The Lotus Sutra (Paper) (Translations from the Asian Classics)

Burton Watson's translation of the Lotus Sutra is probably the best modern translation - it's the one I've always turned to anyway. Anyone wanting to explore one of the deep pools of human wisdom and insight, in fact the deepest, I would recommend pulling on the thread of the Lotus Sutra. Mixed metaphors abound. You never know where it might take you! Enjoy.

Excellent quality.

At first I found this work a bit tricky to get into, but it is truly full of life-changing eternal wisdom. Shakyamuni Buddha really did know his stuff. I'm not sure about some of the mathematics, and some parts aren't such an easy read, but I have to give it five stars nevertheless. Buy it, buy into it!

For those lost on its simple truth, Burton Watson sums up the sutra quite succinctly on page xx of the Translator's Introduction at the beginning of the book, where he says..."...highest truth can never in the end be expressed in words, since words immediately create the kind of distinctions that violate the unity of Emptiness. All the sutra can do, therefore, is to talk around it, leaving a hole in the middle where truth can reside." – Burton WatsonIn the end, quietening the mind so the truth may become apparent in an existential way, I think is largely the goal of this sutra.

Reciting this version helped me understand some things more clearly. I recommend reading multiple versions or translations for that very reason. The demon Mara is translated as Devil in this version which is a suitable translation. But, I feel like people in the west might not fully understand that the Buddhist (Devil) is named Mara and is both an evil spirit demon and a metaphor for our own negative habitual tendencies. I don’t believe modern day Christian religious interpretations of the Bible that there is a single Creator god and a single Devil. The Christian Devil can of course be interpreted as both a spirit demon and a metaphor for our own negative thoughts and actions, but most modern Christians I think don’t understand it this way. Modern Christians seem to want to blame everyone’s negative actions on outside forces which is not logical outside of obvious cases of demonic possession which are a rare occurrence if you look at percentages although it occurs constantly. So if you read or recite this version just at least keep all this in mind. I would actually say Mara or Mara’s people instead of Devil or devil’s people whenever the western translation “Devil” is written. Outside of this, great translation and beautiful cover. It’s a lot of work to translate this Sutra. So, thanks for all the hard work Mr. Watson. Well done.

Um texto de grande importância para o Budismo Mahayana. Ótima tradução para o inglês. Um texto complicadinho, longo, repetitivo. Recomendado para interessados, pois é uma obra referência.

It changed my life, my perspective of happiness and it has made me strong ..

Burton Watson's version of the Lotus Sutra is an example of good literary style in a translation. You never have to blink twice when reading a word of it - so you are left with the text itself to understand. There are never any unnecessary verbal flourishes or words which jar slightly. Anachronisms are kept to a minimum and the decisions he has made work easily - for example to retain or discard "Dharma". He chooses "Law" (always capitalized) despite its possible confusion with mundane legalism. There is no confusion whatsoever - it works well in the context of the Lotus Sutra, where the Buddha's teaching is intended as a corpus of Law or Dharma/Dhamma. One reviewer elsewhere raised the possibility that Watson was swayed by having Ikeda Daisetsu of Soka Gakkai as his patron. Watson was, as a matter of fact, personally interested in the koan tradition of Zen Buddhism; while professionally as a most reliable interpreter of Buddhist and philosophical texts in classical Chinese.