The Lotus Sutra proclaims that a unitary intent underlies the diversity of Buddhist teachings and promises that all people without exception can achieve supreme awakening. Establishing the definitive guide to this profound text, specialists in Buddhist philosophy, art, and history of religion address the major ideas and controversies surrounding the Lotus Sutra and its manifestations in ritual performance, ascetic practice, visual representations, and social action across history. Essays survey the Indian context in which the sutra was produced, its compilation and translation history, and its influence across China and Japan, among many other issues. The volume also includes a Chinese and Japanese character glossary, notes on Western translations of the text, and a synoptic bibliography.
Price: $32.00
Pages: 304
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Series: Columbia Readings of Buddhist Literature
Publication Date:
29 July 2009
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780231142892
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
RELIGION / Buddhism / Sacred Writings, RELIGION / Buddhism / General (see also PHILOSOPHY / Buddhist), HISTORY / Asia / South / General, HISTORY / Historiography
Provides an ideal introduction to East Asian Buddhist traditions, premodern and modern.
Stephen F. Teiser is D. T. Suzuki Professor in Buddhist Studies at Princeton University. His research focuses on the interaction between Buddhism and Chinese forms of religion. His book Reinventing the Wheel: Paintings of Rebirth in Medieval Buddhist Temples received the Stanislas Julien Prize from the Institut de France.Jacqueline I. Stone is professor of Japanese religions at Princeton University. Her primary research centers on medieval Japanese Buddhism, especially the Tendai and Nichiren Buddhist traditions. Her book Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism received the American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion (Historical Studies).
Contents
Foreword, by Sheng Yen
Preface, by Stephen F. Teiser and Jacqueline I. Stone
1. Interpreting the Lotus Sutra, by Stephen F. Teiser and Jacqueline I. Stone
2. Expedient Devices, the One Vehicle, and the Life Span of the Buddha, by Carl Bielefeldt
3. Gender and Hierarchy in the Lotus Sutra, by Jan Nattier
4. The Lotus Sutra and Self-Immolation, by James A. Benn
5. Buddhist Practice and the Lotus Sutra in China, by Daniel B. Stevenson
6. Art of the Lotus Sutra, by Willa Jane Tanabe
7. Bodily Reading of the Lotus Sutra, by Ruben L. F. Habito
8. Realizing This World as the Buddha Land, by Jacqueline I. Stone
Translations of the Lotus Sutra in European Languages
Cross-References to Citations of the Lotus Sutra
Character Glossary
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
