THE PRESENT VOLUME OFFERS an English translation of the Lotus Sutra, and of two short sutras, the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra and the Sutra on How to Practice Meditation on Bodhisattva Universal Worthy, that have traditionally been regarded as the opening and closing sutras for the Lotus. The Lotus Sutra translation, done by Burton Watson, renowned translator of many works of classical Chinese and Japanese literature, was originally published in 1993 by Columbia University Press. It appears here in slightly revised form. The translations of the two accompanying sutras, also by Burton Watson, appear here for the first time.
All the translations conform to the Chinese texts of these sutras as they appear in Myöhö-renge-kyo narabini kaiketsu (The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law and Its Opening and Closing Sutras), published in 2002 by the Soka Gakkai. Tiantai (538- 597), or Zhiyi, founder of the Tiantai school of Buddhism in China, considered the three sutras a single unit, thus establishing the tradition in which they have been called over the centuries "the threefold Lotus Sutra." Nichiren (1222-1282), the Japanese Buddhist scholar-monk whose teachings the Soka Gakkai practices, also held this view. Myöhō-renge-kyo narabini kaiketsu is based upon the texts of the three sutras that Nichiren used to instruct his disciples and write his own works. Called Chu Hokekyo, or the Annotated Lotus Sutra, it includes related passages from the works of Tiantai and other scholar-monks that Nichiren noted down for his own reference. With regard to the two short sutras, a few remarks may be in order.
According to Chinese records, the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra was translated into Chinese in 481 by Dharmagathayashas, a monk from central India. We have no knowledge of what language Dharmagathayashas translated the sutra from, and some scholars now suggest that it may actually have been first com- posed in Chinese.
The sutra, made up of three chapters, describes Shakyamuni Buddha preaching on Eagle Peak. Chapter one, entitled "Virtuous Practices," praises the Buddha and his various characteristics. Chapter two, "Preaching the Law," explains that all the teachings and their immeasurable meanings derive from a single Law, and that those teachings preached during the first forty years and more of the Buddha's teaching life do not reveal the truth. Chapter three, "Ten Benefits," describes the benefits that practitioners of the sutra will gain.
The Immeasurable Meanings Sutra clearly states what the Buddha said about his earlier teachings. "In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth. Therefore the ways they [living beings] gained were not uniform but differed in different cases, and they have not been able to quickly attain unsurpassed enlightenment." The Lotus Sutra similarly states: "The world-honored one has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth." These passages are jointly taken to mean that the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra is preparing the way for the preaching of the Lotus and that in the Lotus the Buddha will reveal the truth for the first time.
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