Author's introduction -- Introduction -- Skillful means -- A parable -- Willing acceptance -- Herbs -- Prediction -- The apparitional city -- The five hundred disciples receive their predictions and the predictions for those who still have more to learn and for those who do not -- Expounder of the Dharma -- The appearance of the jeweled Stūpa -- Devadatta -- Perseverance -- Ease in practice -- Bodhisattvas emerging from the Earth -- The lifespan of the Tathāgata -- Description of merits and the merits of joyful acceptance -- The benefits obtained by an expounder of the Dharma -- Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta -- The transcendant powers of the Tathāgata and entrustment -- Ancient accounts of Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja -- Bodhisattva Gadgadasvara and the gateway to every direction -- Dhāraṇī -- Ancient accounts of King Śubhavyūha -- Encouragement of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.
The Lotus Sūtra is among the most venerated scriptures of Buddhism. Composed in India some two millennia ago, it affirms the potential for all beings to attain supreme enlightenment. Donald Lopez and Jacqueline Stone provide an essential reading companion to this inspiring yet enigmatic masterpiece, explaining how it was understood by its compilers in India and, centuries later in medieval Japan, by one of its most influential proponents. In this illuminating chapter-by-chapter guide, Lopez and Stone show how the sūtra's anonymous authors skillfully reframed the mainstream Buddhist tradition in light of a new vision of the path and the person of the Buddha himself, and examine how the sūtra's metaphors, parables, and other literary devices worked to legitimate that vision. They go on to explore how the Lotus was interpreted by the Japanese Buddhist master Nichiren (1222-1282), whose inspired reading of the book helped to redefine modern Buddhism. In doing so, Lopez and Stone demonstrate how readers of sacred works continually reinterpret them in light of their own unique circumstances. An invaluable guide to an incomparable spiritual classic, this book unlocks the teachings of the Lotus for modern readers while providing insights into the central importance of commentary as the vehicle by which ancient writings are given contemporary meaning.