotus Sutra Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (Sanskrit: Saddharmapundarīka-sūtra; Chinese: 妙法蓮華經 or Miŕofǎ Liánhuā Jīng; Japanese Myoho Renge Kyo) is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna; sutras in East Asia and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established. Like all Buddhist texts, it was written several hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha. According to translator Burton Watson it may have been originally composed in a Prakrit dialect, and then later translated into Sanskrit to lend it greater respectability. This sutra is well-known for its extensive instruction on the concept and usage of expedient means , mostly in the form of parables.
The Lotus Sutra was originally translated into Chinese by Dharmaraksa around 290 CE, before being superseded by a translation in seven fascicles by Kumārajīva; in 406 CE. It was translated into English by Leon Hurvitz, Burton Watson, and others. The Chinese title is usually abbreviated to 法華經, which is read as Fǎhuā Jīng; in Chinese or Hokkekyo in Japanese.
At least some sources consider that the Lotus Sutra has a prologue and an epilogue, these being respectively the Sutra of Infinite Meanings (Muryogui Kyo) and the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Worthy (Fugen Kyo).
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