The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the
Ground
Toh 113
Degé Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2018
Current version v 1.2.12 (2022)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.18.4.1
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Summary
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, is taught by Buddha Śākyamuni on Vulture Peak to an audience that includes bodhisattvas from countless realms, as well as bodhisattvas who emerge from under the ground, from the space below this world. Buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has long since passed into nirvāṇa, appears within a floating stūpa to hear the sūtra, and Śākyamuni enters the stūpa and sits beside him. The Lotus Sūtra is celebrated, particularly in East Asia, for its presentation of crucial elements of the Mahāyāna tradition, such as the doctrine that there is only one yāna, or “vehicle”; the distinction between expedient and definite teachings; and the notion that the Buddha’s life, enlightenment, and parinirvāṇa were simply manifestations of his transcendent buddhahood, while he continues to teach eternally. A recurring theme in the sūtra is its own significance in teaching these points during past and future eons, with many passages in which the Buddha and bodhisattvas such as Samantabhadra describe the great benefits that come from devotion to it, the history of its past devotees, and how it is the Buddha’s ultimate teaching, supreme over all other sūtras.
Acknowledgements
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra was translated from Tibetan with reference to the Sanskrit by Peter Alan Roberts. Ling Lung Chen was the consultant for the Chinese versions. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor. Ben Gleason was the proofreader.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of May & George Gu, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the Ground
Then the bodhisattvas who had arrived from other world realms, who were as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers, stood up in the circle of the assembly, bowed to the Bhagavān with hands together in homage, and said these words:
“Bhagavān, if the Bhagavān will permit us, [F.111.a] after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, we too will teach this Dharma teaching in the Sahā world realm. We will read it, write it, and make offerings to it. We shall be dedicated to this Dharma teaching. Bhagavān, teach well this Dharma teaching to us.”
The Bhagavān then asked all those bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, why would you need to do this? In this Sahā world realm there are my thousands of bodhisattvas who are as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers. Each one of those bodhisattvas has, as followers, thousands of bodhisattvas who are themselves as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers, and each of those bodhisattvas has that many followers, too. In the future times, after I have passed into nirvāṇa, they will possess this Dharma teaching and they will teach it.”
As soon as the Bhagavān had uttered those words, this entire Sahā world realm cracked apart completely, was rent with fissures, and there came out from within those fissures the bodhisattvas who lived in the Sahā world realm, the many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas, with their golden bodies and their thirty-two signs of a great being, who dwelled in the element of space beneath the great earth. They had heard the Bhagavān’s words, and came out from under the ground. Each one of these bodhisattvas had a following of bodhisattvas as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers, in groups, great groups, along with the teachers of those groups.
Thus it was that there appeared from out of the ground of this Sahā world realm bodhisattva mahāsattvas in groups, great groups, along with the teachers of those groups—hundreds of thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty Ganges Rivers, [F.111.b] let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in fifty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in forty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in thirty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in twenty Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in ten Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in five Ganges Rivers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in one Ganges River, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in half a Ganges River, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with bodhisattva followers as numerous as the grains of sand in a quarter of a Ganges River, or in a sixth, or in an eighth, or in a twentieth, or in a fiftieth, or in a hundredth, or in a thousandth, or in a ten millionth, or in a billionth, or in a trillionth, or in a quintillionth, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with many quintillions of bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with ten million bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a hundred thousand bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a thousand bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with five hundred bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas [F.112.a] with four hundred or three hundred or two hundred bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a hundred bodhisattva followers, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with fifty bodhisattva followers, and likewise, let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with forty bodhisattva followers, or thirty, or twenty, or ten, or five, or four, or three, or two, and let alone bodhisattva mahāsattvas with one bodhisattva follower.
Those bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were beyond number, calculation, simile, or comparison emerged from the ground of the Sahā world realm. When they had emerged they went toward the precious stūpa suspended in the air within which the bhagavān tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, and the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni were sitting together upon a lion throne. When they arrived there, they bowed their heads to the feet of both tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas.
They bowed down and paid homage to the emanations of the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni, the bodies of the tathāgatas who had gathered from the other world realms in the ten directions, the bhagavāns who were seated on lion thrones at the foot of trees made of various precious materials.
They circumambulated those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas hundreds of thousands of times and they praised them with many kinds of bodhisattva praises, and then they stood to one side with their hands together in homage and they paid homage to the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni [F.112.b] and the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna.
At that time those bodhisattva mahāsattvas who had emerged from the ground paid homage to the tathāgatas and praised them with various bodhisattva praises for fifty intermediate eons. During those fifty intermediate eons Bhagavān Śākyamuni remained silent, and the fourfold assembly also remained silent for those fifty intermediate eons.
The Bhagavān now brought about a miracle, such that through that miracle the fourfold assembly thought those eons were just one afternoon. They saw this Sahā world realm became the size of a hundred thousand world realms and filled with bodhisattvas.
There were four bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were the principal ones among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas. They were the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Viśiṣṭacāritra, the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Anantacāritra, the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Viśuddhacāritra, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva named Supratiṣṭhitacāritra. Those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas were the principal figures among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas.
Those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas now stood before that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas, and in front of the Bhagavān, with hands placed together in homage, they inquired of the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, do you have few troubles, do you have little illness, are you happy? Bhagavān, are the beings in your care of good character? [F.113.a] Do they have good understanding? Are they easy to guide? Are they easy to purify? Are they not a cause of sadness for the Bhagavān?”
Those four bodhisattvas then spoke these verses to the Bhagavān:
In reply, the Bhagavān answered those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were the principal figures among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, it is like this: I dwell in happiness; I have little harm, little illness. The beings in my care are of good character, have good understanding, are easily guided, and are easily purified. They do not cause me sadness while they are being purified. Why is that? Noble ones, it is because these beings of mine have trained during the time of previous perfectly enlightened buddhas. Noble ones, they become devoted just on seeing me and hearing me, and they enter and remain in the wisdom of the buddhas, except for those who are engaged in the practice of the level of the śrāvakas.429 But I have also now brought them into the wisdom of the buddhas, and caused them to hear the ultimate truth.”
At this those bodhisattva mahāsattvas responded with these verses:
The Bhagavān said to those four bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were the principal figures among that great gathering of bodhisattvas, that great aggregation of bodhisattvas, [F.113.b] “Excellent, noble ones, excellent! Noble ones, your praise of the Tathāgata is excellent, excellent!”
At that moment, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya and hundreds of thousands of quintillions of other bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers, thought, “A great gathering of bodhisattvas, a great aggregation of bodhisattvas has emerged from the ground, and standing before the Bhagavān has honored, revered, and pleased the Bhagavān.431 This is something we have never seen and never heard of before. Where did these bodhisattva mahāsattvas come from?”
The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya was aware of his own doubt and uncertainty and knew in his own mind the thoughts that were in the minds of hundreds of thousands of quintillions of other bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers. He placed his hands together in homage, and to the Bhagavān he expressed these thoughts in verses:
At that time, the bhagavān tathāgata Śākyamuni’s emanations as other tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas who had arrived from a hundred thousand quintillion world realms were teaching beings in other worlds.434 They were sitting cross-legged on lion thrones made of precious materials at the foot of trees made of precious materials in all eight directions from the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni. The followers of those tathāgatas also saw a great gathering of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, [F.115.a] a great aggregation of bodhisattvas emerge from the ground, and remain suspended in the sky. They were astonished and amazed. They asked their own tathāgatas, “Bhagavān, from where did these countless, innumerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas come?”
Each of those tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas said to their own followers, “Noble ones, wait a little while, because the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, whose highest, complete enlightenment has been prophesied by Bhagavān Śākyamuni, has asked Bhagavān Śākyamuni that same question. Buddha Śākyamuni is going to answer, so you should listen to him.”
The Bhagavān then said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, “Ajita, this question you have asked me concerning this vast subject is excellent, Ajita, excellent!”
The Bhagavān now turned to the entire assembly of bodhisattvas and announced to them, “Noble ones, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha is going to teach the Tathāgata’s wisdom insight, the Tathāgata’s leadership, the Tathāgata’s activity, the Tathāgata’s displays, the Tathāgata’s expanding power, and the Tathāgata’s heroism.435 Therefore, noble ones, this entire assembly of bodhisattvas should be attentive, focused, and stable.”
Having pronounced those verses, Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, “Ajita, I declare to you, I proclaim to you,439 Ajita, as for these innumerable, numberless, inconceivable, unequaled, uncountable bodhisattvas whom you have never seen before, who emerged from the ground, after I had attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood in this Sahā world realm, Ajita, I inspired and developed440 all these bodhisattva mahāsattvas toward the highest, complete enlightenment. Noble ones, I ripened them for this bodhisattva Dharma, established them in it, and caused them to follow it, remain in it, and understand it.
“Ajita, these bodhisattva mahāsattvas live in this Sahā world realm by occupying the realm of space below, where they are engaged in reciting and receiving the teachings, and correctly contemplating them.
“These noble ones do not delight in the activities of society, they delight in the absence of society. Their diligence does not weaken, they apply themselves with diligence. Ajita, these noble ones delight in solitude and find pleasure in solitude. These noble ones do not live by relying upon either devas or humans. These noble ones delight in activities that are devoid of worldly gatherings, delight in the pleasure of the Dharma, and are dedicated to the wisdom of buddhahood.”
The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya and the many hundred thousands of quintillions of bodhisattvas were then astonished and amazed. How could the Buddha in a moment—in such a short time—inspire and ripen for the highest, complete enlightenment all these countless bodhisattvas?
So the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya inquired of the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, when the Tathāgata was a young man, you left the Śākya town of Kapilavastu for homelessness. You went to the supreme Bodhimaṇḍa that is not very far from the city of Gayā. You attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. [F.116.b] Bhagavān, since that time until today more than forty years have passed. Bhagavān, how could the Tathāgata in such a short time as this accomplish such countless tathāgata activities as these? How did you attain the preeminence of a tathāgata, and the heroism of a tathāgata?442 Bhagavān, you have inspired and ripened for the highest, complete enlightenment this great gathering of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, this great aggregation of bodhisattvas, in just that amount of time. Bhagavān, one would not be able to count this great gathering of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, this great aggregation of bodhisattvas, even in a hundred thousand quintillion eons. Bhagavān, such innumerable, countless bodhisattvas have practiced celibacy for a long time, creating roots of merit under many hundreds of thousands of buddhas, and perfecting themselves over many hundreds of thousands of eons.
“Bhagavān, it is as if there were a young man, a lad of twenty-five years of age, with black hair, in the first phase of his adulthood, who revealed that he has sons that are a hundred years old. He says, ‘These noble ones are my sons; they are my sons,’ and they say, ‘This man is our father.’ Bhagavān, what they say would not be believed. It would be difficult for the world to believe them.
“Bhagavān, similarly, it is not very long since you, Tathāgata, attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. These countless, innumerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas have practiced celibacy for many hundreds of thousands of eons; they have gained certainty in the wisdom of buddhahood during a long period of time; they are skilled in resting in hundreds of thousands of samādhis; [F.117.a] they have developed the great higher knowledges; they are wise in the level of buddhahood; they are skilled in teaching the dharmas of the Tathāgata; they are an amazement and wonder in this world; and they have attained great diligence, strength, and might.
“The Bhagavān has said of them, ‘I am the one who first established them on the level of being a bodhisattva; I am the one who has ripened and developed them. It is through my attainment of the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood that I have accomplished all this diligence and heroism.’
“Bhagavān, we will have faith in whatever the Tathāgata says, thinking, ‘The Tathāgata speaks infallibly. The Tathāgata knows the truth.’ However, Bhagavān, those newly following in the Bodhisattvayāna will have doubts. After the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, they will hear this Dharma teaching and they will not believe it, will not have faith in it, and will not be attracted to it. Therefore, Bhagavān, they will accrue the karma of rejecting the Dharma.
“Therefore, Bhagavān, explain the meaning of this well, so that we will not have any kind of doubt in this Dharma, and so that in the future time, when noble men and noble women who are on the Bodhisattvayāna hear it, they will not doubt it.”
The bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya then addressed these verses to the Bhagavān:
This concludes “The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the Ground,” the fourteenth chapter of the Dharma teaching of “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.” [B10] [F.118.a]
Colophon
Translated, revised, and finalized by the Indian Upādhyāya Surendrabodhi and the chief editor Lotsawa Bandé Nanam Yeshé Dé.
Bibliography
Tibetan Editions of the Sūtra
dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo (Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra) [The White Lotus of the Good Dharma]. Toh 113, Degé Kangyur, 103 vols. New Delhi: Karmapae Chodhey Gyalwae Sungrab Patrun Khang, 1976–79, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1a–180b.
———. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), pp. 3–427.
———. Choné Kangyur (co ne bka’ ’gyur). 108 vols. Choné: co ne par khang, 1926, vol. 31 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1–212b.
———. Lhasa Kangyur (lha sa bka’ ’gyur). 100 vols. Lhasa: zhol bka’ ’gyur par khang, 1934, vol. 53 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b–285b.
———. Narthang Kangyur (snar thang bka’ ’gyur). 102 vols. Narthang: snar thang par khang, eighteenth century, vol. 53 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b–281b.
———. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma bka’ ’gyur). 109 vols. Leh: smad rtsis shes rig dpe mdzod, 1975–80. vol. 67 (mdo sde, ma), folios 1a–270b.
———. Urga Kangyur (ur ga bka’ ’gyur). New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1990–94. vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1a–180b.
Khangkar, Tsultrim Kelsang (ed.) bod gyur dam pa’i chos padma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo: Tibetan Translation of Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra. Nyin bod nang rig deb grangs (Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist Culture Series) XI. Kyoto: Tibetan Buddhist Culture Association, 2009.
Sanskrit Editions of the Sūtra
Zhongxin, Jiang. Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from the Lüshun Museum Collection. Tokyo: Sōka Gakkai, 1997.
Vaidya, P. L. Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning, 1960.
Watanabe, Shōkō. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Manuscripts Found in Gilgit. Tokyo: Reiyukai, 1972–75.
Wogihara, Unrai and Tsuchida, Chikao. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtram: Romanized and Revised Text of the Bibliotheca Buddhica publication by consulting a Sanskrit Ms. & Tibetan and Chinese translations. Tōkyō: Seigo-Kenkyūkai, 1934–35.
Translations of the Sūtra
Borsig, Margareta von. Lotos-Sutra: Das Große Erleuchtungsbuch des Buddhismus. Freiburg: Herder, 2003.
Burnouf, Eugene. Le lotus de la bonne loi. Paris: L’imprimerie Nationale, 1852.
Hurvitz, Leon. Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma. New York: Columbia University Press, 1976.
Katō, Bunnō. “The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law.” In The Threefold Lotus Sutra, translated by Bunnō Katō, Yoshirō Tamura, and Kōjirō Miyasaka, with revisions by W. E. Soothill, Wilhelm Schiffer, and Pier P. Del Campana, 18–213. New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill and Kosei, 1993.
Kern, H. Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka or the Lotus of the Good Law. Sacred Books of the East XXII. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1884.
Kubo, Tsugunari and Akira Yuyama. The Lotus Sutra. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research (revised second edition), 2007.
Montgomery, Daniel B. The Lotus Sutra: The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Tokyo: Nichiren Shu Headquarters, 1991.
Murano, Senchū. The Lotus Sutra: Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma. Hayward, CA: Nichiren Buddhist International Center, 1974.
Reeves, Gene. The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Soothill, W.E. The Lotus of the Wonderful Law, or The Lotus Gospel. Richmond: Curzon Press, 1987.
Watson, Burton. The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.
Other Kangyur Texts
rgya cher rol pa’i mdo (Lalitavistarasūtra, Toh 95. Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1b–216b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation committee (2013).
ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po’i mdo (Samādhirājasūtra), Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1a–175b. English translation in Roberts (2018).
de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi gsang ba’i mdo (Tathāgataghuyakasūtra) [The Secret of the Tathāgatas Sūtra]. Toh 443, Degé Kangyur vol. 81 (rgyud, ca), folios 90a–157b.
phal po che’i mdo (Avataṁsakasūtra) [A Multitude of Buddhas Sūtra]. Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vols. 35–38 (phal chen, ka–a), folios ka 1a–nga 363a.
lang kar gshegs pa’i mdo (Laṅkāvatārasūtra) [The Entry into Laṅka Sutra]. Toh 107, Degé Kangyur vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 56a–191b.
shes rab pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses]. Toh 12, Degé Kangyur vol. 33 (brgyad stong pa, ka), folios 1b–286a.
sa bcu pa’i mdo (Daśabhūmikasūtra) [The Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis]. Chapter 31, in Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, kha), folios 166a–283a. English translation in Roberts (2021).
gser ’od dam pa’i mdo (Suvarṇaprabhāsūtra) [The Golden Light Sūtra]. Toh 556, Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud, pa), folios 151b–273a.
Tengyur Texts
Abhayākaragupta. thub pa’i dgongs pa’i rgyan (Munimatālaṁkāra). Toh 3903, Degé Tengyur vol. 210 (dbu ma, a), folios 73b–293a.
Asaṅga. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa (Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā). Toh 4025, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 74b–129a.
Candrakīrti. dbu ma la ’jug pa’i bshad pa (Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya). Toh 3862, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (dbu ma, ’a), folios 220b–348a.
———. byang chub sems dpa’i rnal ’byor spyod pa bzhi brgya pa’i ’grel pa (Bodhisattvayogacaryācatuḥśatakaṭīkā) Toh 3865, Degé Tengyur vol. 205 (dbu ma, ya), folios 30b–239a.
Daṃṣṭrāsena, Vasubandhu, or neither. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa dang nyi khri lnga stong pa dang khri brgyad stong pa’i rgya cher bshad pa (Śatasāhasrikāpañcaviṁśatisāhasrikaṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā). Toh 3808, Degé Tengyur vol. 93 (sher phyin, pha), folios 1a–292b. English translation in Sparham (2022).
Dharmamitra. tshig rab tu gsal ba (Prasphuṭapadā). Toh 3796, Degé Tengyur vol. 87 (sher phyin, nya), folios 1a–110a.
Jānavajra. de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan (Tathāgatahṛdayālaṁkāra). Toh 4019, Degé Tengyur vol. 224 (mdo ’grel, pi), folios 1a–310a.
Kamalaśīla. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa bdun brgya pa rgya cher bshad pa (Saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitāṭīkā). Toh 3815, Degé Tengyur vol. 95 (sher phyin, ma), folios 89a–178a.
Maitreya-Asaṅga. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos (Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra) [A Mahāyāna Treatise on the Supreme Continuum]. Toh 4024, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 54b–73a.
Nāgārjuna. mdo kun las btus pa (Sūtrasamuccaya). Toh 3934, Degé Tengyur vol. 212 (dbu ma, ki), folios 148b–215a.
Saitsalak (sa’i rtsa lag, Kuiji, Pṛthivībandhu). dam pa’i chos padma dkar po’i ’grel pa. Toh 4017, Degé Tengyur, vol. 120 (mdo ’grel, di), folios 175b–302a.
———. dam pa’i chos padma dkar po’i ’grel pa. bstan ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Tengyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 69 (mdo sde, di, vol. 135), pp. 476–826.
Śāntideva. bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya). Toh 3940, Degé Tengyur vol. 111 (dbu ma, khi), folios 3a–194b.
Vasubandhu. theg pa chen po bsdus pa’i ’grel pa (Mahāyānasaṁgrahabhāṣya). Toh 4050, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, yi), folios 121b–190a.
Wantsik (wan tshig, Yuan Tso). dgongs pa zab mo nges par ’grel pa (Gambhīrasaṁdhinirmocanasūtraṭīkā). Toh 4016, Degé Tengyur vols. 220–22 (mdo ’grel, ti–ti), folios ti 1a–di 175a.
Secondary Tibetan Sources
Lodrö Gyaltsen (blo gros rgyal mtshan). dam chos pad dkar gyi tshig don la gzhan gyi log par rtog pa dgag pa. In Sa skya bka’ ’bum vol. 15, Kathmandu: Sachen International, 2006, folios 469–485.
Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub). bde bar gshegs pa’i bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas gsung rab rin po che’i mdzod. In The Collected Works of Bu-ston. Edited by Lokesh Chandra from the collections of Raghu Vira. 28 volumes. Zhol bka’ ’gyur par khang edition. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71, 633–1056.
Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje). dam chos pad ma dkar po’i kha byang. In lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje’i gsung ’bum, vol. 5 (ca), Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2003, folios 525–532.
Pekar Zangpo (pad dkar bzang po). ’phags pa dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. In mdo sde spyi’i rnam bzhag, Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006, pp. 187–189.
Secondary Non-Tibetan Sources
Abbott, Terry Rae. “Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra: A Study of its History and Significance.” PhD diss., University of California at Berkeley, 1985.
Boucher, Daniel. “Dharmarakṣa and the Transmission of Buddhism to China.” Asia Major 19 (2006): 13–37.
Deeg, Max. “The Saṅgha of Devadatta: Fiction and History of a Heresy in the Buddhist Tradition.” Journal of the International College for Advanced Buddhist Studies (March 31, 1999): 195–230.
Dessein, Bart. “The Mahāsāṃghikas and the Origins of Mahāyāna Buddhism: Evidence Provided in the *Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣaśāstra.” The Eastern Buddhist 40, no. 1 (2009): 25–61.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Galloway, Brian. “Thus have I heard: At one time….” Indo-Iranian Journal 34, no. 2 (April 1991): 87–104.
Groner, Paul and Jacqueline I. Stone. “Editors’ Introduction: The Lotus Sutra in Japan.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies vol. 41, no. 1 (2014): 1–23.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. Peaceful Action, Open Heart: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2008.
Heirman, Ann. “Yijing’s View on the Bhikṣunīs’ Standard Robes.” Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 21 (2008): 145–158.
Hinüber, Oskar von. “A Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra Manuscript from Khotan: The Gift of a Pious Khotanese Family.” Journal of Oriental Studies 24 (2014): 134–156.
———. “The Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra at Gilgit: Manuscripts, Worshippers, and Artists.” Journal of Oriental Studies22 (2012): 52–67.
———. Bronzes of the Ancient Kingdom of Gilgit and Royal Patronage in Early North-Western India and Pakistan. Online lecture: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2010).
Jamieson, R. C. “Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscripts from Cambridge University Library (Add. 1682 and Add. 1683).” Journal of Oriental Studies 12, no. 6 (2002): 165–173.
Jeffus, Ryusho. Lotus Sutra Practice Guide: 35-Day Practice Outline. Charlotte, NC: Myosho-ji, 2012.
Karashima, Seishi. “Who Composed the Mahāyāna Scriptures?—the Mahāsāṃghikas and Vaitulya Scriptures.” ARIRIAB XVIII (2015): 113–162.
———. “Some Features of the Language of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.” Indo-Iranian Journal 44 (2001): 207–230.
Kim, Young-ho. Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra: A Study and Translation. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.
Lancaster, L. R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue.
Laufer, Berthold. “Sanskrit Karketana.” Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique 22 (1922): 43–46.
Lopez Jr., Donald S. The Lotus Sutra: A Biography. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016.
Miller, Robert, et al. The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1, ch. 1). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
Mookerji, Radha Kumud. Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989.
Reeves, Gene. The Stories of the Lotus Sutra. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2010.
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Samādhirājasūtra, Toh 127). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
———, trans. The Ten Bhūmis (Daśabhūmika, Toh 44-31). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Sparham, Gareth, trans. The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (*Āryaśatasāhasrikāpañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā, Toh 3808). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
Schoening, Jeffrey. “Translated Sutra Commentaries in Tibet.” In Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, edited by José Cabezón and Roger Jackson, 111–124. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1996.
Silk, Jonathan Alan. “The Yogācāra Bhikṣu.” In Beiju: Buddhist Studies in Honor of Professor Gadjin M. Nagao, edited by J. Silk, 256–314. Studies in the Buddhist Traditions 3. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997.
Suguro, Shinjō. Introduction to the Lotus Sutra. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, 1998.
Tanabe, George J. and Willa Jane Tanabe. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989.
Teiser, Stephen F. and Jacqueline I. Stone. Readings of the Lotus Sūtra. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.
Tiantai Lotus Texts. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Berkeley, CA: Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America, 2013, 93–149.
Tola, Fernando and Carmen Dragonetti. Buddhist Positiveness: Studies on the Lotus Sūtra. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2009.
Winder, Marianne. “Vaidurya.” Studies on Indian Medical History (1987): 85–94.
Yuyama, Akira. A Bibliography of the Sanskrit Texts of the “Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.” Canberra: Faculty of Asian Studies in Association with Australian National University Press, 1970.
Zengwen, Yang. “Saddharmapundarikasutra in Chinese History and its Significance in the 21st Centry.” Journal of Oriental Studies vol. 10 (2000): 10–20.
Zhongxin, Jiang. Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from the Lüshun Museum Collection (Tokyo: Sōka Gakkai, 1997).