NICHIREN(1222–1282), founder of the school that
would eventually bear his name, regarded the Buddha
of the origin teaching as the only true Buddha, of
whom all other buddhas are but manifestations. The
practitioner is identified with this Buddha in the act of
embracing faith in the Lotus Sutraand chanting its ti-
tle or DAIMOKU, Namu Myoho-renge-kyo.
The Lotus Sutraand devotional practices
Following its introduction to China, numerous com-
mentaries were written on the Lotus Sutraby Buddhist
scholars of many schools, stimulating doctrinal debate.
The one vehicle doctrine played a key role in the Chi-
nese scholastic project of establishing comprehensive
classificatory systems (panjiao) that attempted to or-
der the diverse Buddhist teachings transmitted from
India and Central Asia into a coherent whole. Yet,
while valued in elite circles, such doctrinal develop-
ments were probably less influential in the spread of
faith in the Lotus Sutrathan were a range of devotional
practices performed by both clerics and laypeople
across social levels. These forms of Lotuspractice tran-
scended distinctions of school or sect and exerted a
profound impact on the Buddhist ritual and devo-
tional culture of East Asia.
Lotus Sutradevotion in its Indic context belonged
to a distinctive Mahayana “cult of the book,” in which
sutras were enshrined and revered in a manner analo-
gous to the worship of Buddha relics enshrined in
stupas. The sutra itself exhorts its devotees to text-
centered acts of reverence, such as the “five practices”
of receiving and keeping, reading, reciting from mem-
ory, teaching, and transcribing the Lotus Sutra.As with
other Mahayana sutras, Lotus Sutradevotion in East
Asia has often centered around copying, worshipping,
and preaching the sutra. Such devotional acts might be
sponsored officially, by the court, or undertaken pri-
vately. The merit thought to result was dedicated to-
ward a number of aims, including realization of
enlightenment; birth in a buddha’s pure land or other
ideal realm; eradication of sins; the postmortem wel-
fare of deceased relatives; and this-worldly benefits, in-
cluding the peace and stability of the country, long life,
recovery from illness, and prevention of calamity. Tales
compiled in both China and Japan extol the wondrous
blessings obtained by monks, nuns, ascetics, and ordi-
nary lay people who carried out such practices.
Copying the Lotus Sutramight be undertaken by an
individual or by a religious association formed for the
purpose, or a professional calligrapher might be com-
missioned. Sutra copying was seen as a virtuous deed
whose merit might be dedicated toward one’s own sal-
vation or that of deceased family members. In China,
Lotus Sutracopying flourished particularly in the Sui
(589–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties. In Japan, the
Lotuswas the sutra most frequently copied in the Heian
period (794–1185). Some transcriptions commis-
sioned by wealthy patrons were copied on dark blue
paper using gold or silver ink. Especially striking are
surviving copies in which each of the Lotus Sutra’s
69,384 characters has been drawn seated on a lotus
pedestal or surrounded by a stupa, thereby expressing
the conviction that “each character of the Lotusis a liv-
ing buddha.” The Lotus Sutraalso numbered among
those scriptures most often preserved in anticipation
of the era of decline known as the Final Dharma age
(Chinese, mofa;Japanese, mappo). In China, it was
sometimes inscribed on stone slabs on hillsides, or in
Japan, copied and buried in bronze cylinders to await
the advent of MAITREYA, the next buddha. Vernacular
sermons on the Lotus,sometimes with accompanying
illustrations, made its message broadly accessible, as
did popular songs, poems, and artistic representations.
One of the most widespread visual images of Lotusis
that of the jeweled stupa, sometimes represented by the
two buddhas, S ́akyamuni and Prabhutaratna, seated
together. This scene is depicted in cave paintings, on
steles, in MANDALAs, and by small votive stupas.The Lotushas also been associated with devotion
to, or emulation of, specific bodhisattvas described in
its later chapters. Chapter twenty-three describes how
a bodhisattva called “Beheld with Joy by all Living
Beings” steeps his body in perfumed oils and then
burns it in offering to the Buddha and the sutra. This
would become the textual basis for SELF-IMMOLATION,
one of many forms of “discarding the body” under-
taken by Buddhist ascetics. This controversial practice
has been carried out as an act of renunciation, as an
offering to the dharma, to achieve birth in a pure land,
and as a form of protest when Buddhism has faced
persecution. A broader influence on East Asian Bud-
dhism as a whole stems from chapter twenty-five,
which describes how the bodhisattva Avalokites ́vara
(Guanyin, Kwan-u ̆m, Kannon) will respond compas-
sionately to those who call upon his aid. This chapter
eventually circulated as an independent sutra and
helped promote devotion to Avalokites ́vara, which
flourishes to this day. Descriptions in this chapter of
the bodhisattva rescuing devotees from fire, flood,
bandits, and other dangers were frequent subjects of
Lotus-related painting.LOTUSSUTRA(SADDHARMAPUNDARIKA-SUTRA)