"Gongyo is a solemn ceremony in which we are looking out and over the universe. It is a dialogue with the universe."

ABOUT THE LOTUS SUTRA

The Lotus Sūtra (Sanskrit: Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra) is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.

The earliest known Sanskrit title for the sūtra is the Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, which translates to "Sūtra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma." In English, the shortened form Lotus Sūtra is common. The Lotus Sūtra has also been highly regarded in a number of Asian countries where Mahāyāna Buddhism has been traditionally practiced. Translations of this title into the languages of some of these countries include:

• Sanskrit: सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra
• Chinese: 妙法蓮華經 miàofǎ liánhuá jīng, shortened to 法華經 fǎhuá jīng
• Japanese: 妙法蓮華経 myōhō renge kyō, shortened to 法華経 hōke kyō
• Korean: 묘법연화경 myobeop yeonhwa gyeong, shortened to 법화경 beophwa gyeong
• Vietnamese Diệu pháp liên hoa kinh, shortened to Pháp hoa kinh

The oldest parts of the text (Chapters 1-9 and 17) were probably composed between 100 BCE and 100 CE: most of the text had appeared by 200 CE.[1]

The Lotus Sutra presents itself as a discourse delivered by the Buddha toward the end of his life. The tradition in Mahayana states that the sutra was written down at the time of the Buddha and stored for five hundred years in a realm of nāgas. After this they were reintroduced into the human realm at the time of the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir. The sutra's teachings purport to be of a higher order than those contained in the āgamas of the Sūtra Piṭaka, and that humanity had been unable to understand the sutra at the time of the Buddha, and thus the teaching had to be held back.

"As practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, we get up in the morning and do gongyo. Some perhaps may do so rather reluctantly! Nevertheless, doing gongyo is itself a truly great and noble thing. Gongyo is a solemn ceremony in which we are looking out and over the universe. It is a dialogue with the universe." ~Daisaku Ikeda

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