The Essential Lotus

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 192 pages
• Published by: Columbia University Press October 15, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0231125070
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0231125079
• Book Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 9.9 ounces

Product Review


"A new translation of any of the classics from the hand of Burton Watson is an event to be welcomed with gratitude." -- Journal of Asian Studies

Product Description


Hailing from the most authoritative and felicitous version of the sutra, translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in 406 by the great Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva, this abridged edition of Watson's 1993 translation cuts through the sprawling magnitude of the original to focus on the chapters that expound the core ideas of the work and have been the most influential in the later development of Buddhist and East Asian thought.

Reader Reviews
Professor Watson has done us all a great service by identifying and restating the fundamental argument of this scripture in his "Essential Lotus: Selections from the Lotus Sutra" (2002), based on his earlier complete translation, "The Lotus Sutra" (1993). This sacred text may be "one of the most important and influential of the sutras or sacred scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism" (xvii), but, truth be told, it is also "a rather prolix and loosely structured text, with some chapters that are repetitious or of minor doctrinal importance." (vii). Watson is one of our great translators and the perfect editor to clarify its message. Although the Lotus Sutra often refers to its program as the One Vehicle or Great Vehicle which supersedes "expedient means" (the earlier teachings which the Buddha adjusted to the needs and level of understanding of his listeners), One Vehicle claims to be the BEST-- but not the only -- means of attaining Buddhahood, which all living beings have the potential to achieve (viii). Transcending "expedient means" may be the goal of the Lotus teaching, but we come gradually to realize it while living in a religious world of "expedient means." This is an important concept. The early, second chapter of the Lotus Sutra takes the name "Expedient Means," the first chapter fully included in the "Essential Lotus." Most of the sutra's Seven Parables refer to this notion in one way or another. Here is to be found the rationale for religious inclusivism -- the accommodation of the religious beliefs and practices of others. Predictably, many today are interested in what the Lotus Sutra has to say about the status of women? In his Preface to "Essential Lotus," Professor Watson describes the famous anecdote concerning the "daughter of the dragon king Sagara who, though only a child of eight, has attained the highest level of enliightenment. Earlier Buddhism had generally denied that women could attain Buddhahood, at least while in female form . . . The Lotus Sutra firmly rejects such assertions. We are to understand that all beings without exception, good or evil, female or male, are equally capable of becoming Buddhas." (ix; 85-87). "Essential Lotus" includes an informative preface and introduction, and a good glossary and index. Even if you already the have a complete translation of the Lotus Sutra, you will find this to be a most useful addition to your library.