Download THE LOTUS SŪTRA AND ITS `BODIES`: PHYSICAL BODIES

Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
“THE LOTUS SŪTRA AND ITS ‘BODIES’: PHYSICAL BODIES,
SPIRITUAL BODIES, BODIES OF KNOWLEDGE
SUSAN DEGNAN
CAITLIN GRANEY
RYAN McCANN
CHARLES McCRACKEN
JOHN M. THOMPSON
Discussions of “the body” have become increasingly prominent in academic circles in
recent years. This is particularly the case in the Humanities – a rather ironic point since
the intensely textual focus we typically find in History, Literature, Philosophy and the
like – seem at first blush to be as disembodied as could be. But of course, things are
rarely as they seem. Certainly those of us who focus on the cultures and traditions of
Asia know that “the body” in its various dimensions is a major concern of texts and
practices across a wide range of Asian societies.
In this paper we look at closely at the Lotus Sūtra (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, Miaofa
lianhua jing), one of the most popular Buddhist texts and one that has had a decisive
influence on various Asian cultures. Famous for its supposedly “innumerable meanings,”
the Lotus is a major source of important teachings in the Mahayana branch of Buddhism,
and has long been a focus of intense devotion for thousands of Buddhists. Perhaps not
surprisingly, the Lotus is a powerful catalyst for critical and creative reflection on
ambiguities surrounding the concept of “the body.” This paper originated in a university
class on the Lotus, gradually taking further shape as a panel at the 2014 Virginia
Humanities Conference in which each of us presented on aspects of the Lotus from our
respective areas of interest and expertise (economics, leadership studies, gender theory
etc.). After much further discussion, we agreed that combining our various pieces into
one large article would be a good way to highlight the multidimensional nature of the
Lotus and its relationship to notions of “the body,” and hopefully generate further interest
among other scholars. In what follows, we discuss several ways that the Lotus as a
Buddhist text both illuminates and problematizes what “the body” is. We believe that
such examination can not only open up various dimensions of the text itself, but can also
contribute to our greater understanding of the Humanities and its Bodies.
Body and bodies – different notions
Dealing with concepts of “body” in the study of a text such as the Lotus, which developed
primarily in socio-cultural contexts vastly different from those in which most contemporary
131
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
scholars find themselves, poses a host of problems. While we cannot hope to resolve these
issues here, we should at least explicitly note a few of them. The first concerns language. The
Lotus is a Buddhist text and, simply put, while Buddhism does not have an official sacred
language (unlike, say, Judaism or Islam), its origins and early development within ancient India
means that terms and concepts from Indic languages (e.g. Sanskrit, Pali) have had, and continue
to have, overwhelming influence on the religion as a whole. Perhaps not surprisingly for those
of us who work with different languages, it is difficult a single definitive equivalent for the
English term “body” in Buddhism’s vast technical vocabulary. Sanskrit terms commonly
translated as “body” include kāya (“collection”), deha (“physical body” or “shape/form”), āśraya
(“support”), śarīra (“that which perishes,” especially used for physical traces or relics of sacred
persons), or rūpa (“form,” “matter,” even “color”). None of these, however, exactly capture
what “body” typically means, and some are considerably more restrictive. In general, though,
most scholars use kāya for “body,” as it tends to reflect a technical philosophical view
(“patterned heap of material elements”) that more or less corresponds to a contemporary
scientific understanding of “body” as a material entity.
Aside from these linguistic issues, however, we need to acknowledge the fact that there is
no single, coherent Pan-Buddhist view of the body, let alone within the text of the Lotus.
Certainly in some Buddhist texts and practices typically geared towards monastics, we find a
strong negative view of the body as a focal point for samsaric existence. In fact, in some
respects we can find a quasi-dualistic view of the human body in Buddhist tradition, since in
Buddhist cosmology, it is consciousness (rather than the body) that is reborn. Thus for many
Buddhists attaining nirvana often seems to involve an almost Manichean rejection of the body in
order to escape the material realm.1 And most certainly, physical bodies in all their fragility and
vulnerability truly were often a major source of human misery in premodern societies.2
Even so, though, we must tread carefully here. To cite just one example, Buddhist texts
analyzing the human person into its constituent elements (e.g. the various dharmas such as the
five skandhas) are in fact just elaborating on what the term kāya means: the “body” is a
collection of different processes, uniting both the physical and the psychological. Indeed, as one
scholar observes, “the Buddha saw the human being as a psychophysical entity (namarupa) . . .
he pointed out the interdependence of mind and the physical personality.”3 There is no
denigration of human bodily being here. In this sense, then, texts distinguishing the various
factors that make up the human body are essentially exercises in the analysis of what is actually
the case rather than evaluative declarations that the physical body in itself is abhorrent.
Interestingly, it seems that analytic texts presenting negative views of the body also tend
to focus on female bodies as especially problematic, either as sources of temptation or figures of
Steven Collins, “The body in Theravada Buddhist Monasticism,” in Religion and the Body, ed. Sarah Coakley
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 188.
2
Paul Williams, “Some Mahayana Buddhist perspective on the body,” in Religion and the Body, ed. Sarah Coakley
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 208.
3
Wimal Dissanayake, “Self and Body in Theravada Buddhism: A Topological Analysis of the Dhammapada.” In
Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice, eds. Thomas P. Kasulis, Roger T. Ames, and Wimal Dissanayake (New
York: SUNY Press, 1993), 124.
1
132
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
disgust because of their intimate connection to birth and death. Some of the most famous of
these come from early canonical sources depicting Siddhartha’s vows to leave his palace and
dedicate himself to spiritual pursuits. One well known passage, for instance, relates the prince’s
parting view of the various women from his harem in their sleep:
One lay leaning on against the side of a window, her slender body bent like a bow…
Her beautiful necklace dangling . . .
Another, with loose and disorderly hair, lay like the figure of a woman trampled
by an elephant, her ornaments and garments having slipped from her back, her necklace
scattered.
And another, of great natural beauty and poise, was shamelessly exposed in an
immodest position, snoring out loud, with her limbs tossed about.
Another, with her ornaments and garlands falling off and garments unfastened,
lay unconscious like a corpse, with her eyes fixed and their whites showing.
Another with well-developed legs lay as if sprawling in intoxication, exposing
what should have been hidden, her mouth gaping wide and slobbering, her graceful-ness
gone and her body contorted . . .
Seeing this. . . the prince was disgusted. “Such is the real nature of women in the world of
the living – impure and loathsome, but deceived by dress and ornaments, man is stirred to
passion for them.”4
Is this truly “the real nature of women”? Why such a negative reaction to the carnal
dimensions of these women? Undoubtedly there are several reasons why might this be the case.
To begin with, it is helpful to keep in mind that these sorts of texts were almost invariably
composed in and addressed to male monastic communities, and thus aim to counteract the
powerful forces of sexual desire that play such a large role in binding bhikkus to the cycle of
samsara. In addition, such texts also reflect the misogyny and pollution/purity views pervading
traditional Indian (and Buddhist) cultures, as well as the androcentric nature of most ancient
Buddhist texts. Certainly, we find traces of these views at various places within the Lotus,
notably in descriptions of various “Pure Lands” wherein there will be “no women.”5 The matter
of gender and bodies in the Lotus is quite complicated, and we will return to it later in this paper.
On the other hand, we also find evidence of more positive views of the body in
Buddhism. Again, we can see such views clearly with the legends of Sakyamuni, particularly his
past life stories (jatakas) in which he demonstrates great virtues of generosity, compassion, selfsacrifice, all of which help karmically build the body he will have as a Buddha. It is also a
4
Quoted in Susan Murcott, The First Buddhist Women: Translations and Commentary on the Therigatha (Berkeley:
Parallax Press, 1991), 23.
5
Gene Reeves, trans., The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic (Boston: Wisdom
Publications, 2008), 209.
133
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
standard trope in Buddhism for followers to express joy at attaining a precious human rebirth –
the implication being that attaining a human body is (comparatively speaking) a good thing in
that it affords the opportunity for spiritual advancement. Furthermore, overtime (particularly in
East Asia), certain types of bodily training involving artistic disciplines (calligraphy, “martial
arts” such as archery or gong fu) as means of spiritual development become increasingly
important components of the Buddhist path. As John Strong observes, Buddhahood is a karmic
achievement accomplished and expressed somatically as well as mentally.6
Vajrayana (the “thunderbolt vehicle”) tradition seems especially inclined towards a more
positive understanding of the body than we often see in early monastic texts, as it typically
centers on ritual training and performance including meditation and visualization. A defining
characteristic of Vajrayana is working to transform body, speech and mind in order to “become
Buddha in this very body.” Interestingly, the Lotus also has many passages promoting a
similarly positive view of the human body, and in fact, even promises various bodily rewards
(e.g. divine powers of hearing, sight, smell etc.) for particularly passionate devotees.7
All told, then, there really is no monolithic Buddhist view of the human body, and even
the Lotus contains different, even contradictory views. While there are obviously texts and
practices that denigrate and devalue the body in spiritual life, the Buddha also rejected extreme
austerity and encouraged a mindful cultivation of his followers’ bodily being. Anne Klein even
maintains that “much of Buddhist practice can be understood as a way of consciously seeking a
more spacious way of experiencing our embodiment.”8 Perhaps the best conclusion we can draw
is that in Buddhism, the human body is highly ambiguous but vitally important. The human
body is the central locus of practice and awakening, and hence not to be taken lightly. This is
why the Dharma lays out a “middle way” between ascetic denial and hedonistic luxury – a notion
that seems to hold for the Lotus as well.
Thus far we have primarily focused on the more or less corporeal (physical, material)
notion of “body,” and yet, we find an even bigger problem in the fact that we also speak of body
in other senses, as in a “body of knowledge.” What exactly is this? In common parlance, the
phrase concerns an aggregate of facts and concepts of particular significance as well as methods
of study in a particular field. To cite that great fountain of truth Wikipedia (always a bit dubious
from a traditional scholarly perspective):
Body of Knowledge (BOK or BoK) is a term used to represent the complete set
of concepts, terms and activities that make up a professional domain, as defined
by the relevant learned society or professional association.
While the term body of knowledge is also used to describe the document that
defines that knowledge – the body of knowledge itself is more than simply a
collection of terms; a professional reading list; a library; a website or a collection
6
John S. Strong, The Buddha: A Short Biography (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2001), 31.
See, for example, Chapter 19, “The Blessings of the Dharma Teacher;” Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 321-335.
8
Anne C. Klein, “Grounding and Opening,” In Being Bodies: Buddhist Women on the Paradox of Embodiment, eds.
Lenore Friedman and Susan Moon (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997), 141.
7
134
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
of websites; a description of professional functions; or even a collection of
information. It is the accepted ontology for a specific domain.9
Investopedia (another source, also a bit dubious in terms of scholarly reliability but perhaps
preferable for its more obvious commercial and financial nature) gives this definition:
The core teachings, skills and research in a field or industry. The body of
knowledge (BOK) often forms the foundation for the curriculum of most
professional programs or designations. It is the essential competencies mastered
by members, to receive accreditation before applying these principles in practice.
Mastery of the body of knowledge is generally demonstrated by passing rigorous
examinations at single or multiple levels.10
This more metaphoric sense of “body” brings with it an even larger host of problems but
for our purposes it is enough to note that a “body of knowledge” in this sense implies a technical
approach to the world in which reality is divided into specific spheres/domains which are then to
be dominated (defined, measured, and catalogued) and administered by experts. As Francis
Bacon famously notes in Meditationes Sacrae, “Knowledge is power.”11 And yet we so rarely
ask the obvious question: what exactly should we do with such power? Does this necessarily
mean that to know something is to subjugate towards some other end of our own devising?
This technical notion of a “body of knowledge” opens up new avenues for reflection.
Obviously, familiarity with the Lotus forms part of the “body of knowledge” that makes up the
academic fields of Buddhist and/or Asian Studies (and to which discussions such as this essay
also belong). Furthermore, familiarity with at least certain aspects of the Lotus (e.g. parables
such as the “Burning House,” the dharanis in chapter twenty-six, visualization practices outlined
in chapter twenty-eight, etc.) no doubt also constituted the basic “body of knowledge” required
by ordained clergy to carry out their ministerial functions, be they performing funerary services
for local laity, giving regular “Dharma talks,” conducting special ceremonies at certain festivals,
and the like. Moreover, a number of scholar-monks who focused much of their work on the
Lotus (e.g. the great figures of the Tiantai/Tendai schools such as Zhiyi, Saicho et al) necessarily
also had to develop knowledge of a vast body of extra-canonical textual material related to the
Lotus and even composed their own treatises and commentaries.12 Indeed, to a large degree this
work continues in the more academic efforts of contemporary groups devoted to the study and
9
“Body of Knowledge,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_of_Knowledge.
“Body of Knowledge,” http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/body-of-knowledge.asp
John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919. Available online at http://www.bartleby.com/100/139.39.html.
12
As one of the great intellectual schools of East Asian Buddhism and one of the few that explicitly regards the
Lotus as the fullest expression of the Dharma, Tiantai and/or Tendai (Chinese/Japanese for “Heavenly Terrace,” the
name of its original monastic headquarters located on the slopes of Mount Tiantai south of the Yangzi) has exerted a
tremendous influence on Chinese and Japanese philosophy. For a brief overview of its beginnings, see Kenneth
Ch’en, Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964), 303-313.
10
11
135
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
propagation of the teachings of the Lotus such as Sōka Gakkai and Rishō Kōseikai.13 Thus,
even from this very cursory analysis, it’s fairly clear that the Lotus itself draws upon and has
become an important of, and in fact is a rather large and influential “body of knowledge” in
Mahayana tradition, particularly throughout East Asia.
And yet despite such notions of the Lotus as comprising and/or being part of a “body of
knowledge,” might the Lotus also resist being turned into a mere “body of knowledge?” This is
a complicated question. If a “body of knowledge” is a collection of basic ideas and concepts, as
well as a set of skills one develops to achieve certain ends (including the social
acknowledgement of one’s expertise through a recognized process of certification), then the
Lotus (and its attendant institutionalized bodies – monasteries and temples, universities etc.)
certainly fits. And yet, there does seem to be more going on with the Lotus. It is, after all, a
sacred text, a sutra from the lips of Sakyamuni, the Buddha of our cosmic epoch. As such, it
supposedly outlines a path to awakening, an ultimate transformation that transcends this more
conventional, samsaric dimension. If we truly wish to take the Lotus seriously as an articulation
of Dharma, then we must also accept the possibility that it ultimately is not a “body of
knowledge.” Would it perhaps, then, be a manifestation of the great limitless and formless
Dharmakāya, the “body of Dharma” itself?
Such reflections on these diverse notions of “body” in relation to the Lotus are by no
means exhaustive. No doubt there are many other bodily dimensions to the Lotus, dimensions
more numerous than all the grains of sands along the shores of Ganges. Is it even possible to
enumerate these clearly, and distinguish them one from the other? And if we were able to do
such, would we be reborn in a wondrous Lotus land and attain a true Lotus body? We should
likely not pretend to know the answers to such questions, but we need to keep them in mind if we
are to get a deep understanding of the Lotus and its bodies.
Economics and Buddhism – What The Lotus can teach us
At first blush it may seem that Economics, the academic study of economic systems and
forces of exchange, has very little to do with Buddhism, the Lotus Sūtra, or even notions of
“body,” particularly as they pertain to the latter. And yet, as the Lotus reminds us, things are
rarely as they initially seem. As most people know, Economics is a science – the “dismal
science” – and most certainly it comprises a “body of knowledge” in the technical sense touched
upon above. But it is more than this. Economics also concerns the complex nexus of activities
and relationships that have direct bearing on the welfare of a community, indeed all communities
of all beings. Hence is ripe for analysis in relation to Buddhism and, in fact, the great sinologist
Jacques Gernet has written a highly detailed historical analysis of the economic role of
Both Sōka Gakkai (“Value Creation Society”) and Risshō Kōseikai (“Society for the Establishment of
Righteousness and Friendly Relations”) are modern Buddhist movements devoted to the Lotus that began as
Japanese yet (particularly in the case of the former) have become international organizations. Both also sponsor
international scholarly conferences and publish popular and scholarly journals and books on the Lotus.
13
136
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
Buddhism in medieval Chinese society.14 However, does not focus his sights on the Lotus per se
nor does he ask questions about the “body/bodies.” This might be a good opportunity to do so.
When we look at the Economy as a whole, we see a body: many diverse parts all working
together to achieve a common end. And what affects one part of the body affects all the other
parts, in ways that can seem unrelated. A decrease in real estate development in China causes a
lower price of steel worldwide, and a spike in unemployment in Pittsburgh. A tariff in America
intended to protect domestic industry forces other states to reciprocate and raise their taxes on
trade, helping cause the Great Depression. The ripples of one action can span the lake of time.
To cite just one example, the Gas Crisis of 1973, when the members of the Organization of Arab
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to not sell oil to America after we supplied
Israel with arms during the Yom Kippur War, incentivized the American people and government
to invest in research to find new sources of energy.15 That search has resulted today in hybrid
cars such as the Toyota Prius, as well as the completely electric line of cars from Tesla Motors, a
company that announced its first time ending a quarter in the black in 2013, forty years after the
Gas Crisis that helped cause the demand for transportation with alternate fuel.
When we look closely at the Economy, we see that, however loosely, we all share a
connection. This essay was written and edited on various computers (Apple, Dell, etc.), thanks
to the work of not only well-paid software engineers and other computer scientists in the Silicon
Valley, but also thanks to the low-wage workers in China. Those wages were ostensibly set by
the free market, where Apple and other software companies have a high demand for talented
individuals with high education in the computer sciences, something in low supply. This
imbalance between a high demand and a low supply supposedly caused Apple et al to pay high
wages and provide good conditions to its workers, as it competed for the best and brightest
members of the workforce.
Meanwhile in China, factory managers for Foxconn, a Chinese company specializing in
the production of electronics, saw that their jobs were in high demand, so high that there were
not enough jobs to go around. Because there were so many people willing to work a Foxconn
job, because they wanted to be able to send money home to families or wanted a pay schedule
more stable than offered in the agriculture industry, Foxconn did not have to utilize high,
competitive wages or offer good working conditions to attract employees. So, in a Foxconn
owned factory in Shenzhen, the resulting combination of stressful work environment, high hours,
and low pay, led to abusive practices, widespread worker discontent, and a horrific spike in
worker suicides. In Shenzhen, Foxconn responded by putting nets up to prevent workers from
jumping off the building, while also making other changes to the way it managed its workforce.
14
Jacques Gernet, Buddhism in Chinese Society: An Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries, trans.
Franciscus Verellen (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995).
For an overview, see “Oil Embargo, 1973-1974.” Available at http://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oilembargo.
15
137
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
The total number of individuals who worked for Foxconn and killed themselves is 17, while
Foxconn employs a million individuals.16
According to a well-known saying, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and
statistics.” Attributed to various people, from American humorist Mark Twain, 19th century
British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, to “Free Market Fundamentalist” Milton Friedman,
this saying points to a harsh and cutting truth. We can use statistics to try to make us feel better
but the fact remains that by buying electronic devices such as Macs and iPhones, we support a
system that has led some people in the system to suicide. When someone (say, a college student
in the U.S.) purchases a product, that person not only purchases the rights to consume the good
and service, but in a way, she also (at least indirectly) condones the methods that were used in
the production of the product. That’s why those of us who think carefully about such matters
rightly conclude that it is immoral to buy the skin of an endangered species, purchase the fruit of
child labor, or buy drugs that come from the violent gangs of Mexico.
So, consumer and producer decisions in the market are not only affected by prices, taxes,
and the dance of supply and demand, but also morality. Is it right or wrong to make a certain
purchase? And, what is the relationship between moral standing and willingness to purchase? If
something is wrong but saves me money, how much money will I be willing to forgo to make the
moral choice? If something is right but doing the right thing incurs a cost to me, is there a cost
too high where I will not do the right thing?
Questions like these are where Philosophy and Religion offer some help to the field of
Economics. We can, for instance, combine these fields of inquiry to reach new insights. For
example, we can analyze the Buddha of the Lotus through the lens of economics. This is not so
far-fetched an approach because Economics and Buddhism both rely on the same basic
assumption that human beings are rational, and want to maximize pleasure while minimizing
pain. In Economics, we try to maximize benefits while minimizing costs. In Buddhism, we try
to maximize joy and minimize suffering. So it is possible to see the Buddhist monk as making
an economic decision in his prayer. When he spins his next dharma wheel, or perambulates his
next stupa, he is deciding that the benefit of that offering is worth the costs of that same offering,
because his sacrifice in this life will lead to a proportionate amount of joy in the next.
Going further in using the lens of Economic theory, we can see how the Buddha of the
Lotus acts as a monopolist. In order to be considered a monopoly, the firm or individual must be
acting in a market with significant barriers to entry of suppliers, and selling a good that cannot be
substituted for, and of course, there can only be the one supplier. There are significant barriers to
becoming a supplier of Dharma wisdom, and even higher barriers to becoming a Buddha.
Though Sakyamuni says in the Lotus Sūtra that there are an infinite number of Buddhas, it is still
almost impossible to reach that level of enlightenment, and the typical person cannot expect to
reach that point over the course of their lifetime, or, as Buddhism teaches, several lifetimes. In
this sense, we can say that the Buddha of the Lotus teaches a type of exclusivity: the only way to
For details on Foxconn and the Shenzhen plant, see “Riots, Suicides and other Issues in Foxconn’s iPhone
Factories.” Available at http://www.cnet.com/news/riots-suicides-and-other-issues-in-foxconns-iphone-factories/
16
138
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
reach Nirvana is through the Dharma path. There are no substitutes to the teaching of the
Buddha, and he teaches the one Dharma.
One of the most intriguing parables in the Lotus occurs in Chapter four and involves a
prodigal son. Much like the more famous version in the book of Matthew from the Christian
Bible, this parable is a deceptively simple story that becomes progressively more complicated the
more we examine it.17 The story originates with four monks trying to explain their joy upon
hearing the teachings of the Buddha by using a parable. A poor man lives with only his child.
As the child grows up, he decides to leave his father and pursue his own wealth. During the
absence of his son, the father enjoys massive economic success. As the old man approaches
death, he speaks about his wish to leave his wealth to his long lost child. One day, as the son
(now a man), wanders from household to household looking for work, he stumbles upon a group
of Brahmin, members of the priest class, honoring his father. The son, embarrassed and afraid
that if he stays in his father’s domain he will be pressed into forced labor, a fear that may initially
strike the reader as unwarranted, tries to leave only to pressed into labor just as he had feared.
The father, seeing the son for the first time in years, tells his guards to release the man, who then
leaves to look for work elsewhere.
Now, the story does not end there, because it would be too depressing. As the story
continues, we learn that the father sends two of his employees to find his long lost son, and offer
him a job removing dung at twice the normal wage. The son accepts the job, of course, and then,
when the son shows up to work the next day, the father works by his side, wearing coarse
clothing without any symbols of his authority. The son somehow does not recognize the father
he recognized literally yesterday. This son is offered a permanent job, and he and his father
work together for twenty years, with the father’s identity still remaining unknown to the son
throughout this time.
Eventually, the father becomes sick, and entrusts his wealth to his son, to keep his
finances in order yet still does not reveal his identity. The son proves to be adept at managing the
finances of his father. As the disease of the father progresses, he gathers his son, along with
members of the local community, to announce that he has found his son, and that he shall
transfer all his wealth to his newfound son. The son is filled with joy, the father is filled with
joy, everybody is filled with joy. They all live happily ever after (except the father of course).
There are many reasons why this is such a popular tale. To begin with, it lends itself
rather easily for comparison/contrast with the prodigal son story of the Bible. In addition, it is a
sweet story about fathers and sons. It talks about how if you work hard consistently over time,
you will be rewarded. It also puts the rewards of Tathagata wisdom in pecuniary terms. The
parable is meant to signify how the wisdom of the Buddha is available to all. The son leaves his
father yet returns seemingly without any conscious decision, symbolizing how one cannot find
fulfillment outside the innate wisdom of the Buddha. The wealth in its fullness was always
available to the child, even when he was unaware of it. However, because of his decrepit status,
the son only accepted the wealth he felt he deserved. Gradually, however, he gains confidence
17
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 142-146.
139
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
so that he is prepared to accept the father’s wealth as his birthright when his father reveals the
son’s true identity.
What’s even more fascinating, however, is the way that this parable is analyzed within
the Lotus itself, along with the fact that the parable is even analyzed in the first place. Those
people who have actually read the Bible (versus many who claim “to live their lives by it”) know
that Jesus rarely analyzes his parables after delivering them, but here in the Lotus, the same four
monks who tell the parable also deliver the meaning of the parable. They say that it shows how
the Buddha accepts his followers as they are, saying “The World-Honored One, knowing from
past experience that we were attached to low desires and delighted in lesser teachings, let us go
our own way.”18 The Buddha recognizes that not all of his followers are prepared to master the
fullness of the teaching. So he allows them access to a lesser, diluted Dharma, yet this teachings
is still part of the Ultimate Truth. As the four monks go on to say, “The Buddha, knowing that
we delighted in lesser teachings, used his power of skillful means to teach us according to what
was appropriate for us.”19
Using this parable, we could say that the Buddha determines the Dharma that is
appropriate for the recipients by using a price system. The more that the followers were willing
to sacrifice for their understanding, the more understanding they would receive. Imagine if the
Dharma were like any other good, say, a bicycle. When you enter the market for a bicycle, you
are given options of bikes of every quality, but you are discriminated against through price. You
of course want the highest quality bike, but you can only get that bike if you are willing to pay
the highest price. At the end of the day, you end with the quality of your maximum willingness
to pay. This is how the Buddha of the Lotus Sūtra acts with the Dharma. The greatest, highest
quality Dharma, is only rewarded to the highest payers, the followers who perambulate the most
stupas, burn the most offerings, turn the most Dharma wheels, and in other terms will accept the
most costs for that next unit of Dharma, will receive it.
It all seems so simple: in religion, you get the peace of mind you pay for. The Buddha of
the Lotus Sūtra is a free market monopolist. But is a truly Buddhist Economy all about
maximizing individual spiritual profit? Certainly we should not leave our discussion at this
without addressing the some of the larger influence that Buddhism has had on Economics,
particularly when it comes to individual and collective benefits. There is an influential
economist named E. F. Schumacher, a former Rhodes Scholar who sadly passed away a number
of years ago. He wrote one of the most interesting economic works of the 20th century with the
insightful title, Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. This book has made quite
a splash in progressive circles, especially among those who number among the ranks of “Socially
Engaged Buddhism,” and in fact came out in a special 25th anniversary expanded edition that
includes updates and additional commentary by various other authors.20 In this book,
Schumacher writes that the purpose of the economy, in the Buddhist sense, is not to maximize
wealth, but welfare. There are some ways that idea is incongruent with modern economics.
18
19
Ibid., 146.
Ibid.
20
E. F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful: 25th Anniversary Edition: Economics As if People Mattered: 25 Years Later
. . . With Commentaries (Point Roberts, WA: Hartley & Marks Publishers, Inc., 1999).
140
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
Economics measures quality of life by consumption per capita. Economics sees life as a
Malthusian struggle for resources where money grants greater access to things that are needed
equally, such as quality health-care. In the current world economy, resources are distributed not
by need, but by wealth. This inevitably means that health-care outcomes are unequal; them that
gots the bucks are by and large healthier than the have-nots. Economics truly is dismal, but it is
dismal because it sees the world as it is, not as we want it to be. The world is imperfect, but it is
how the world is, and is hard to change any part of the economy without having the negative,
unintended impacts of that decision overcoming the positive.
Needless to say, Schumacher disagrees with some of these basic assumptions. As he
describes it, a Buddhist Economist does not see consumption as prosperity, but sees utility as
something that can be maximized with minimal consumption. Schumacher extends this concept
to natural resources, saying that instead of consuming whichever fuel is the most cost efficient,
the Buddhist economist must also consider the long-term costs of his decisions, and use
renewable-energy sources whenever possible. Schumacher says, in his own words, that “to
organize work in such a manner that it becomes meaningless, boring, stultifying, or nerveracking for the worker would be little short of criminal.”21
A smart man whom some of us hold in high esteem, Chris Hedges, said something quite
insightful recently: "Our educated elite, wallowing in self-righteousness, wasted its time in the
boutique activism of political correctness, inclusiveness, or multiculturalism as tens of millions
of workers lost their jobs."22 Hedges’ rather prophetic words are rooted in his Christian
theological perspective, but his ideas are certainly not narrowly sectarian nor are they necessarily
“religious” in any strong sense. The economy is not perfect, neither is the world, neither is any
government. Maybe it would be better for all involved if Schumacher’s ideas of Buddhist
Economics informed governmental and international policy, particularly among the wealthier
developed nations who wield the reins of power at the IMF and the World Bank, two august and
powerful international “bodies” from whose ranks most of the owners and CEO’s of
international corporations originate. Perhaps it would be even better if we were to burn them
into our own conscience in order to keep them in mind when making economic decisions. There
are parts of the current world economy that are not good (perhaps increasingly so for an
increasing number of people); there are parts of Schumacher’s Buddhist economics that are also
not good, although to be fair very few (if any) of his recommendations have been put into
widespread practice. Perhaps it is best to walk the Middle Path between the two, or at the very
least bring them into serious dialogue. What would such an effort be like?
Most students of economic theory study economics so that one day we can influence the
economy. But the fact of the matter is that students (even lowly undergrads) already influence
the economy because they (and really all people) are part of the economy. Whenever we make a
choice to buy or sell, we are the economy. Everything affects everything, just as the Buddha
teaches, just as the Lotus reminds us. We can, with our purchases, make decisions that improve
our world. Perhaps we can even, through the power of wise choices, shift the entire world
21
Ibid., 82.
Chris Hedges, “Is America ‘Yearning for Fascism’?”, Global Research, April 11, 2010; available at
http://www.globalresearch.ca/is-america-yearning-for-fascism/18596
22
141
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
economy to a more just and equitable system. Based on the body of ethical teachings and
practices advocated in the Lotus, we should probably give it a shot.
Parables and Path Progression
Religious texts are often defined not by literal interpretation but through the metaphorical and
hidden dimensions. The Lotus Sūtra is one of these texts, seeking to engage with the reader on a
metaphysical plane. Philosopher Joan Stambaugh asserts that the Lotus is a complex text stating,
“If the mind is deluded, the Lotus Sutra turns us. If the mind is enlightened, we turn the Lotus
Sutra…”23 Instead of being read, the text seeks to promote a transformation in the reader.
Essentially, the purpose of the work is to bring the reader towards enlightenment through each
chapter. Notably, with each successive chapter the assembled audience progresses in their
understanding of Dharma. In order to illustrate this point, the text typically uses parables to
emphasize important lessons. Each parable contains several components (description to advance
the plot, a spiritual message, the speakers themselves, etc.) The Lotus Sūtra depicts a path of
spiritual progression laid out through the evolution of the parables – it is thus a body of teachings
that progressively instructs its readers along the path to Buddhahood.
In order to adequately understand the scripture one must first unpack the basic
hermeneutical assumptions that inform the concept “scripture.” From a usual western
perspective, reading sacred texts is a primarily analytical and linear process in which the reader
presumes that the text has a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end.24 Additionally, Miriam
Levering, a scholar of Chinese religions, relates that, “Westerners tend to believe scripture
should offer sacred story or moral instructions-at the very least, content should matter.”25
However, taking a more nuanced approach to scripture invariably takes us beyond the merely
literal level, revealing an increasingly deeper and ever more fascinating metaphorical
complexity. New dimensions of meaning emerge as readers come to understand a sacred text in
different ways. This is, indeed, the very heart of hermeneutics, an endeavor that “is about
‘interpretation’ or even ‘translation,’ and especially the interpretation of sacred texts…” 26 Such
hermeneutic analysis is useful in penetrating and unfolding the often elusive and highly
ambiguous dimensions of the Lotus; a reader is required not to grasp the actual plot details so
much as ascertain the messages that are contained within the text.
Additionally, any interpreter must be able to differentiate pieces from the story that refer
to the literal meaning versus the aspects that refer to a spiritual meaning. The reader must satisfy
this in order to understand and obtain a higher level of Dharma or “Truth”. Dharma is described
by Reeves when the Buddha states, “The Dharma of mine is of nine kinds. I adapt it to living
beings when I teach them, Keeping entry into the Great Vehicle as the basic aim. That is why I
teach this sutra.”27 In this instance, the Buddha relates that the purpose of the Lotus is to elevate
23
Joan Stambaugh, Impermanence Is Buddha-nature (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 1990), 27.
24
David Jasper, A Short Introduction to Hermeneutics (Louisville, KY: Westminister John Knox Press, 2004), 23.
Miriam Levering, “Introduction,” in Rethinking Scripture: Essays from a Comparative Perspective. (Albany, NY:
SUNY Press, 1989), 7.
26
Jasper, 7.
27
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 87.
25
142
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
one’s dharma path. From this and the message of the text one can surmise that there are two parts
expressed: The idea that the actions in the story are used to advance the actual events and that the
actions of the story are used to advance the reader along the path to a fuller grasp of Dharma.
Nikkyo Niwano, a scholar and devotee of the Lotus, relates that this path is progressive and that,
“…the lesson must begin with easy things.”28 Through these means, the reader is supposed to
understand both aspects in order to obtain a higher degree of enlightenment.
Despite this, it may be difficult to fully determine what constitutes a statement that relates
to the actual explanation versus one that matches with the ultimate meaning. Essentially, there
are parts of the parable that correlate with the literal story, which seeks to describe or advance
the plot. This is much different than the aspects that correlate to the ultimate message of the
parable. The main way to overcome this is to relate aspects of the story with teachings in the
previous chapters. For example, some readers might be confused with the “Burning House
Parable” since the representative of the Buddha coaxes the children out with chariots. In this
parable, the elder notices his children playing within a burning house. He tries to call to them in
order to get them to leave but they continue on with their activities. In order to solve this issue,
he promises deer, goat, and ox carriages. The children quickly leave the house only to find that
the carriages were even better than they expected, pulled by a pure white ox.29 Some readers
might have several qualms with the material promises and gifts within this particular story.
However, these chariots do not represent material rewards for the faithful but are rather symbols
of the way to get the readers to transcend Samsara. Niwano supports this stating, “The children
are no other than ourselves, ordinary people, while the dilapidated house is our plain human
society, and the fire is our physical and mental desire.”30 Notably, previous parts of the text have
described how enlightenment transcends the more tangible items (wealth) and other worldly
goals. In fact, in some sections of the Lotus we even see the Buddha noting with approval
followers who sacrifice material goods to show their great generosity towards others as well as
their dedication to the truth of Dharma.31 Therefore, one can conclude that the meaning behind
the chariots is not the material benefits they bring to their recipient but the deeper, symbolic
meaning (as vehicles for venturing beyond the immediate realm of samsara). This is the true
message that lies beyond the literal level.
In order to bring the audience to a higher understanding of Dharma, the Buddha often
employs “skillful means.” Skillful means is an extremely important yet decidedly ambiguous
concept that is a core tenet of the Lotus. Asaf Federman, a scholar of Buddhist philosophy, gives
a brief definition of this concept: “Skillful means is usually used by scholars and Buddhists to
denote the following simple idea: the Buddha skillfully adapted his teaching to the level of his
28
Nikkyo Niwano, A Guide to the Threefold Lotus Sutra, trans. Eugene Langston (Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co.,
1981), 103.
29
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 113-114.
30
Niwano, 46.
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 59.
31
143
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
audience.”32 Skillful means can be viewed as a bit manipulative, as the Buddha coaxing the
reader or the figure in the story to advance themselves on the dharma path through apparent
trickery. In one specific example, the Buddha welcomes the Tathagata “Many Treasures,” a
figure who resides within a stupa that has emerged miraculously from the ground.33 To the
reader both Sakyamuni and “Many Treasures” seem to be separate beings, and are even depicted
as separate individuals the Lotus. Instead, according to Niwano this Tathagata is the embodiment
of full truth: “Had the Buddha used such a term as truth itself, or perfect truth, his hearers at the
time, ordinary people, would not have understood his meaning, and so he gave it the human
seeming form of a tathagata.”34 The Buddha seemingly “lies” because his followers are not ready
to learn the exact meaning of the apparition of this Tathagata. Yet Sakyamuni then symbolically
indicates that he is actually on the same spiritual level as the “Many Treasures” by entering the
great stupa and sitting beside him. Through this action, the Buddha, being the interpreter of the
truth, is in actuality part of the Tathagata himself.35 The two are in fact One Essential Buddha.
Thus, skillful means creates an apparent duality in which the Buddha can tell a lie and the truth
at the same time and be correct in both instances.
Parables particularly are vehicles in which the Buddha utilizes skillful means.
Throughout the Lotus there are many stories told by Sakyamuni and various bodhisattvas. The
parables themselves are skillful means because they help humans understand complex ideas.
This is evident in all cultures because folk tales, novels, and stories generally all seek to express
some type higher message. The Buddha refers to the power of parables explicitly stating that,
“With a variety of explanations, Parables and other kinds of expression, Through the power of
skillful means He causes all to rejoice.”36 Interestingly, the Buddha joins both skillful means and
the usage of parables within the same statement, making a clear connection between them; using
parables is therefore an example of skillful means.
There are several aspects of skillful means however, that are troublesome. Skillful means
is not easily definable; although often referred to in the Lotus, it is not always easy to locate
within the text. Federman addresses this issue by suggesting that the Buddhist doctrine of
skillful means was introduced, “because it solved a well-known religious problem: how to
suggest a significant doctrinal change without appearing completely heretical.”37 In light of this
harmonizing intention, it becomes extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact passages in the Lotus
that contain examples of skillful means. Perhaps the best solution is to only utilize portions of the
text where there is a very obvious connection to what skillful means is. Additionally, one can
surmise that since the Buddha did refer to skillful means and parables in the same instance, there
is a connection between both. For instance, at one point in The Lotus the Buddha states, “…let
me once again make this meaning still more clear through a parable, for intelligent people can
Asaf Federman, “Literal Means and Hidden Meanings: A New Analysis of Skillful Means,” Philosophy East and
West, 59.2 (2009): 125-141.
32
33
Niwano, 84.
Ibid., 82.
35
Ibid., 85.
34
36
37
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 86.
Federman, 125-141.
144
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
understand through parables.”38 One can conclude that this is an instance of the Buddha utilizing
skillful means because this is a way in which the Buddha seeks to lead the reader to a higher
dharma path through his teaching of parables. In such a case, then, the Lotus becomes a body of
instructions on how to attain Buddhahood.
Skillful means are connected to parables because they are a means by which the Buddha
can relate his difficult concepts to the audience. In one particular instance, the Buddha relates in
the “Parable of the Fantastic Castle-City” how the Dharma can work. This story illustrates the
usage of skillful means because the Buddha introduces the story by stating, “You should know,
monks, that with skillful means the Tathagata reaches deeply into the nature of living beings.”39
The story involves travelers who are weary from their journey and are treated to a magical city
conjured up by their leader. This city allows the followers to rest, and then continue on their way.
Sakyamuni goes on to relate that the guide in question is the Buddha and that the city is a means
in which the travelers proceed onwards to true Buddhahood.40 Essentially, the city is a temporary
stop on the road to full awakening. The story is a clear example of skillful means because it
involves an apparent lie, the temporary magic city, to illustrate a point.
Relating to the progression theory, the parable exhibits some aspects that correspond to
dharma enlightenment. More significantly, though, this story is the fourth of the seven parables
in the Lotus and that the object is for the main character to make sure the followers do not fall
back.41 Seemingly, this could be related to how the Buddha seeks to prevent the followers from
“falling back” or regressing on their dharma pathway. In addition to this, the Buddha invokes
skillful means by relating that the guide crafted a fake magical city to renew hope in the
followers. Although the city is “fake,” the hope that it instills is real.
As we read through the Lotus it gradually becomes clear that each parable expresses
different lessons, and that each lesson seems to be hinting at dharma progression. This idea of a
dharma evolution is expressed within the parable of “The Burning House,” a passage which we
have already looked at. In this very first parable, the Lotus Sūtra seeks to define “why” and
“what” the Buddha seeks to accomplish with his followers. This is clearly outlined in the
parable’s message, as the Buddha wants his followers to flee samsara and embrace the path to
enlightenment, stating, “Just apply yourselves and make the effort!”42 The parable itself involves
a father calling his children to leave a burning house in order to obtain three distinct chariots.
However, when they come out they receive only one ox carriage that was even grander than the
originals promised. This parable is highly symbolic. According to John Schroeder, a scholar of
Buddhist thought, “In traditional Mahayana Buddhism, the fire represents human ignorance, the
burning house represents delusion, and the ‘bare ground’ outside the house signifies
38
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 112.
Ibid., 198.
40
Ibid., 199.
41
Niwano, 64.
39
42
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 116.
145
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
liberation.”43 In addition to this, the parable is also a means in which the Buddha proclaims the
significance of the one vehicle of Buddhism, symbolized by the ox carriage. Sakyamuni even
declares that this story is an instance of the Buddha utilizing skillful means, “There is no
falsehood in teaching three vehicles first, to attract living beings, and afterward using just the
Great Vehicle to save them.”44 Evidently, the chariots originally offered were the three vehicles
and that the chariot they received was the one vehicle.
The “Burning House” parable illustrates that the Buddha clearly wants to teach and
engage the readers by helping them understand the journey of attaining enlightenment.
Sakyamuni goes into great detail about the story, explaining each aspect of the parable to his
audience. Moreover, this parable actually introduces some key themes (skillful means, the three
vehicles versus the one vehicle etc.) that the Lotus takes up later one. Interestingly, the “Burning
House” is also the most famous parable in the entire Lotus Sūtra, perhaps because it handily
summarizes the major teachings in a relatively simple way – something we might expect from
the text’s first parable. However, these tales become increasingly complex as the text goes along.
We can get a sense of this progression in complexity from the first parable when we turn
to the “Dharma Rain” story (often called “The Parable of the Plants”) in chapter five. This
parable focuses on teaching the reader what Dharma is and how it functions. The focal point of
this particular story expresses how the various people of the world resemble different plants that
process rain (Dharma) differently. Sakyamuni relates that the Buddha acts as the clouds
“watering” humanity with the Dharma rain and making them grow taller.45 The concepts relate
to how humanity is different in dharma progression and how one must strive to absorb more
dharma. As David W. Chappell observes, “The Dharma is responsive to our needs, but is flexible
and not limited to one form.”46 These ideals are different and more ambiguous than what we find
in the “Burning House,” illustrating that there is an elevation in complexity.
The text of the Lotus also presents parables in two ways, story and verse. Story is through
a narrator, who is either a member of the audience or the Buddha. The verse is the story restated,
generally longer and often different in certain details. These differences can vary from minor
details being added to several portions that were omitted in the story. Multiple conclusions can
be made from this style. First, from a strictly historical perspective is very likely that the verse
versions came first because they contain a wide variety of details that typically are not present in
the story. Second, the verses clearly have a more oral dimension, most Buddhist texts began as
oral rather than written. Finally, in the written Lotus, the verse version reemphasizes the
importance of the parable by trying to make the reader understand the meaning behind it.
John W. Schroeder, “Truth, Deception, and Skillful Means in the Lotus Sutra.” Asian Philosophy, 21(1) (2011):
35-52. Retrieved from http://0-web.ebscohost.com.read.cnu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=b2e78cdb3b81-4d37-96bb-3760883b05e4%40sessionmgr15&hid=19.
43
44
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 118.
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 168.
46
David W. Chappell, “Organic Truth: Personal Reflection on the Lotus Sutra.” In Gene Reeves, ed. A Buddhist
Kaleidoscope: Essays on the Lotus Sutra (Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co,. 2002), 56.
45
146
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
These ideas are best illustrated in the parable of the “Gem in the Topknot,” found in
chapter fourteen. Essentially, the story describes a king who rewards his soldiers for their actions
but does not give them the jewel that lies in his topknot. Only when a soldier has truly
distinguished himself from his comrades does the king give him the jewel. This jewel represents
the ultimate truth.47 However, the verse version of this parable expands considerably on the
prose version of the story. For instance, according to the prose version, only soldiers who
distinguish themselves receive a jewel. This is elaborated in the verse version of the parable:
But only for the brave and strong
Who have done difficult things,
Does the king take from his topknot
The bright jewel and present it to him.48
As these lines state, the recipient of the jewel is one who is brave, strong, and has done difficult
things, shedding light on what Sakyamuni means when he states that they were soldiers who
“distinguished themselves”. Besides giving more detail as to what qualities the figure has, the
verse version reiterates the same idea that it must be an individual who is able to distinguish
themselves in the field of battle. Therefore, in the final authorized version of the Lotus as we
now have it, the verses serve as a restatement and an elaboration on the Buddha’s ideas.
Although it is likely that the parables represent progression in the Lotus, there are some
points of conflict. In later chapters especially there seems to be a switch between Bodhisattvas
and Buddhists in focus. Unfortunately, this may seriously question whether or not there is a
sense of progression in the scripture. However, one could refute this point by stating that several
of the later chapters were likely to have been added on the text, and that progression is not a
linear path. In the context of Protestant bias, one might think that having Bodhisattvas being the
focus in the later chapters’ disproves this theory. The Lotus refutes the logic that progression is
strictly linear because of the possibility of “falling back”. Essentially, this means that one who
moves forward in Dharma could lose that advancement and revert to a lower level. Therefore,
the scripture might be relating that the higher one is, the harder it is to reach Buddhahood.
This clearly explains why the swapping between both bodhisattvas and Buddhas is
evident since there is a greater struggle between achieving the highest form of enlightenment.
Additionally, the latter chapters were likely added to the scripture afterwards and do not correlate
to the entire message of the work. If this is the case, then focus should be related to the text.
Chapter twenty-six, for example, seems to be focused on ritual because the vast majority of the
passage focuses on incantations (dharanis).49 It also seems as though the Lotus is separated into
different portions according to Wing-Tsit Chan, a well-known historian of Chinese thought,
“…the first fourteen chapters deal with manifestations of the ‘realm of traces’ while the last
47
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 272.
48
Ibid., 273.
49
Ibid., 381.
147
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
fourteen deal with reality or ‘the realm of origin’.”50 Although there seems to be some support
for the Lotus as we have it now as not being a text representative of Dharma progression, the
original text is likely hinting at a spiritual advancement within the reader.
The Lotus Sūtra seeks to enlighten the reader and promote a higher dharma path in
enlightenment and Buddhahood. The text itself constantly refers to an amalgam of characters that
change with each chapter. The purpose of this action is to show that each new chapter helps to
promote a greater level of the dharma and further advance the individual. Additionally, the
parables themselves seek to promote a higher understanding. Stories typically convey a high
resonance with individuals and the parables serve as a way in which the Buddha can teach the
complex beliefs of the Dharma in a more concise manner. There are several means in which the
narrator of the story tells the story, typically to advance the actual plot and to relate to the deeper
meaning of the tale. Through these means, the Buddha attempts to bring the suffering individual
away from the tangible world of samsara and into the intangible Dharma. What this comes
down to is that the Lotus seeks nothing less than to transform the bodies of its audience,
individually and corporately taking them into the body of Buddha.
The Lotus and Leadership Studies
As we have already seen, it is fascinating not only to examine how the Lotus deals with
bodies and even constitutes a “body” itself (a “body of teachings”) but also how this text looks
when we apply other bodies of knowledge to it. One especially appropriate discipline is
“Leadership Studies,” a growing academic field. Not only does Leadership Studies comprise a
new and increasingly important body of knowledge, its focus (the phenomenon of leadership) is
unique in how it in itself aims at addressing and managing various human bodies.
Leadership is a vital component of human culture. Through studying Leadership, we
become able to make more educated, intentional decisions and to put such decisions into
practice. Leaders are storytellers they embody and achieve effectiveness through the telling of
their stories. Leaders’ stories relate what is feared, dreamed about, and struggled against; these
stories are representations of the culture. Studying characters from their stories is one way of
studying leadership; religious scripture is one example of a lens of doing so. Few leaders create
completely new stories therefore we learn from the stories of the past as examples for tomorrow.
The “earliest reflections on leadership occur in the sacred texts of the world’s religious
traditions.” 51 Scripture depicts a culture’s heroes, those entrusted with power and are responsible
for the implementation of social missions. The Lotus is a prime example of this phenomenon, as
it demonstrates how the Buddha’s leadership has been documented and preserved. The Lotus
Sutra is the “most important scripture of Mahayana Buddhism… if out of the several hundred
Mahayana sutras one were to choose only one as the most representative and most meaningful,
Wing-tsit Chan, “The Lotus Sutra” in Eastern Canons: Approaches to the Asian Classics, Wm. Theodore de Bary
and Irene Bloom, eds., (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990), 225.
50
R. A. Couto, “Sacred Texts,” in Encyclopedia of Leadership, ed. G. Goethals, G. Sorenson, & J. M. Burns, Vol. 1
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004), , 1369.
51
148
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
most students would select the Lotus.” 52 The impact of this text is far reaching. Thus, when we
examine the Lotus through the lens of Leadership Studies, the Buddha appears as a
transformational leader, “morally uplift(ing) (his followers) to be leaders themselves.”53
The Lotus Sūtra is basically a sermon delivered on Holy Eagle Mount that purports to be
one of the final public appearances of Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha. Because of this the
Lotus reveals the path to enlightenment and has become over time one of the most influential and
important Buddhist texts, revealing the “infinite possibilities open to human beings” and
teaching the manifestation of the “great life-force of the universe.”54 In this sense, Sakyamuni
gives “practical advice” and instruction for concrete followership.
What does it mean to say that the Buddha exemplifies “transformational leadership?”
Transformational leadership, in the words of theorist James McGregor Burns, “appeals to the
moral values of followers in an attempt to raise their consciousness about ethical issues and to
mobilize their energy and resources to reform institutions.”55 Burns distinguishes
transformational from transactional leadership in that the former appeals to moral values and
elevated consciousness whereas the latter is a simple exchange of goods or services. Yet, the two
are not mutually exclusive. Followers of transformational leaders are motivated to go beyond the
minimum of what is expected of them, spurred by their admiration and loyalty. A leader such as
the Buddha motivates his followers by making them aware of important tasks, inducing them to
transcend their own self-interest, and activating higher-order needs.56
A transformational leader’s behavior can be organized into four categories: idealized
influence, inspirational motivation, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation.
Idealized influence arouses strong follower emotions and identification with the leader. The
communication and application of the vision are considered inspirational motivation.
Individualized consideration is behavior which provides the followers with “support,
encouragement, and coaching.”57 The fourth aspect is intellectual stimulation, making the
followers aware of the problems and changing their perspective on the issue.
The Buddha’s idealized influence can be recognized in the Lotus through the followers’
reactions and their strong emotional response. In fact, the transformational leader acts as a role
model for the followers who trust and admire him.58 Sakyamuni Buddha’s dedication and selfsacrificing behavior which occurred is historically evident. The strong follower emotions and
identifications are the clearest examples of Sakyamuni idealized influence. The Lotus begins
immediately after the completion of the Sūtra of Limitless Meanings; the Buddha is in a deep
52
Chan, 220.
B. J. Avolio, “Transformational and Transactional Leadership,” in Encyclopedia of Leadership, ed. G. Goethals,
G. Sorenson, & J. M. Burns, Vol. 1 (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004), 1558-1565.
54
Niwano, 33.
55
G. Yukl, Leadership in Organization. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010), 261.
56
Ibid.
57
Ibid., 276.
53
58
C. E. Johnson, Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership Casting Light or Shadow (Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications, 2012).
149
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
state of meditation and the surrounding crowd in entranced in deep admiration. Numerous
monks, nuns, lay people, deities, demons, and other creatures from all corners of the world are
gathered in gratitude, kneeling with their hands together as they gaze upon the Buddha. As
Niwano notes, “the universe itself expressed admiration and joy.”59
A transformational leader provides inspirational motivation, typically by transmitting an
appealing vision to the followers through the focusing of symbolic effort. The Lotus Sūtra as a
whole is the manifestation of Buddha’s vision depicted through his lessons and clarified through
his parables. Throughout the Lotus, Buddha continues to warn his followers about a time that
will come upon his extinction. Soon he will leave the bodhisattvas and they will be solely
responsible for preaching the Dharma. However, the Lotus’ presents a rather different view of
the Buddha’s extinction in chapter sixteen, “The Lifetime of the Tathagata,” with the parable of
the physician wherein the Buddha reveals that his True Essence (Buddhahood itself) is eternal.
In this parable, a physician leaves his home for a short time. While he is gone, his
children drink poisons from his shop and become dangerously ill, with some becoming delirious
losing their minds. When their father returns, the children beg him to make them well. The
physician produces the antidote, but only the children who are sane take the medication. The
children who have lost their minds claim the medication will be vile and will not drink. To solve
this problem, the physician leaves again and the children are told that he has died. In their grief,
they are shocked to their senses. Those who had gone mad recover their minds and take the
medication. At this point, the physician returns alive; it turns out that the story of his death was a
way to get the truly deluded children to finally take the medicine and thus become cured.60
Buddha in this parable is represented by the physician/father (protector and provider) and
children all of humanity. Similar to the parable, Buddha has previously told humanity that he
will die as his True Essence is eternal. In this parable, the physician claims that he did not
deceive his children because he was using skillful means and his actions were conducted with the
best interest of his children in mind. Buddha uses this same argument to justify his different
teachings about extinction. One of the reasons the Buddha originally told his bodhisattvas that he
would become extinct is because it would make his followers self-sufficient. By being always be
present, the bodhisattvas came to rely on the Buddha to pick them up when they fall. Without the
Buddha, followers must learn to rely on themselves and the body of Dharma that he has taught.
If people take personal ownership and responsibility for their faith, their faith becomes an
integral part of who they are, a state that they can only reach if Buddha becomes extinct. The
Buddha knows that if he remains, the bodhisattvas will never spiritually mature and achieve full
Buddhahood. Thus, the Buddha is a true inspirational motivator and an enthusiastic optimist,
arousing his followers’ spirits and spurring them on to further achievements.
A transformational leader provides support, encouragement, coaching his followers along
-- this is the concept of individual consideration. Transformational mentors thereby foster
personal development, promote educational opportunities, and create a healthy environment for
growth. Similar to intellectual stimulation these effective behaviors are tailored to the individual.
59
60
Niwano, 31
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 289-299.
150
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
The Buddha exhibits this type of behavior continually throughout the Lotus, but “The Parable of
the Plants,” again, is the best example. The true merit of the Buddha is exhibited by how all of
humanity is receptive to his message and how he tailors the same message to all followers. As
Niwano observes, “The Buddha rightly sees the place and the state in which every man is and the
shape of his spiritual being” all alike are thirsty for the moisture and the rain falls everywhere on
earth evenly abundant and wet.61 Yet even so, each plant blooms and grows accordingly to its
own nature, in this same way salvation takes on various forms since the Buddha’s followers are
at different stages in their respective faith journeys. Nevertheless, the basic teaching is the same:
All are moistened by the rain
And abundantly enriched.
The dry ground is soaked,
And both herbs and trees flourish.
By the same water that
Comes from that cloud,
Plants, trees, thickets, and forests,
According to their need receive moisture. . .
The moisture they receive is the same,
Enabling each to flourish.
The Buddha is like this,
He appears in the world,
Like a great cloud
Universally covering all things.62
The Buddha’s individual consideration is further epitomized in another passage we have
already discussed: the Parable of the Fantastic Castle-City. In this parable, the leader is guiding a
band of men on a difficult journey. He persistently urges them not to give up. Out of his own
strength, he produces a phantom city for his men to receive their necessary rest. Once the men
are well rested and rejuvenated the temporary town disappears. This vision was an
encouragement the people needed for them to reach their destination. Niwano says, “The long
hard road here is the journey of our lives, and on this journey we encounter all sorts of hardships
and pain. We all strive to overcome these, but things seldom go as we want and many of us in the
ordinary course of things give up.”63 The Buddha, like the leader in the parable, encourages his
followers, pushing them to improve themselves and achieve their highest potential. The Buddha
uses skillful means to adapt the lesson to individual followers; it is because of this personal
mentorship which allows more people to further advance spiritually.
61
62
Niwano, 59.
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 163.
63
Niwano, 65.
151
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
Finally, we see myriad ways that the Buddha’s intellectually stimulates his followers in
the Lotus. Through innovation and creativity the leader is able to reframe the followers’
assumptions by creating new solutions and approaches to old problems. As we have already
noted, in the Lotus Sūtra the Buddha uses skillful means to influence and increase the awareness
of his followers because the wisdom of the Buddha is profound and complicated (it is an
awakening to the ultimate truth of the universe) and most people cannot fully understand it.
Skillful means are various ways of teaching to suit the capacities of the followers; the lesson is
altered to be suitable to the situation and person receiving it. As the Buddha explicitly says,
“through an innumerable variety of skillful means, casual explanations, parables, and other kinds
of expressions these Buddhas preach the dharma for the sake of living beings. All these teachings
are for the sake of the one Buddha vehicle so that all living things, having heard the dharma from
a Buddha, might eventually gain complete wisdom.”64 Gene Reeves in a later article retranslates this term as “appropriate means,” since the lesson is “appropriate” in relation to the
listener.65
One could argue about anyone’s capacity that to know which means to use is truly
“skillful” but Reeves’ revised translation is punningly appropriate. Perhaps the best analogy for
the Buddha’s power of pitching his message to the proper level of his audience can be found in
“The Parable of the Plants,” (a.k.a the “Dharma rain” story discussed above). All plants on earth
are different, from small herbs to great oak trees, yet the same rain waters them all and each
takes what it needs. The rain represents Dharma and the plants all of humanity. The Dharma rain
reaches all plants according to their needs the word of the Lotus reaches all followers according
to their means intellectually stimulating them.
Transformational leadership has a strong ethical component. Transformational leaders
generally seek to elevate followers to a higher consciousness of “liberty, justice, equality, peace,
and humanitarianism.”66 Not surprisingly, these are often the ideals proclaimed by the world’s
great religions. As one scholar notes, “these values mobilize and energize followers to create an
agenda for action and appeal to larger audiences.”67 In transformational leadership there is an
obligation to the group to treat others within the organization with respect, following duty or
deontological ethical approaches centered on the group rather than specific individuals. In
regards to ethical choices, a transformation leader strives to communicate a clear and engaging
vision, explain attainment of that vision, be optimistically confident in oneself and one’s
followers, use dramatic symbols to articulate key values and ideas, and lead by an example.68
It is important for a transformational leader to articulate a clear and appealing vision, for
this promotes commitment to the cause. Often the success of leadership depends on the success
of the leader’s communication, because of this it is necessary for followers to understand the
64
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 84.
Gene Reeves, “Appropriate Means as the Ethics of the Lotus Sutra,” in A Buddhist kaleidoscope: Essays on the
Lotus Sutra, ed. Gene Reeves (Tokyo: Kosei Publishing, 2002), 379-392.
66
Yukl, 418.
65
67
Johnson, 190.
68
Ibid.
152
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
purpose, priorities, and objectives of an organization. The Buddha takes every opportunity to
verify his visions through distinct and divergent means of communication. One of the most
successful means of communication involves meeting with people directly – which is, in fact, the
Buddha’s preferred method of communication; historically, the Buddha gave most of his
teachings in large gatherings just like what we see in the Lotus on Holy Eagle Peak. Furthermore
Yukl outlines ways that a leader can communicate effectively, stating that “ideological aspects of
a vision can be communicated more clearly and persuasively with colorful emotional language
that includes vivid imagery, metaphors, anecdotes, stories, symbols, and slogans.”69 As we have
already seen, the Lotus is renowned for its vivid imagery and hyperbolic rhetoric, and these
literary features are a chief reason for the sūtra’s continued influence on world cultures.
For a vision to be appealing, leaders must promote it as feasible. The followers on Holy
Eagle Peak receive a powerful firsthand demonstration of the feasibility of the attaining of
Buddhahood in chapter twelve. In this chapter at the very heart of the sūtra we are introduced to
the daughter of Sagara, the dragon king, a precocious eight year old who despite her youth and
gender, undergoes a nearly instantaneous transformation into a male bodhisattva and quickly
attains full enlightenment.70 Her example is most telling: a follower seemingly very far from
enlightenment (female, nonhuman, a child), because of the inspiration of Buddha and her
commitment to the cause, is promoted to the highest level. She represents the graspable
possibility of nirvana; she is the symbol of the achievable future for all followers of Buddha.
A leader must act confidently and optimistically for the sake of his followers. Showing
conviction in the face of temptation and setbacks allows for attainment of the vision. This point
goes beyond a leader’s words to his actions. The Buddha himself does this by exhibiting full
confidence in the potential of all sentient beings to awaken. As Siddhartha Gupta, he abandoned
his settled life and livelihood for the cause of overcoming the trials and tribulations of samsara.
His confidence (sraddha in Sanskrit) in his ability to attain nirvana became his only motivator.
For the success of the operation a leader must also express confidence in his followers.
This requires setting high expectations and encouraging everyone involved in the process,
especially when the task is difficult. Achieving Buddhahood is an incredibly difficult task, as the
Buddha explicitly states. Often he does so through using skillful means such as symbols and
parables as we have seen. Undoubtedly the most famous instance (and one that we have also
examined earlier) of this in the Lotus is the parable of the Burning House. One aspect of the
parable that is often overlooked is the fact that the doorway necessary to pass through to achieve
salvation and to escape the burning fire is very small, yet the children do succeed in passing
through thanks to the proper motivation provided by their father.71 The path to achieving
enlightenment is small and narrow but nevertheless, the followers can traverse it. Even though
the journey is difficult, the Buddha constantly encourages all, and in the fifth chapter of the Lotus
69
70
Yukl, 289.
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 251-253.
71
Ibid., 113-114.
153
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
predicts the attainment of Buddhahood for thousands of the bodhisattvas present.72 Clearly, the
Buddha repeatedly expresses his confidence in his followers.
The use of dramatic symbols and visible actions are important for the follower to witness
and participate in, in order to increase the effectiveness of personal ties and commitments to the
Lotus and its teachings. A follower is more likely to defend an important personal value. The
dramatic repetition of verse and fables in the Lotus, a prominent feature of the text, cements
values and followers ideological beliefs of the leader. Furthermore, at various places in the text,
the Buddha instructs his followers in the recitation and the memorization, copying, and
incantation of the sūtra.73 These are all direct examples how the Buddhist faith as expressed in
the Lotus incorporates dramatic symbols and dramatic, bodily actions. To this day, Buddhists
around the world devote their lives to the practices recommended in the Lotus, prostrating
around stupas or worshiping relics to glorify the Buddha.
Finally, a transformational leader leads by example. Often, this requires that the leader
model behaviors that are unpleasant, dangerous, unconventional, or controversial. The Buddha is
an example of this because he acts with compassion to elevate others to a higher plane.
Bodhisattvas, devout followers of Buddha who are actively seeking to attain Buddhahood for the
sake of others, also lead by example. There are various bodhisattvas in the Lotus who are held
up as great examples for the faithful (Never Disrespectful, Medicine King, Wonderful Voice,
etc.) but the most popular is Guanyin, “Regarder of the Cries of the World.” Much of chapter 25
of the Lotus consists of the Buddha’s abundant praise for this Great Being’s limitless compassion
and seemingly tireless actions to save anyone who is suffering, be it from natural, supernatural,
or human threats.74 This bodhisattva serves as the supreme example of selfless compassion that
all the Buddha’s followers should emulate.
The Buddha can also be considered an authentic leader. Authentic leaders are motivated
by altruism and marked with integrity. The leader regards the followers as the ends themselves
and not the means; the leaders’ actions are motivated solely to benefit the followers.75 This
theme spans across various religions, most of which profess to seek the betterment of humanity.
An example of this is the end goal of Buddhism, which is for followers to reach a state of
enlightenment and thus become liberated from the sufferings of life in samsara. Bodhisattvas,
however, remain in samara to help others achieve enlightenment. They act altruistically, without
the motivations of desire, the root of all suffering.
Leadership scholars often include charismatic personality traits as a requirement of
transformational leadership, yet there is some debate as to whether one can be charismatic and
not transformational. While there is an overlap between these notions, they can be mutually
exclusive. Originally based on the theoretical work of Max Weber, the concept of charismatic
leadership derives from followers attributing various types of power to their leader. According to
72
Ibid., 168.
See, for example, Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 269 ff.
74
Ibid., 372-379.
75
Johnson, 200.
73
154
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
theorists, attributing charismatic qualities to a leader “is jointly determined by the leader’s
behavior, expertise, and aspects of the situation.”76 Charisma is more likely attributed to people
who advocate a vision far from the status quo, act in unconventional ways to achieve this vision,
make self-sacrifices and take personal risks, are confident about their proposals, and inspire their
followers with emotional appeals.77
This highlights the defining difference between leadership theories. Charismatic
leadership is dependent on the personal identification of the leader; charisma is largely due to
followers perceiving their leader as extraordinary, thus encouraging followers to depend on the
leader. By and large, a charismatic leader is concerned with fostering an image of confidence. In
contrast, while a transformational leader may have charismatic personal characteristics, a true
transformational leader aims to empower her followers, thereby making them less dependent.
Buddha’s use of extinction as a form of skillful means, as previously explained, is a direct
example of this. The Buddha’s goal was to make the bodhisattvas’ as self-sufficient as possible.
While the Buddha may have charismatic and magnetizing traits, the qualities and roles of a
transformational leader are much more accurate in defining his authentic character.
As noted earlier in this paper, the earliest “reflections of leadership occur in the sacred
texts of the world’s religious traditions.”78 These examples in religious texts’ are tested by time,
passing from generation to generation; the examples cover a wide variety topics and characters.
From the perspectives of these legendary religious leaders, followers are ends within themselves
not the means to those ends. Other concepts and models of leadership have been founded upon
this moral component and examples are derived from religious texts including: spiritual,
authentic, and most notably known servant leadership.
Servant leadership centers on Jesus Christ as the leading example. In 1977, Robert
Greenleaf established the concept of servant leadership, asserting that the “primary responsibility
of the leaders” is to serve their followers through behaviors of cultivation, protection, and
empowerment.79 The leader must stand for what is good and right. The values emphasized in
servant leadership include integrity, altruism, humility, empathy, healing, personal growth,
fairness and justice, and finally empowerment.80 Ironically, although Greenleaf uses Christ as his
primary example of servant leadership, he based his concepts upon Herman Hesse’s novel
Journey to the East, a work deeply influenced by Buddhist teachings. Like Jesus Christ, who
gave his suffering body to be broken for the world (“hoc est corpus meum”) and lives on in the
corporate body of the Church, Buddha is a servant leader who embraced his precious human
body to forge a path to Awakening which he then outlined in a body of teachings (Dharma) that
live on in the corporate body of the sangha.
76
Yukl, 262.
Ibid.
78
Couto, 1369.
79
Yukl, 419.
80
Ibid.
77
155
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
Religious leaders serve as excellent leadership examples because for the faithful, they are
pure examples of correct behavior. Unlike later political or economic leaders, leaders depicted in
sacred texts exemplify the moral aspects and relational elements of leadership. This is the
fundamental attribute of good leadership. By asking more of followers and pushing them further,
a leader can have a tremendous impact on the world. It is evident that the transformational
leaders depicted in the world’s sacred texts have had significant impact on our civilization. A
society should capitalize on the use of religious leaders as ideals because of the clarity and purity
they provide as examples. We could say that it is this moral component which distinguishes
leadership from mere management, and therefore we should rightly evaluate our leaders
according to this moral component of transformational leadership. Applying the great body of
knowledge and theory known as Leadership Studies helps us see important aspects of the Lotus.
As we have observed, leadership entails addressing, cajoling and managing bodies in accordance
with certain ideals towards the achievement of desired ends. And indeed, the text of the Lotus is
itself a vast body of teachings and examples of powerful and transformative leadership.
Even more intriguing, however, is the way that these teachings on leadership are
grounded on notions relating to our bodies. Much of the Lotus’s power comes from its visceral
and graphic imagery derived from and drawing on decidedly bodily experiences: torrential rains
on a forested mountain slope, a cherished home inhabited by one’s family threatened by
devouring flames, a father’s beloved sons deathly ill from accidental poisoning, etc. The Lotus,
too, gives specific recommendations of bodily practices (recitation and copying of scripture,
joyful worship at venerable stone monuments) for the faithful and explicitly upholds moral and
spiritual exemplars (Guanyin, Sakyamuni himself) who are depicted as veritable embodiments of
universal human values. Applying aspects of Leadership Studies to the Lotus truly leads to
deeper insights into the Dharma as well as its relationships to various notions of “the body.”
Gendered Bodies – Is the Lotus inclusive or not?
The place of gender in the way the Lotus discusses bodies (an idea we discuss above)
warrants further examination, particularly in how it may dovetail with the doctrine of skillful
means. The fact that the human body is gendered (however this notion of gender has been
debated and argued throughout history) is a defining feature of human life, and continues to
influence our views of bodies as psycho-socio-biological entities. Perhaps it is not surprising
that the Buddha, a great and skillful teacher as portrayed in the Lotus, provides insightful
guidance for dealing with this difficult yet compelling topic. After all, wouldn’t we expect as
much from someone who repeatedly reminds us of his own use of ‘skillful means’?
Many scholars have pointed out that much of Buddhist tradition privileges male bodies,
and this assertion is difficult to deny given the historical and archaeological evidence. But would
the teachings proclaimed by the Buddha in the Lotus merely recapitulate traditional sexism and
misogyny? Certainly these are attitudes that foster narrow views of reality and they have often
contributed to the oppression of many people. If the Buddha preaches universal liberation, an
ideal that by definition is as inclusive as possible, then can his message in the Lotus truly be one
marked by unreflective bias? When we deeply engage with the Lotus we find something quite
different. Misunderstandings of skillful means and (especially how it intersects with) gender
156
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
have led to an interpretation of the Lotus as exclusivist text when in fact it is actually an inclusive
text, which promotes a message that anyone can (and should) aspire to attain enlightenment. The
key to avoid such misunderstanding of skillful means is to understand the cultural context from
which the Lotus Sutra originated. When properly understood in their sociocultural and historical
context, skillful means and gender combine as a sort of ‘skillful means of gender,’ which, like all
other instances of skillful means, is a necessary tool for reaching enlightenment.
As we note in several places above, in its most basic sense, skillful means refers to the
concept that the Dharma (or perhaps ‘truth’ in any context) should be taught to the audience so
that the teaching(s) are tailored to those who are present for them. Asaf Federman defines
skillful means as “denot[ing] the following simple idea: the Buddha skillfully adapted his
teaching to the level of his audience.”81 However, pace Federman, the concept of skillful means
is actually much more complex and nuanced than this. In fact, there is an important
sociocultural/historical dimension to the concept of skillful means within Mahayana Buddhism.
As mentioned above, the Lotus Sutra is a Mahayana text. Mahayana is a major branch of
Buddhism, and roughly translates to “one vehicle” or “great vehicle.” It is the second oldest of
the three main Buddhist traditions, and often refers to earlier Buddhist tradition as Hinayana, or
“small vehicle.” According to Federman, “[Skillful means] is aimed, eventually, at convincing
those at whom it was directed at a new religious path (yana) was greater than the old one…it
explains how the old doctrine was at the same time not entirely true and not entirely false.”82
This raises an inherent question on whether skillful means (as a historical construct) was used to
separate various religious traditions, or to try to bring the various religious traditions together.
Thich Nhat Hanh, a contemporary Vietnamese Buddhist monk and activist, argues in his
book Peaceful Heart, Open Action: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra that “The Lotus Sutra appeared
during this crucial period in the development of the Mahayana, and it represented a beautiful
reconciliation between the early tradition of the shravakas and the bodhisattva path, the
expansive inclusive vehicle of the Mahayana.”83 This suggests that the Lotus has had an inclusive
dimension from the time of its composition. In the early stages of Buddhism, there were many
different practices and paths. Scholars have argued that ‘skillful means’ in the Lotus Sūtra was a
method for the earlier religious traditions to make sense of their differing traditions, and how
they could all be correct. The Lotus provided answers to complicated questions concerning
multiple ways of understanding the Dharma. Federman states, “On top of these teachings, all
similes, parables, sutras, logical expositions, the teaching of nirvana, the end of suffering, and
even the life and death of the Buddha were – according to the Lotus Sutra – skillful means used
by the Buddha for the sake of attracting those to the buddhayana.”84 This idea that one can use
many different means in order to reach the one truth/ true understanding emphasizes “the great
insight of the Mahayana: [that] everyone can become a Buddha.”85
81
See note #32 above.
Federman, 125.
83
Thich Nhat Hanh, Peaceful Heart, Open Action: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra, paperback ed. (Berkeley, CA:
Parallax Press, 2009), 17.
84
Federman, 130.
85
Hanh, 16.
82
157
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
Another misunderstanding of skillful means concerns the differences between the types
of practitioners. In the second chapter of the Lotus, the Buddha makes a point of saying that the
pratyekabuddhas and shravakas will never be able to understand his teachings; and that only
bodhisattvas will fully comprehend this sutra. Pratyekabuddhas are “lone Buddhas”, people who
reach (a certain level of) enlightenment on their own, without the help of teachers or guides.
Shravakas, on the other hand, are those who hear the words of the Buddha and subsequently put
forth their best to reach enlightenment. This claim that pratyekabuddhas and shravakas could
never fully understand the Buddha’s teachings was a revolutionary statement, as previously these
two paths were said to lead to the ultimate understanding.86
It is, of course, easy to see this view as exclusivist: only one group is accepted, while the
other two are left out. The important distinction between pratyekabuddhas, shravakas and
bodhisattvas is that the former two do not desire to help others. This desire to benefit all beings
is central to the bodhisattva path, and what the Buddha claims all beings will come to
understand. In fact, in the Lotus, Sakyamuni Buddha says (directly and through parables) that all
practitioners are on the bodhisattva path (even if they don’t know it), and that from his
perspective, all are thus “buddhas-to-be” (i.e. bodhisattvas) and equally capable of Awakening:
I look upon all things
Without exception, as equal.
I have no interest anywhere in favoring one over another,
Or in cherishing one and hating another.
I have no greed or attachments
And am always impartial.
At all times and for all,
I teach the Dharma equally.87
Here the Buddha is telling everyone (regardless of gender, class, or divine status) that it is
possible to become enlightened, even suggesting that the Dharma transcends such constructs.
Federman touches on another key point in his article: that teachings are practical
guidelines that we should not cling to, because they are not in and of themselves the truth.
Rather, teachings are transient and situational, often changing according to time and place. For
instance, in several parables within the Lotus, the Buddha lies, or is deceitful yet these distortions
turn out to be beneficial for those who hear them. An example of this that we have already
discussed comes in chapter seven of the Lotus where the Buddha tells the “Parable of the
Fantastic Castle-City,” in which the leader of a caravan conjures up a miraculous city to serve as
a resting point for those who have grown weary on a long journey, only to make the whole thing
disappear once everyone is rested.88 In one sense, we can see Buddha as making a historical
86
Federman, 129.
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 164-165.
88
Ibid., 197-199.
87
158
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
statement here, claiming that his previous teachings were only ‘resting points’ on the path to the
great Dharma. This idea directly addresses the concept that the teachings for shravakas and
pratyekabuddhas were not the full truth but were “taught for the benefit of beings with strong
attachments and little wisdom.”89 In this way, they acted as ‘resting points’ for those along their
path towards Dharma. However, the ultimate goal for all beings is to reach full Buddhahood.
However, Federman’s point about teachings also hints at something more subtle: that
attachment to Dharma and teachings (even teachings outlined in the text of the Lotus itself) can
create obstacles. This is especially true when dealing with skillful means. All teachings, in this
sense, must be understood as methods which can help us to awaken but they should not be
mistaken for the real truth. In Federman’s own words, “[T]he Lotus Sutra is aware of its being a
text – it does not pretend to serve as a transparent medium that reflects truth as it is.”90
Gender
In the light of this more nuanced understanding of skillful means, we are in a better
position to look at how the text deals with the notion of gender, particularly within its cultural
and historic context. With ‘skillful means’ present, we must always think of the audience with
which this information was being shared, as there is a continual presumption that the Buddha’s
teaching(s) could and should change depending upon those who are present for it.
The Lotus Sūtra has been criticized by scholars as a misogynistic text. Although skillful
means has been discussed at length here, it is necessary to address the concept of gender directly
(as it is one of the more controversial issues of the Lotus). Most of the characters in the text are
male, and there seem to be very specific (and detailed) requirements for the few female
characters. This raises a question on whether the presence of a difference between the two sexes
means that one of them must be preferable over the other. Do distinctions and differences
between genders that we find in the text mean that men are “better” than women? Perhaps it is
unfair to assume that simply because of a difference between the male and female characters, and
their respective requirements, there is any discrimination at play. In fact, the Lotus teaches that
both women and ‘evil beings’ can attain enlightenment. Thus, this sūtra actually acts as a sort of
buffer – utilizing skillful means to present this idea that all true followers of the Dharma are, in
fact, bodhisattvas. In point of fact, the Lotus is an inclusive text which utilizes skillful means
against a cultural backdrop in order to help all beings achieve true enlightenment.
We can see this point most clearly by examining one of the most important passages of
the sūtra. For the first twelve chapters of the Lotus, most the major characters mentioned are
male. However, at the end of the twelfth chapter, women begin to play a bigger role. The first
major female character to be introduced in the Lotus is the daughter of the dragon king Sagara.91
After suddenly appearing at the Buddha’s teaching, and prostrating in front of him, she decides
to become awakened as quickly as possible. Interestingly, while she is praising the Buddha, she
89
Federman, 130.
Ibid., 130-131.
91
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 251.
90
159
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
proclaims that “I will reveal the teaching of the Great Vehicle/ To save living beings from
suffering.”92 However, Shariputra, one of the Buddha’s chief monks, along with several other
members of the audience are taken aback, and inform her that she cannot become a Buddha
because she is female. They refer to the impurities of the female form, including the inability to
become a ‘king’ or have the body of a Buddha. In response she offers a jewel to the Buddha
(perhaps symbolic of her innate Buddha nature) and announces that she will become a Buddha
quickly. At that point the text says, “Then the entire congregation saw the dragon girl instantly
transformed into a male, take up bodhisattva practice, and immediately go to the world named
Spotless…where…she attained impartial, proper awakening.”93 It is important to note that after
her transformation, she is described as having “the thirty-two characteristics and eighty different
attractive features” which are only used to describe Buddhas.94
Although it is clear in this passage that a female character attains enlightenment, scholars
debate its meaning. This is because of one factor: the dragon girl changes into a male form
before becoming Buddha. Here, however, it is essential to distinguish between the ultimate and
the relative realities. From the perspective of ultimate truth (full Buddhahood), gender is
unimportant, while at the relative level (the realm of distinctions and differences, as well as
suffering), gender is of vital concern. Thus while we should not (and in fact cannot) ignore
gender, neither can we consider it an insurmountable barrier to the attainment of awakening.
In her article, “Social Responsibility, Sex Change, and Salvation: Gender Justice in the
Lotus Sutra,” Lucinda Joy Peach, a feminist scholar of Buddhism, highlights this rather
paradoxical situation, saying that:
The specific gender images in the Lotus Sutra convey a somewhat inconsistent
portrayal of women: they are apparently capable of full Enlightenment, but are
more closely tied to samsara than are men; they are present at the Buddha’s
teachings initially, yet are often absent, invisible, or ignored later. They are
worthy of being instructed in the dharma by bodhisattvas, but are at the same
time dangerous sources of sexual temptation.95
Interestingly, Peach goes on to argue that the dragon girl’s “sudden awakening” to
Buddhahood requires a transformation from female to male. Without this transformation to a
male body, she would have been hindered from reaching full enlightenment. This interpretation
encourages us to understand Buddhism (or at least the Lotus) as being biased against women,
suggesting that women cannot attain enlightenment due to the nature of their female forms.
However, the text itself does not say that this transformation was required, only that it occurred.
Again, it is important to keep the context in mind. The dragon girl changes into a man right after
92
Ibid., 252.
93
Ibid., 253.
Ibid.
95
Lucinda Joy Peach, “Social Responsibility, Sex Change, and Salvation: Gender Justice in the Lotus Sutra,” in A
Buddhist kaleidoscope: Essays on the Lotus Sutra, ed. Gene Reeves (Tokyo: Kosei Publishing, 2002), 55.
94
160
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
Shariputra has said that she cannot attain awakening because her female form effectively bars her
from attaining certain high spiritual states: “[T]he body of a woman is filthy and impure, not a
vessel for the Dharma.”96 Yet, as if in direct defiance to this assertion, the dragon girl
immediately becomes male and attains full Buddhahood far swifter than any other character in
the Lotus.
Niwano explains that this passage was revolutionary in its original context. It was widely
accepted among ancient Indians that women were inherently inferior, with impure (perhaps even
evil) bodies. Yet this passage affirms the idea the Buddha-nature is present in all beings,
regardless of sex or gender. In fact, Niwano claims that the dragon girl’s sex change is a sort of
skillful means to help the congregation come to a fuller understanding: “By the dramatic
expression of having the girl change into a man and become a Buddha, the congregation, in
whom the idea of looking down on women was fixed, was greatly impressed and made to grasp
the meaning.”97 In fact, as Nancy Schuster, another scholar of Buddhism, points out, we can read
the story of the dragon girl as undermining “the old notion that a woman’s body disqualifies her
from Buddhahood…for here is a Buddha-to-be (the Dragon-princess) who was born female.”98
Moreover, when we look at this passage in this perspective, we can see that it is not the
dragon king’s daughter who is being challenged but rather the notions of those fixated followers
who told her she could not. Thus the Lotus says that after the dragon girl has become a complete
Buddha, the entire assembly was filled with joy and myriads of beings advanced far along the
path to awakening. The chapter then concludes simply: “Accumulated Wisdom Bodhisattva and
Shariputra and the whole congregation silently believed and accepted this.”99 The dragon girl
expresses from the beginning what it is that she plans to do, and she goes through with it. It is
not her notions which are being questioned so much as prevailing cultural notions of gender
inequalities (represented by Shariputra). For this reason, her sex change can be seen as a method
of skillful means designed to help the audience come to see past their prejudices around gender
and perhaps glimpse the ultimate truth beyond such distinctions. Shariputra, though, is too
focused on her female form to see that the dragon girl’s Buddha-nature transcends gender. In
fact this transformation may in a sense equate the genders, putting them on par (otherwise the
dragon girl could not move between them so easily). With this understanding, it becomes easy to
see that she transforms into a man in order to show the audience that she could just as easily be a
man as a woman, thus countering the idea that women are somehow incapable of enlightenment.
Women become important again in the thirteenth chapter of the Lotus. Up to this point,
the Buddha has assured many of his (male) followers that they will eventually become Buddhas,
and he has gone to great lengths to give details on their Buddha realms. At this point, six
thousand nuns come forward, hoping to hear of their eventual Buddhahood. In response, the
Buddha says, “Gautami [the woman who raised the Buddha after his mother died], I have already
96
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 253.
97
Niwano, 93.
Nancy Schuster, “Changing the Female Body: Wise Women and the Bodhisattva Career in Some
Maharatnakutasutras,” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 4.1 (1981), 43.
99
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 253.
98
161
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
announced that all shravakas are generally assured.”100 Here Buddha makes no distinction
between female and male shravakas. By saying that all the shravakas are already assured of
becoming Buddhas, the Buddha implies that spiritually speaking, the genders are equal,
otherwise he would have made the distinction between the male and female shravakas’ potential
for awakening. The fact that he didn’t suggests that he sees gender as irrelevant to one’s true
Buddha-nature (although it may be relevant to one’s relative reality). This also explains why the
Buddha refers to certain Buddha-worlds as having “no women,”101 since these realms reside
outside of samsara as well. Such comments do not denigrate women so much as reinforce the
teaching about the irrelevance of gender differentiation on the ultimate level.
Towards the very end of the Lotus we find further indications that gender ultimately
poses no real problem in attaining Buddhahood, specifically in the example of the Queen of Pure
Virtue in the twenty-seventh chapter. The story in which she appears focuses on the two sons
(one of whom turns out to be the bodhisattva Medicine King, a major figure in the Lotus), and
their desire to hear the teachings of the Buddha. What is interesting about this passage is that it
is the mother of the two boys who is the devout Buddhist, and ultimately gives them permission
to go to receive the teachings of the Lotus.102 Thich Nhat Hanh makes the point that the Lotus
Sutra had to prove that it supported ideas of filial piety within Chinese society.103 Although this
may be one of the main reasons for the inclusion of this chapter within the sūtra, it is still critical
that a major figure here is the mother. In fact, she is mentioned at the end of this section: “The
Queen of Pure Virtue is the Bodhisattva Marks of Shining Adornment who is now in the
presence of the Buddha. Out of mercy for King Wonderfully Adorned and his people, she was
born among them.”104 The fact that this is a female bodhisattva directly challenges Peach’s
notion that women cannot become true Buddhas, or bodhisattvas. As we have seen, Peach
suggests that the dragon girl had to become a male before she could to take up bodhisattva
practice. However, here we have an instance of a female Bodhisattva motivating her family to
embrace the true Dharma. This undermines the idea that within the Lotus women are somehow
less important than men.
Thus, we can see that so far as the Lotus is concerned gender, at least from the ultimate
perspective, is irrelevant. Gender distinctions made within the Lotus pertain to a relative
understanding of reality, and such relative distinctions of gender need not equate to biases.
Niwano says that “Men and women have inborn differences – bodily shape, role in reproduction,
distinctive nature, and strengths and weakness in the way they work.”105 Acknowledging
differences between the genders does not necessarily suggest bias. Whether or not there is a
positive or negative bias must be determined through careful understanding and analysis of the
100
Ibid., 236.
As, for example, in the Buddha’s description of the Buddha-land over which his disciple Purna will preside upon
his future attainment of Buddhahood. See Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 209.
102
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 387-388.
103
Hanh, 17.
104
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 392.
105
Niwano, 93.
101
162
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
differences. Within the Lotus, there seems to be little negative bias towards women, and what
bias there is can largely be attributed to skillful means.
In the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha constantly refers to the idea that teachings have to
resonate with the people who are receiving them – and that it is the duty of a teacher to help
bring this about. It is for this reason that the Buddha makes a distinction between ultimate and
relative realities: Ultimate reality defies full understanding for those who still exist within the
relative. So, oftentimes the Buddha had to teach in a relative sense. This “relative” teaching
mechanism is largely what the Buddha is referring to when he talks about skillful means.
Ancient Indian culture and people would never have accepted men and women as entirely equal.
Had the Buddha tried to explain the lack of any ultimate notion of sex/gender, it would have
been too difficult for his followers at the time to understand. However, he gives hints of this idea
by using skillful means to help unravel the truth of the ultimate, true nature of reality: that there
is no difference between the Buddha nature (or true nature) of a man or a woman.
Skillful means as presented in the Lotus Sūtra requires that we take into account the
cultural and historical atmosphere of the time. It dances around the idea that words are never
quite enough to reach or teach full truth. With this in mind, it becomes even more difficult to try
to understand Buddhist texts (at least those with skillful means evidently present) from a strictly
literal perspective. When looking at controversial topics such as gender within the Lotus, we
need to think of them in terms of skillful means. ‘Skillful means of gender’ means that to
understand gender within the Lotus, we should take into account the audience and time period in
which it was being taught. When we do this, we can see that the Lotus Sūtra is not a
misogynistic text, but rather one which presents women with hope. They, like all sentient
beings, can attain perfect awakening just as they are.
Concluding Reflections on the Lotus and its Bodies
As perhaps the most influential text in all of Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra can be daunting.
The Lotus is so rich and its “innumerable meanings” so varied and have been the foci of so many
commentaries and interpretations, that we might understandably balk at approaching it with the
aim of finding something new. Isn’t it a bit naïve to examine the Lotus for what it may (and may
not) reveal about the “body,” especially when we reflect on the maddening complexity
surrounding this term? So many different bodies, so many different senses of the term “body” -is there anything at all enlightening (or even coherent) that we can say here?
The Lotus opens with a truly mind-blowing scene: Sakyamuni Buddha seated on Holy
Eagle Peak as myriads of monks, nuns, arhats, bodhisattvas, laymen and women, kings and
queens, gods, dragons, and all manner of fantastic creatures assemble to hear him preach the
Wondrous Dharma. After making proper obeisance, the entire assembly gazes upon the WorldHonored One in rapture. The text then says:
From the tuft of white hair between his eyebrows, one of his characteristic features, the
Buddha emitted a beam of light, illuminating eighteen thousand worldsin the east, so that
163
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
there was nowhere that it did not reach, down to the lowest purgatory and up to
Akanishtha, the highest heaven.
In those worlds, all the living beings in the six states could be seen. Like-wise the
buddhas existing at present in those lands could be seen, and the sutra teachings those
buddhas were preaching could be heard. Monk and nuns, laymen and laywomen . . .
could also be seen. Further, one could see bodhisattvas, the great ones, walking the
bodhisattva way . . . Likewise buddhas who had entered complete nirvana could be seen.
And one could see there stupas made of the seven precious materials, stupas that had
been built to hold the remains of these buddhas after they had entered complete
nirvana.106
This is an almost unimaginable display of innumerable bodies of creatures from across the
universe -- the true Buddha sangha, and this vast assemblage sets the stage for what is to follow.
The closing scene, however, is quite different. There we are suddenly introduced to
Samantabhadra, “Universal Sage Bodhisattva,” who together with his vast retinue traverses
myriads of world systems to arrive at Holy Eagle Peak. This mysterious late-comer greets and
explains that from afar he heard the Buddha preaching the Lotus and has come “to hear and
receive it,” going on to ask the Buddha explain how future faithful followers will be able to
obtain its teachings after Sakyamuni’s passing. As the chapter progresses, Sakyamuni essentially
hands off this great body of Lotus teachings to this eager upstart, entrusting it to him and placing
it and all future devotees under his protection.107 And once again, a fabulous body figures so
strongly here, as Samantabhadra promises that future devotees who dedicate themselves
diligently to upholding all the various practices recommended in the Lotus (read, recite, copy,
study, etc.), will be graced by a vision of him in full glory, teaching the Lotus Dharma to them
face to face: “I will mount the white elephant with six tusks and, with countless bodhisattvas
surrounding me, appear before those people in a form that all the living delight to see, and teach
the Dharma for them, demonstrating and teaching it, enriching them, and giving them joy.”108
The text even promises great benefits for devotion to Lotus, and details penalties incurred by
those who defame the sutra or its devotees. Most of these penalties are bodily ills (leprosy,
missing teeth, deformed features, stinking and filthy disease etc.)109 Clearly, bodies of various
forms frame the Lotus as a text, and the text presents itself in quite bodily terms. These facts
tells us a great deal about how the Lotus presents itself regarding certain notions of “body”: the
Lotus is a complex body of teachings the comes to us via the bodies of Buddha and his followers,
and it asks us to embody its messages. We do well to keep this in mind.
Interesting things occur when we approach the Lotus with certain bodies of knowledge
that inform different scholarly disciplines. Thus, for instance, applying Economic theories about
the exchange of goods and services in our world help us to see the Lotus in terms of diverse
connections and relationships between various bodies, all in the service of a larger, seemingly
106
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 55.
Ibid., 393 ff.
108
Ibid., 394.
109
Reeves, The Lotus Sutra, 398.
107
164
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
universal bodily system. Perhaps such insights can help guide us as we take part in these
economic exchanges.
The Lotus is most obviously a religious text that has long informed and shaped how many
people make their way in the world. It is rhetorically powerful, filled with striking and often
disturbing imagery (often very bodily oriented) and compelling stories. The Lotus is not a
simple mass of words but an enticing literary body, subtly but irresistibly pushing us to act, to
transform and take on the characteristics of the figures in its lines – to become, in short, Buddha.
This is a difficult process that draws on our own mind, spirit, and body.
The Buddha as the teacher in the Lotus is a leader of humanity, one who exemplifies and
embodies traits that encourage us in our own transformation. Drawing on the concepts and
theories of Leadership Studies (yet another complex and intriguing body of knowledge) brings
these points into startling clarity. The Lotus itself is a leader.
Most certainly much of the power that the Lotus wields comes from how it addresses our
immediate, concretely embodied situation: samsaric existence. Many of the forces powering this
murky mess of life-and-death concern sex as an innately bodily process and the myriad ways we
interpret and conceptualize it, most often through diverse notions of “gender.” “Gender” truly is
divisive yet compelling, even as it perpetually puzzles and confuses us. Perhaps “gender” is the
ultimate and most intimate duality. The Lotus does not shy away from “gender” so much as play
with it to push us beyond simple biological “givens” and sociological constructs. In so doing,
the Lotus does not categorically denigrate females (or males for that matter) nor does it promote
an abstract idealized nirvana. Rather, the Lotus wants us all to embody Buddhahood.
Traditionally, the Lotus is said to be among the last of Sakyamuni Buddha’s sermons,
summing up his earlier teachings but presenting them in new, more purposeful light. Sticking
with this traditional view, it is interesting to note what the Buddha does and says in his actual last
teaching before his worldly demise, preserved in the famous Parinirvāṇa Sūtra. The final scene in
the most elaborate version of this text remains powerful, even after all these centuries,
particularly in light of what we have seen with the Lotus. Here the Buddha, after explaining how
his disciples are to treat his earthly remains, reminds them that henceforth the Dharma will be
their teacher, and even specifies that certain places associated with his life should become places
of pilgrimage for the laity. The text continues,
Then the Blessed One took off his outer robe and said: ‘Monks, gaze now upon
the body of the Tathāgata! Examine the body of the Tathāgata! For the sight of a
completely enlightened Buddha is as rare an event as the blossoming of the
uduṃbara tree. And, monks, do not break into lamentations after I am gone, for
all karmically constituted things are subject to passing away.’ Those were the last
words of the Buddha. [ . . .]110
From the Parinirvāṇa Sūtra. Quoted in John S. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and
Interpretations, 2nd ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2002), 37.
110
165
Virginia Review of Asian Studies
Volume 16 (2014): 131-166
Thompson, Degnan, Graney, McCann, McCracken: Lotus “Bodies”
In his last earthly moments, the Buddha tells us to contemplate his enlightened bodily being – a
final admonition that turns us lose to take up the body of Dharma presented to us, and we should
rightly note that this taking up is to be done with our own bodies. It is difficult to forge a path
here, but the way reveals itself in the words of Dharma. And perhaps nowhere is this more
evident than in the Lotus Sūtra itself.
166