Nan Huaijin · A Brief Explanation of the Lotus Sutra (New Edition)

Author: Nan Huaijin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-10-01
Features: The Circle of Awakening Sutra (Huayan Jing) is an important classic studied by the Yanzong sect during the Tang Dynasty. Its full title is The Great Wisdom Sutra of the Perfect Awakening through the Practice of the Worthy Path, consisting of one volume, translated by Buddha Tathagata during the Tang Dynasty. The scripture presents the Buddha teaching the twelve Bodhisattvas—Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and others—according to their requests, explaining the theory of "reliance on the perfect illumination to manifest the pure awareness and forever cut off ignorance," as well as the practices of "cultivating the path," "cultivating the view," and "cultivating meditation." The fifth patriarch of the Huayan sect, Zongmi of the Tang Dynasty, said he "encountered the Zen school and encountered the Circle of Awakening Sutra in teaching," meaning he attained enlightenment in the Dharma through reading the Circle of Awakening Sutra. Later, he wrote works such as The Great Commentary on the Circle of Awakening Sutra, The Great Commentary and Notes on the Circle of Awakening Sutra, and The Ritual for Cultivation and Enlightenment in the Circle of Awakening Sutra, to promote the Circle of Awakening Sutra, which thus became renowned in the Buddhist world. This book is a lecture record by the renowned Taiwanese scholar, Nan Huaijin, on the Circle of Awakening Sutra. It was originally serialized in Buddhist magazines and later compiled into a book. With a profound mastery of the subject, the author provides a line-by-line and paragraph-by-paragraph explanation of the original text of the Circle of Awakening Sutra, transforming its obscurity into clarity and deepening its accessibility. Authorized by the author and the original publisher, Taiwan's Lao Gao Cultural Enterprise Company, this revised edition is published to serve as a study resource.