Communications in Humanities Research
- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences
Communications in Humanities Research
Vol. 16, 28 November 2023
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A Study of the Faith in the Lotus Sutra in Biography of Bhikshunis
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Abstract
The Lotus Sutra is a highly significant Mahayana Buddhist scripture that has been compiled and established since the first century. Then it spread to China with the propagation of Buddhism and underwent numerous translations by eminent monks. Particularly, the translation of Kumarajiva had solidified the Lotus Sutra’s prominent position among Buddhist scriptures. During the Eastern Jin and Northern&Southern Dynasties, the Lotus Sutra attained widespread attention and reverence. It was extensively chanted and adhered in the monastic community and secular society. Until Northern&Southern Dynasties, the number of eminent monks who studied and chanted the Lotus Sutra surged dramatically. And there were as many as 44 monks closely associated with the Lotus Sutra during the early Northern&Southern Dynasties in the Biography of Eminent Monks written by Huijiao. The practice of the Lotus Sutra was also prevalent among Bhikshunis at that time, which was clearly revealed in the Biography of Bhikshunis. The biography shows that the Bhikshunis during Six Dynasties period actively put into practice the teachings in the Lotus Sutra, such as chanting and offering of their bodies as a form of devotion. This paper, based on the Biography of Bhikshunis, investigates the relationship between Bhikshunis and the Lotus Sutra during the Six Dynasties period.
Keywords
the Lotus Sutra, biography of Bhikshunis, Avalokitesvara devotion
References
1. According to the collected inscriptions of Bhikkhuni statues, there are 17 examples of statues depicting Shakyamuni Buddha, Prabhutaratna Buddha, and Avalokitesvara, which are equivalent to the statues of Maitreya Bodhisattva.
2. Southern Dynasty Liang] Written by Shi Huijiao, annotated by Tang Yongtong, “Biographies of Eminent Monks,” Volume 12, “Shi Huijin of Gaozuo Monastery in Qi Capital,” Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1992, p. 467.
3. Southern Dynasty Liang] Written by Shi-Baochang, annotated by Wang Rutong, “Bhikshuni Biographies with Annotations,” Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2006, p. 11.
4. Southern Dynasty Liang] Written by Shi-Baochang, annotated by Wang Rutong, “Bhikshuni Biographies with Annotations,” Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2006, p. 180.
5. “Taisho Tripitaka,” Volume 9, p. 53.
6. “Taisho Tripitaka,” Volume 9, p. 54.
7. Southern Dynasty Liang] Written by Shi-Baochang, annotated by Wang Rutong, “Bhikshuni Biographies with Annotations,” Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2006, p. 85.
8. “Taisho Tripitaka,” Volume 9, p. 45.
9. “Taisho Tripitaka,” Volume 9, p. 31.
10. “Guang Hong Ming Ji,” Volume 24, “Shi Tanji’s Memorial to Master Zhou and Sha,” “Taisho Tripitaka,” Volume 52, p. 279.
11. Southern Dynasty Liang] Written by Shi-Baochang, annotated by Wang Rutong, “Bhikshuni Biographies with Annotations,” Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2006, p. 70.
12. “Continuation of Tibetan Classics,” Volume 78, p. 69.
13. Fang Guangchang, “The ‘Lotus Sutra’ and Related Literature in Dunhuang Documents,” in “Chinese Buddhist Studies Journal,” Issue 010, Taipei: Chinese Buddhist Research Institute, p. 211-232.
Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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- Volume Title
- Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities
- ISBN (Print)
- 978-1-83558-165-0
- ISBN (Online)
- 978-1-83558-166-7
- Published Date
- 28 November 2023
- Series
- Communications in Humanities Research
- ISSN (Print)
- 2753-7064
- ISSN (Online)
- 2753-7072
- DOI
- 10.54254/2753-7064/16/20230066
- Copyright
- 28 November 2023
- Open Access
- This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited