Nichiren Buddhist Kannon Temple of Nevada
Lotus Sutra
Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
The Buddhas, the World Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open the gate to the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves.
They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings.
They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha.
They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha.
Sariputra!
This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.
Lotus Sutra Chapter II
The Lotus Sutra is composed of twenty-eight chapters written in eight fasicles as seen above.
Of the roughly 1500 sutras preached by the Buddha, the Lotus Sutra is the most important and the best known.
The Lotus Sutra, like many other sutras, was originally written in Sanskrit. In 406 CE, Kumarajiva translated the Lotus Sutra into Chinese. While other translations were made over the centuries, Kumarajiva’s version is still the most popular. In Japan, the Lotus Sutra has been studied since Buddhism was introduced there in the sixth century.
Preeminent Buddhist scholars studied the Lotus Sutra—even those whose own doctrines were not directly based upon its teachings.
Nichiren Shonin founded our school of Buddhism based directly on the Lotus Sutra. He devoted his entire adult life to propagating its teachings and putting those teachings into practice. The Lotus Sutra forms the basis for the fundamental teachings of Nichiren Shu. The Lotus Sutra lays out the most important teachings of the Buddha. It shows us that we can put the Buddha’s teachings into practice even in the midst of our less-than-perfect world. Furthermore, we can lead others to these teachings although they live in the delusion of the present world.