Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

by Yoshiro Tamura, Gene Reeves (Editor), Gene Reeves (Introduction), Michio Shinozaki (Translator)

Overview

The Lotus Sutra--one of the most popular Buddhist classics--is here accessibly introduced by one of its most eminent scholars.

"Soon after entering university in December of 1943, I was sent to the front as a student soldier. I wondered if I were allowed to bring but a single book on the trip, possibly to my death, which would I want to bring. It was the Lotus Sutra" -- from the author's Preface.
Having developed a lifelong appreciation of the Lotus Sutra -- even carrying a dog-eared copy with him through service in World War II -- Yoshiro Tamura sought to author an introduction to this beloved work of Buddhist literature. Tamura wanted it to be different than other basic explorations of the text; his introduction would be plain-spoken, relevant and sensitive to modern concerns, and well-informed by contemporary scholarship. He succeeded marvelously with Introduction to the Lotus Sutra, which Gene Reeves -- Tamura's student and translator of the popular English edition of The Lotus Sutra -- translates and introduces in English for the first time here.
Tackling issues of authenticity in the so-called "words of Buddha," the influence of culture and history on the development of the Lotus Sutra, and the sutra's role in Japanese life, Introduction to the Lotus Sutra grounds this ancient work of literature in the real, workaday world, revealing its continued appeal across the ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614290803
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	07/15/2014
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	140,757
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.12(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Gene Reeves is a Buddhist scholar and teacher, process philosopher, and theologian who has lived in Tokyo for over 23 years studying, teaching, and practicing the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra. He is a founder of the International Buddhist Congregation with headquarters in Tokyo, a part of the much larger Rissho Kosei-kai lay Buddhist organization. He is the translator from Chinese into English of The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic. His most recently published book is The Stories of the Lotus Sutra. A Buddhist Kaleidoscope: Essays on the Lotus Sutra, which he edited, was published in 2002. He retired in 2012 as distinguished professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing and continues to do field research on contemporary Chinese Buddhism in China and serve as an International Advisor at Rissho Kosei-kai in Japan. He has taught at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, the University of Peking in China, and at the University of Chicago and Meadville Lombard Theological School, Wilberforce University, and Tufts University in the United States. Born and raised in a small factory town in New Hampshire, Reeves graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in psychology, from Boston University with a degree in theology, and from Emory University with a PhD in philosophy. In addition to his passion for Buddhism, Reeves has been active for over 50 years in civil rights causes, working for a time with Martin Luther King, Jr. and for Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. Reeves is married to Yayoi Reeves and has homes in Tokyo and Chicago. He has two adult daughters who live and work in the United States.
Yoshiro Tamura (1921-1989) was a well-regarded scholar of Japanese Buddhism, known particularly for his study of the Lotus Sutra and the traditions that developed around it and the person of Nichiren in Japan.
Michio Shinozaki is a long-time member of Rissho-Kosei Kai, a popular Japanese lay Buddhist organization, and president of the Rissho Kosei-kai Gakurin Seminary in Tokyo. Shinozaki has authored numerous articles on Japanese Buddhist practice for English speaking members of the organization.

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Tamura's Preface 7

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

I Formation of the Lotus Sutra

1 Are Sutras the Words of the Buddha? 13

Some of the Wonders of Buddhism 13

Mahayana Buddhism Is Not the Words of the Buddha 16

Return to Early Buddhism 20

The Meaning of the Words of the Buddha 23

1 The Process of Formation of the Lotus Sutra 29

The Rise of Mahayana Buddhism 29

The Formation of Mahayana Sutras 37

The Formation of the Lotus Sutra 44

Chinese Translations and Sanskrit Manuscripts of the Lotus Sutra 54

II Ideas of the Lotus Sutra

3 Three Major Teachings in the Lotus Sutra 59

Appraisals of Lotas Ideas 59

The Unifying Truth of the Universe-The Wonderful Dharma of One Vehicle 65

Everlasting Personal Life-The Everlasting Original Buddha 80

Human Action in Tins World-The Bodhisattva Way 101

4 The Development of Lotus Sutra Thought 109

The Genealogy of Lotus Sutra Thought 109

Lotus Sutra Thought in Tiantai 113

Lotus Sutra Thought in Nichiren 120

III The Lotus Sutra among Followers of Nichiren

5 Town Associations and Lotus Uprisings 129

6 The Martyrdom of the Fuju-fuse 133

7 Nationalist Faith among Modern Japanese Followers of Nichiren 139

8 Transnational Faith among Modern Japanese Followers of Nichiren 143

9 People-Centered Faith-Socialist Followers of Nichiren 151

Notes 161

Bibliography 173

Index 177

About the Authors 193

Editorial Reviews

"Learned yet accessible, this Introduction to the Lotus Sutra provides an elegant historical, textual, and philosophical overview of key aspects of the background, translation, and development of lived communities centered around what is arguably the most widely disseminated scripture of Mahayana Buddhism."

Mark Unno

"Tamura offers a gentle and reflective introduction the history of Buddhism, the substance of the Lotus, and the roles of its followers. His teaching nourishes us like the single flavor of the rain falling on all living beings."

Franz Metcalf