be incorporated into the efforts of the Chinese translations.
The Lotus Sutra does not talk much about specific doctrines. However,
shohō-jissō (諸滕實相) is one prominent theme, and it is quite natural to assume that
there was an intention to reinforce that concept with jū-nyoze (十如是) at the time of the
Chinese translations.
At any rate, I would like to point out here that, rather than employing only a
technique of pure translation, Chinese translations traditionally had an element of
interpretation operating in the background.
5. Contemporary Interest in Research on the Lotus Sutra
Religions are always developing or being revived during any age, and following
the First World War, in the 1930s in particular, there were efforts on a global scale to
revive religions in different forms based on the growing recognition of the existence of
the “self.”
Reviewing the history of the formation of the various sects of Japanese
Buddhism, ancient Buddhism developed in Japan as a national religion; and even
following the “early modern age” (over the last 140 years) it was positioned and used to
strengthen governmental systems and procedures. Within this atmosphere of
governmental influence, it is quite impressive that the sects of the so-called Kamakura
New Buddhism founded by Hōnen (滕然), Shinran (親鸞), Dōgen (道元), and
Nichiren (日蓮) in the middle ages developed outside of such integration into the
national governing structure. Furthermore, a review of the activities of those sects up to
the beginning of the early modern age shows that, among them, the sects of Shinran (親
鸞) and Nichiren (日蓮) particularly maintained their separation from governmental
authorities. That may be the reason why they still maintain popular influence in current
times. Shinran’s sect, however, became associated with governmental policy making from
the late early modern age until the dawn of the modern age. By contrast, Nichiren’s sect
did not have any such relationship with the national government, and because of that, it
was free from any popular conceptions of being under any government control or
influence, and it maintained a potential to develop freely. I believe that this historical
background was one of the foundations for the explosive development of lay movements
from Nichiren’s sect following the Edo period.
The theme of “Lotus Sutra reverence in the modern age” is at the core of these
various popular movements, both new and old, and these movements can be
characteristically described as daimoku shinkō (題目信仰) (organizations expressing
faith in the Lotus Sutra’s name). But it is quite doubtful whether doctrinal understanding
of the above mentioned ichi-nen sanzen (一念三千) is thoroughly transmitted in such
Lotus Sutra reverence movements. Even in traditional sects, ichi-nen sanzen (一念三千)
remains as a statement of doctrine, but it is not fully reflected in the actual practice of the
faiths.
Nevertheless, reaffirmation of the traditional doctrines will probably happen
sooner or later in the new movements that are non-mainstream. At any rate, doctrine is an
important issue, and it needs to be understood in some practical sense.
Within an environment that was focusing on Indian Buddhism after 1945, it is
quite natural that the bodhisattva way (菩薩道) became prominent in the new trends of
thought. The bodhisattva way is repeatedly emphasized in the Lotus Sutra. According to
traditional doctrinal interpretations, the doctrine of ichi-nen sanzen (一念三千) lies
strongly in the background of bodhisattva practice, but since the phrase ichi-nen sanzen
(一念三千) is not found in the original Lotus Sutra, emphasis on bodhisattva practice did
not have to be taken from that perspective. Thus it became possible for the elucidation of
the concept of one vehicle (一乗思想), which is expounded in the Lotus Sutra, to take
on new forms, and it became effectively presentable as a doctrine of practical value for
some sects.
There is, however, room for traditional doctrines to become integrated into such
new interpretations. This is how both new and old Lotus Sutra reverence movements have
been developing in different forms up to now—creating new faces, fusing old and new, or
reverting to tradition—and we can assume that there will continue to be new
developments in the future.
6) Interest in the Lotus Sutra within Literature and Art
So far, I have briefly looked at the tradition of Lotus Sutra reverence and its
development in the early modern age and the modern age, by considering
Lotus-Sutra-based movements before and after 1945.
Along with this, the history of Lotus Sutra reverence found in Heian Period
literature should not be overlooked. Through the influence of Dengyō Daishi Saichō (伝
教大師最澄), faith in the Lotus Sutra spread among the aristocracy in the Heian period.
Although it was practiced as part of the Pure Land faith, many traces of Lotus Sutra