#Lotus Sutra

[eirikrjs]

A higher res version of Yoshitaka Amano’s Lotus Sutra, thanks to tomorrowitcouldbeyou!

[journeytothewestresearch]

Good Source for Trans Monkey King Headcanon

While Sun Wukong is not historically or canonically transgender, I wholeheartedly support anyone with a headcanon portraying him as such. A great example of spiritual gender transition from Buddhist scripture that could serve as a basis for your headcanon is the “Dragon Girl” (Longnu, 龍女) from chapter 12 of the Lotus Sutra (Miaofa lianhua jing, 妙法蓮華經; a.k.a. Fahua jing, 法華經, c. 3rd-century).

She is first introduced to an assembly of Buddhist deities as the eight-year old daughter of the Dragon King Sāgara (Suojieluo longwang, 娑竭羅龍王) and one of an unfathomable number of dragonfolk enlightened by the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī’s (Wenshu shili, 文殊師利) lessons on the Lotus Sutra. Her teacher describes her as a great student prodigy with a deep knowledge of Buddhist Law, as well as having many advanced spiritual achievements. But this upsets some among the assembly because the notion of a young girl approaching Buddhahood so quickly flies in the face of convention, which normally calls for untold aeons of severe austerities before one can achieve awakening. Her accomplishments are called into question at first, but everyone is appeased when she offers a priceless jewel to the Buddha, and he quickly accepts it as a symbolic gesture. Then:

The girl said [to the assembly], “Employ your supernatural powers and watch me attain Buddhahood. It will be even quicker than that!” At that time the members of the assembly all saw the dragon girl in the space of an instant change into a man (emphasis added) and carry out all the practices of a bodhisattva, immediately proceeding to the spotless World of the south, taking a seat on a jeweled lotus, and attaining impartial and correct enlightenment. With the thirty-two features and the eighty characteristics [of a Buddha], he expounded the wonderful Law for all living beings everywhere in the ten directions (Watson, 1993, p. 188). [1] 女言：「以汝神力，觀我成佛，復速於此。」 當時眾會，皆見龍女忽然之間變成男子，具菩薩行，即往南方無垢世界，坐寶蓮華，成等正覺，三十二相、八十種好，普為十方一切眾生演說妙法。

A drawing of the Dragon Girl and the priceless jewel (larger version). Image found here.

Note:

1) For the Dragon Girl’s story, see Watson, 1993, pp. 187-189.

Source:

Watson, B. (Trans.) (1993). The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia University Press.

[thatsbutterbaby]

Lotus Sutra / late 12th century/ Japanese

Opening with an illustration, this handscroll of the Lotus Sutra was part of a larger body of work copied or commissioned by members of the court as a means to salvation. The indigo color stands for the mineral lapis lazuli, which, like gold and silver, is part of the seven treasures of Buddhism. Illuminated sutras are believed to have been dedicated by the Fujiwara clan to Chusonji Temple in the northeast region of Japan.

Handscroll; gold and silver on indigo dyed paper, 3940 15/16 × 9 3/4 in. (10010 × 24.8 cm); width with knobs: 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm)

 Seattle Art Museum

[gleaningsinbuddhafields]

Make Your Own Buddhist Sutra Book

Lately I’ve been talking a lot about home Buddhist practice, including home Buddhist services and such. These are things that devour lay-Buddhists often do (myself included), but then I realized I never talked about making one’s own sutra book. There are a couple reasons why one might make their own…

[aspiritualwarriors]

In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha says to light up one corner—not the whole world. Just make it clear where you are.

— Shunryū Suzuki

[renegade-hierophant]

Excerpt from the Lotus Sutra, chapter 16, in Kanbun Kundoku, a kind of creole language, a mixture of Classical Chinese and Classical Japanese into one language.

[crazyfox-archives]

The frontispiece to the first fascicle of the Lotus Sutra depicting the Buddha Shakyamuni (釈迦如来 Shaka Nyorai) preaching at Vulture Peak attended by bodhisattvas, arhats, and layfolks

From a manuscript of the sutra dating to the 11th century in the collection of Enryakuji Temple (延暦寺) on Mount Hiei (比叡山) north of Kyoto

Image from “Paintings of the Lotus Sutra” by Willa J. Tanabe, Weatherhill, 1988, plate 28

[ume-site]

"TONZURA of The Devil King of the Sixth Heaven"

(第六天の魔王のトンズラ（天子魔のトンズラ）

oil on canvas

530×410mm

2023

この作品は、前作である「天子魔の出現」の連作です。

「天子魔（別目：大六天の魔王）」が、女性の心から退散した場面を表現しています。

「大六天の魔王」とは、法華経に説かれており、様々な働きがありますが、その一つに〝美しい心の自分を潰そうとする、もう一つの自分の心“として現れる現象です。

生きていると、あらゆるシチュエーションで、試される時があります。私自身、自分の良心を奪おうとする、もう一つの自分が出てくる時もあるので、心の中で魔がトンズラして遠くに消えていくことを潜在的に望んでいたから、この絵が心の中にフッと浮かんだのだろうと思っています。

また、不吉な予感がする前作の「天子魔の出現」が、ハッピーな方向を向いていくようにという思いから浮かんだのだと思っています。

This work is a continuation of the previous work, “Appearance of the hindrance of the devil king”(another name:  Devil King of the Sixth Heaven)'' expresses a scene where a woman has seriously retreated.

The ” Devil King of the Sixth Heaven'' is described in the Lotus Sutra, and has various functions, one of which is a phenomenon that appears as ”another self that destroys the beautiful heart of oneself.''

In life, there are times when you will be tested by all kinds of problems.

For me, there are times when another version of myself comes out trying to take away my conscience, so I was subconsciously thinking that the devil would twist around in my heart and disappear into the distance, so this picture touched my heart. I wonder if it just popped into my head.

Also I think the previous work, ``The hindrance of the devil king,'' which had an eerie atmosphere, came about because of the desire for Happy to move in the same direction.

[crazycatsiren]

Very much in love with my new copy of the Lotus Sutra. And I think I can agree that this one is the English translation to go for. Yay to more study materials!

[zenthropology]

I went to my local Nichiren Shu temple for the first time and I think I’ve found my sangha 🙏

[smallsups]

[eirikrjs]

Have you seen Amano's Lotus Sutra illustration? Those are some SMT-esque mythical figures right there.

I have not.

This is fantastic and I wish I could find a larger version! I love when Amano uses a gold background. But I still don't think you could plop any of these directly into SMT without some adaptation (take what looks to be Kannon in the center, identifiable but PURE Amano).

[buddhismnow]

There is No Buddha-Dharma Outside the Mind, by Harada Sekkei Roshi

There is No Buddha-Dharma Outside the Mind, by Harada Sekkei Roshi http://wp.me/pFy3u-2J2

At the beginning of Keizan Jokin Daishi’s Zazen Yojinki, there is the teaching ‘Zazen directly lets people illumine the mind and rest peacefully in their fundamental endowment.’ In Eihei Dogen Zenji’s Fukanza-zengi, we can find this same teaching expressed as `When you seek the Way, it is found to be essentially universal and complete. How, then, can it be contingent upon practice and…

[wisdom-and-such]

“I see Buddhist sons abiding in the strength of fortitude, taking the abuse and blows of persons of overbearing arrogance, willing to suffer all these, and in that manner seeking the Buddha way.”--Lotus Sutra

When committed to a more enlightened or heightened lifestyle, we often encounter others who are not pursuant of the same interests with us at the same time as we are. When others act in harmful ways, we try to set a positive example and lead things in another direction. However, when we encounter harmful things we can not control we suffer these with the pure thought of that heightened lifestyle shining at the back of our hearts and minds.

[gleaningsinbuddhafields]

Chanting the "Hobenpon", Chapter Two of the Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra, one of the most important sutras of Mahayana Buddhism, is the size of an epic novel, and thus much too large to recite cover to cover. Even reciting a single chapter can be daunting because each chapter contains a large narrative section, and one or more verse sections that recap the narrative. For this reason, certain verse sections have become popular for chanting because they…

[ome-magical-ramblings]

Recursive Magical Formula, Great God ABLANATHANALBA, and Lotus Sutra

Recursive magical formula or structure is when the magical formula, concep, or symbol repeats it's process inside of itself. Like a function calling itself in programming to compute a value. Here is the same idea employed in these three separate occasions.

In Chapter 11 of Lotus Sutra a Jeweled Stupa appears and inside of it is another buddha praising the Lotus sutra, but the that would be "self-referential". Prabhūtaratna appear in chapter 1 1 but goes back in chapter 22 back to the Stupa. The problem is that we are Assuming that the Lotus sutra was mentioned the first time, or even if we trace the Lotus sutra to the first time it was mentioned Prabhūtaratna would appear and praise the sutra before it was even told...

If we look at the common Formula in Greek Magical Papyri, ABLANATHANALBA. ( ΑΒΛΑΝΑΘΑΝΑΛΒΑ ) It is a very interesting Formula that's palindromic in nature. Using Isopsephy it shows the "nature" of this name. I Used Kieren Barry's Greek Qabbalah for this.

1+2+30+1+50+1+9+1+50+1+30+2+1 = 179

1 7 9 Divine-Venus-Moon

179 Activity, effect ( ε ν ε ρ γ ε ί α )

ΑΒΛΑΝΑ Θ ΑΝΑΛΒΑ

85 9 85

13 9 13 4 9 4

We can say the astral body is Lunar, and the mental-physical body is Jovial.

9 in greek gematria is Γεα(Gaea/Earth's Soul)

85 is To Know( οίδα ) and Life(ζοη)

13 is Strength, force (βία)

ΑΒΛΑΝΑ and ΑΝΑΛΒΑ would be two different modality passive/active form of it in a sense.

Using Jean Dubuis's meaning of hebrew letters, I know it is a big jump here from Isopsephy to using Gematria but I wouldn't have used it if it didn't have an interesting concept in it. Also because even in Betz's translation the formula was considered "Hebrew".

The first name(ΑΒΛΑΝΑ ) would be Primordial Consciousness Air/Energy - Container/action/channel - Learning/Extension/Omnipotence - Energy/Air - Reflection/Passivity - All potential

Th would be Teth Goodness, Female Energy, Refuge, Strength balancing of Empress/Emperor.

The Second name(ΑΝΑΛΒΑ) All potential - Reflection/Passivity - Primordial Air - Balance - Channel - Primordial Consciousness

The name is of "god of this world" It is used for Abraxas, and for other operations but in a way it's not necessary they're part of each other/ not a one-to-one mapping to each other. In Betz's PGM translation, the name is mentioned as "most common in magic lit, this magical name has not been adequately explained although it has boon suggested that the name contains Hebrew" The name itself is used for protection, for revelation, for divine invocation, prayers, vision, compulsion, spell, favor and victory charm, prosperity, money, sending dreams, love spells.

My own analysis of the name would be (1) ΑΒΛΑΝΑ , The primordial divine is channeled and balanced through the mouth, passively the operator and the universe vibrate in resonance. (2) Θ , The force/vibration take refuge resonate WITHIN the person. (3) ΑΝΑΛΒΑ, The resonance BURST forth out of the UNIVERSE back into the operator where the consciousness is transformed, balanced, channel(inside), and integrated in the consciousness of the operator

The Formula is for vibrating divine names, as per Mather's original instructions of Vibratory formula. This takes back to our concept of recursion. Here the Formula reference how a formula is to be vibrated. If the formula is vibrated then you're vibrating the concept of vibrating a divine name. was this a handicap or a way to assist people who didn't know how to vibrate names to carry the concept of lack of actual practice. The Formula is a symbolic representation of vibration to help activate Vibration when there's lack of. The hidden aspect of this formula is...if you vibrate it, properly then what happen? this is up for more experimentation and study.

Lastly, the master symbol or the God+Man symbol From William Gray's Magical Ritual Methods. On page 53 of the book, and on a graphic desgin by Candlehawk from Temple of Solomon discord server. The recursion in this ritual is that you if you use it in your LBRP-style rituals it will recreate a miniature symbol of the WHOLE of LBRP in each direction. The four blue lines are cardinal directions, the white lines are reference to the line from Kether to Malkuth(QBL cross, "above me and below me shine the holy hexagram") and the green line connect the two elements in relation to each other, Fire-Air Water-Earth. The person himself doing the ritual in the center, thus if you think about it there's a symbolic representation of the ritual in each direction, and this "master symbol" is created by drawing a pentagram from bottom left and an inverse pentagram from top right hand.

In Conclusion, the idea of recursion, exist in magical rituals, texts, and symbols. Surprisingly they're not expounded on a lot because...reasons. I hope that this post of 3 magical recursion that seems like 3 topics that have no relation at all between the three encourage discussion and people to think about them. Sources: The Lotus Sutra, Revised Second Edition - BDK America

The Greek Qabalah: Alphabetical Mysticism and Numerology in the Ancient World

by Kieren Barry

The Fundamentals of Esoteric Knowledge: An Introductory Course And Qabbalah's Course

By Jean Dubuis

Magical Ritual Methods by William G. Gray The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation: Including the Demotic Spells: Texts by Hans Betz