Q: What is the full name of the Lotus Sūtra? A: The main name of the scripture which has come to be known as the Lotus Sūtra in Western languages in its original Sanskrit is Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, and when translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan is Dam-pai Chos Pad-ma dKar-poi mDo (pronounced roughly like Dham-pay Choo Pay-ma Kar-poi Do). In English, this title could be rendered as The Discourse on the White Lotus of the Sublime [or Sacred, Mystic, etc.] Dharma. The full name of the Lotus Sūtra is in Sanskrit Saddharma-puṇḍarīka-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra and in Tibetan Dam pai chos pad ma dkar poi zhes bya ba theg pa chen poi mdo. This means literally, The Scripture of the Great Vehicle [Mahāyāna] known as The White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma. The titles references to the “whiteness” of the Lotus in question and “the sublime Dharma” to which it pertains are generally left out of the English style of naming (for the most part), which widely refers to it as the Lotus Sutra: a kind of nickname, evidenced by the fact that the majority of the scriptures translations from Chinese into English are entitled The Lotus Sutra. In spoken and written Tibetan as well the Lotus Sūtra is not generally referred to by its full name but rather by shortened forms such as dam chos pad ma dkar po(-i) mdo, dam chos pad dkar mdo or sometimes mdo sde pad dkar.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 19:41:37 +0000
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