JJRS > Volume 26 Issue 3-4 Bodily Reading of the Lotus Sūtra: Understanding Nichiren's Buddhism

Habito, Ruben L. F.

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Nichiren’s reading of the Lotus Sūtra, which he regarded as the quintessence of Sākyamuni Buddha’s teaching following the Tendai tradition, determined the content of his teaching as well as the course of his religious career. This paper first looks at the Lotus Sūtra teaching on its own reading and then, surveying Nichiren’s writings to see how he understood the act of reading the Lotus Sūtra, lays out the elements involved in the way he actually did read it. A closer examination of Nichiren “bodily reading” (shikidoku) of the Lotus Sūtra offers a key for understanding his teaching and practice in the context of the wider Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition, and also throws fresh light on the mystical and prophetic dimensions of his religious vision.