Lotus Sūtra
Mahāyāna · Tiantai, Tendai & Nichiren
The Lotus Sūtra is available in Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama’s English translation through BDK.
Contents
- 1. Introduction · p. 3
- 2. Skillful Means · p. 23
- 3. A Parable · p. 47
- 4. Willing Acceptance · p. 79
- 5. Herbs · p. 95
- 6. Prediction · p. 103
- 7. The Apparitional City · p. 113
- 8. The Five Hundred Disciples Receive Their Predictions · p. 139
- 9. The Predictions for Those Who Still Have More to Learn and for Those Who Do Not · p. 151
- 10. The Expounder of the Dharma · p. 157
- 11. The Appearance of a Jeweled Stupa · p. 167
- 12. Devadatta · p. 179
- 13. Perseverance · p. 187
- 14. Ease in Practice · p. 193
- 15. Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth · p. 209
- 16. The Lifespan of the Tathāgata · p. 223
- 17. Description of Merits · p. 233
- 18. The Merits of Joyful Acceptance · p. 245
- 19. The Benefits Obtained by an Expounder of the Dharma · p. 251
- 20. Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta · p. 265
- 21. The Transcendent Powers of the Tathāgata · p. 271
- 22. Entrustment · p. 277
- 23. Ancient Accounts of Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja · p. 279
- 24. Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara · p. 289
- 25. The Gateway to Every Direction [Manifested by Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara] · p. 295
- 26. Dhāraṇī · p. 303
- 27. Ancient Accounts of King Śubhavyūha · p. 307
- 28. Encouragement of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra · p. 313
Translations & sourcesEditions & translators
These are the editions cited elsewhere in the Atlas; wording and numbering may differ from the reading shown here.
BDK offers a complete English translation as a free PDF, as well as a printed edition.
Edition & attribution
This is a brief introduction to the text, not a translation.
Introductions, reflection questions and added section headings are editorial material, separate from the attributed translation.
The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork created for Buddhist Atlas. It is an evocative companion, not a depiction of the text’s historical setting.
The linked publisher provides the text and its usage terms.
Connections
Guru Viking0
No connected episodes found for this text.
People & teachers4
- Kumārajīva
Translator of the influential Chinese version used by this BDK edition.
Source
- Nichiren
Placed devotion to the Lotus Sūtra at the center of practice.
Source
- Reb Anderson
Teaches on this text:
- The Lotus Sutra and Grandson StoriesNames this text
- The Lotus Sutra Chapter TenNames this text
2 more connected teachings
- The Lotus Sutra Chapters Two and Three The Parable of the Burning HouseNames this text
- The Lotus Sutra Chapter OneNames this text
- Norman Fischer
Teaches on this text:
Traditions & history8
- Tiantai
Zhiyi’s synthesis centered on the Lotus Sūtra.
Source
- Nichiren traditions
Later Japanese traditions organized around the Lotus Sūtra.
Source
- Mahāyāna
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Mahāyāna.
- East Asian traditions
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to East Asian traditions.
- Lotus-centered traditions
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Lotus-centered traditions.
- Tiantai
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Tiantai.
- Tendai
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Tendai.
- Nichiren traditions
Study context: this text is included in the Atlas guide to Nichiren traditions.
Books1
- Emptiness and Omnipresence
Philosophical companion: the Lotus-centered Tiantai understanding of reality.
Source
Make yourself comfortable
About this textContext & reading guide
The Lotus Sūtra presents a broad vision of Buddhahood and the Buddha’s skill in teaching different people through different means.
Its account of one vehicle interprets apparently different paths within a larger promise of awakening. Parables, including the burning house, make teaching strategies vivid.
It also expands the reader’s understanding of the Buddha and the scope of his activity. Communities interpret these themes in different ways.
Tiantai organizes doctrine and practice around it; Tendai inherits and adapts that world; Nichiren traditions give devotion to its title a central role.