Lotus Sutra

The first question to address is to explain why anyone would want to rewrite the Lotus Sutra.
Particularly myself, someone who has no qualifications or experience in rewriting anything.
Well my view is that as a Nichiren Buddhist, even if only of a few years standing, I should try
my utmost to understand, as well as I can, the prime scripture of our Faith.

The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law ( as it is sometimes translated ) is a
text that was first written down in the first century BCE.
It is a very important and influential text, particularly in Mahayana Buddhism.
Burton Watson, the latest translator of the work, maintains that the original scripture was written
in a dialect of some Indian or Central Asian language which was then translated into Sanskrit so
as to give the text greater respectability.

The Lotus Sutra was then disseminated widely throughout Eastern Asia and translated into other
Languages, notably Classical Chinese and Pali.
Watson used the Classical Chinese version written by the Central Asian scholar monk Kumarajiva
in around 400 BCE as the basis of his translation.

It is instructive to compare the translation of the Lotus Sutra produced by Hendrik Kern in 1884 to
Burton Watsons translation published in 1993.
Whilst I know only too well that my opinion of either work carries no intellectual weight I cannot but
express my preference for Mr. Watsons work.
No doubt English idiom and grammar have changed enough in 109 years to render Mr Kerns work
somewhat old fashioned and consequently harder to understand for someone not versed in
Eastern intellectual and religious traditions such as myself.

I have absolutely no doubt that Mr Watsons work is first rate and he has done an admirable job in
translating the words, phrases and ideas extant in the scripture into Modern English.
As someone who is only now starting to learn to speak a language apart from English I can
honestly say I know that it is quite impossible to perfectly and unerringly express rigorous and
highly intellectual concepts written in that original language into another.

The difficulties inherent in that process are made greater by the original language being one that
is not related to English in any way unlike translations from one European language to another.
The difficulties are compounded by the fact that the subject matter is so esoteric to an untutored
eye.

When I first started to read the Lotus Sutra in English I found it extremely heavy going because
there were so many words that Burton Watson had retained in the English script that were not
easily understood. Obviously he had done it like this because he had found it impossible to
adequately translate those words and phrases into English whilst retaining enough of their
original meaning so as to maintain the textual integrity of the work.
When I started to read and investigate what exactly these first few unfamiliar words and phrases
meant I came to realise why he had done what he had done.

Now Burton Watson is a professional academic who has received a rigorous education and who
would rightly insist on maintaining the highest standards in his work.
In his position I would endeavour to do the same.

However I am not in his position.
I am not a professional academic and I do not need to work to the same rigorous standards that
he has to.
I need only please myself.

Consequently I have embarked on the process of taking the words and phrases that I do not
easily understand, or that I feel could be expressed in a simpler way without losing too
much meaning, and changing them into an English that is more apparent.
I have also sometimes added short words or phrases that explain what the words mean to
someone, like myself, who is not surrounded by or was brought up with Eastern Religious
and Philosophical ideas and concepts.
Some of the characters and places in the work would be very familiar to a person born
into a Buddhist society. Having been born into a Christian based culture and having imbued
Christian stories as a child I find that they are not familiar to me.
So I have done what I have needed to do to try to make the writing intelligible.

One of the difficulties inherent in this process is to know when to stop.
There is a great temptation to leave out whole chunks of the narrative that appear to be
superfluous to European eyes. By superfluous I mean that it only restates something
that has already been stated.
After thinking about this I came to realise that this repetition in the original work was
an integral feature of all Sutras and was designed to impress upon the reader or hearer
how important the message was.

Because of this realisation I resisted this impulse and only left out a few of the numbers
and quantitative descriptions that were designed to show how large and massive the
objects, crowds and distances were. My use of modern idioms for this purpose were
quite adequate to show this.

Another difficulty is in the constant use of the description of supernatural beings in the
text. To Western eyes it appears to make little sense and to have no purpose.
Again I did not feel that I should cut these words, phrases or scenes to any extent
because the use of such imagery is integral to all sutras and Eastern philosophical
writing. They also express the extent to which the philosophical ideas can be applied
ie to all of creation.

The result of my work is that I can now read the sutra without having to constantly refer
to other written works so as to define and explain that which is not transparent to me.
The inevitable cost of doing so is found within the work itself.
Many of the words and phrases that I have used are but a pale shadow of the original
words and phrases and have lost huge parts of their full and proper meaning.
This is sad but it is a fact of life.

All I can say is that my version is not a substitute for Mr Watsons translation.
Go and read it for yourself.
Burton Watson has also produced a work called The Essence of the Lotus
Sutra. I can recommend this work to any discerning student.

What I have gained from my work is not only that I can now read the sutra in a
comparatively short time but the whole process of going through each word has
meant that I have had to consider deeply what each word and phrase means.
The biggest effect on me is for me to realise how little I know.
I have a lifetime of study in front of me.
That is not dispiriting in the least.

Homage to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Terence Murphy

Bedlinog, South Wales

November 2009