DESCRIPTION
Buddhism is a tradition based upon the words and teachings of the Buddha preserved in the poetic-narrative structure called a sūtra. This session looks at forms of Buddhist practice in which the sutra text itself becomes an object of reverence. The most famous example of this being the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, the 'Lotus Sutra.' This sutra became the central focus of a Chinese school of Buddhism called T’ien-tai/Tendai 天台 (‘Heavenly Terrace’), founded in the 6th Century AD, which then spread to Japan and still exists in many forms throughout the world.
Primary Text
Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra (The Lotus Sutra, trans. Burton Watson).
Suggested Reading
Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhist, The Doctrinal Foundations Chapter Five and Seven
Buddhist Sutras: Origin, Development, Transmission by Kogen Mizuno