Blog, Books, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary

Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra

Chinese Master Hsuan Hua began his commentary on the Lotus Sutra with Chapter 25, the “Universal Door of Guan Yin Bodhisattva” on October 6, 1968. He finished explaining the “Universal Door” chapter on Nov. 9, 1968. On the next day, Nov. 10, he began his commentary on the full Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra. These lectures were open to anyone wishing to attend and were delivered nightly in San Francisco, generally running from seven to nine in the evening. The lecture series continued for two years. Over this period, Hsuan Hua delivered over 350 lectures. The lectures concluded November 10, 1970.

The Buddhist Text Translation Society in Ukiah, California, turned the lecture series into a 14-volume commentary along with a 15th volume containing both the English and Chinese translations of the Lotus Sutra. The first edition of the commentary was published in 1998; the second edition in 2020.

Each volume starts with The Eight Guidelines of the Buddhist Text Translation Society.

  1. A volunteer must free him/herself from the motives of personal fame and profit.
  2. A volunteer must cultivate a respectful and sincere attitude free from arrogance and conceit.
  3. A volunteer must refrain from aggrandizing his/her work and denigrating that of others.
  4. A volunteer must not establish him/herself as the standard of correctness and suppress the work of others with his or her fault-finding.
  5. A volunteer must take the Buddha-mind as his/her own mind.
  6. A volunteer must use the wisdom of Dharma-selecting vision to determine true principles.
  7. A volunteer must request virtuous elders in the ten directions to certify his/her translations.
  8. A volunteer must endeavor to propagate the teachings by printing and distributing sūtras, śāstra texts, and vinaya texts when the translations are certified as being correct.

Three Forewords follow: The Lotus Dharma Blooms in Us All by Bhikṣuṇī Heng Chih; Fifty Years Later, the Lotus Continues to Bloom by Ron Epstein, PhD; and Timeless Ease for an Uneasy Time by Susan Rounds, PhD.

With the exception of Volume 1, Prologue, each volume contains an Outline of the Lotus Sutra covering the content in the volume. This outline was created by Ouyi Zhixu, a Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar in 17th century China. He is considered the Ninth Patriarch of the Chinese Pure Land tradition and the Thirty-First Patriarch of the Tiantai tradition as well as a Chan master.

Each volume contains a 44-page glossary and an index.

After I finished Hsuan Hua’s commentary I went back to see if I could discern any pattern in his work. As a student of Nichiren Buddhism, I wanted to know if there was an obvious difference in interpretation from what would be expected from someone in the Nichiren school. His focus on Guan Shi Yin was certainly far greater than a Nichiren devotee would have offered, but generally Hsuan Hua came across as a student of Zhiyi of the Tiantai School. (See Five Schools of One Buddhism.)

I counted 382 pages in the English text of the Lotus Sutra in Volume 15 of the set. The 14 volumes of commentary total 3,529 pages, not counting the stuff repeated in each volume. On average, each page of the sutra generated 9.24 pages of commentary text. But that’s just the average. By far the subject that generated the most commentary was Chapter 25, The Universal Door of Guan Yin Bodhisattva, which is Volume 13. The eleven pages of sutra text resulted in 229 pages of commentary – 20.82 pages generated for each sutra page. The other above average chapters were Chapter 1, Introduction, 16.40 pages of commentary for each sutra page; Chapter 12, Devadatta, 12.56; Chapter 3, A Parable, 12.49; and Chapter 10, Dharma teachers, 10.91.

Tomorrow: Variations In The Translation of Kumārajīva’s Lotus Sutra

Blog, Hsuan Hua, Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary

Variations In The Translation of Kumārajīva’s Lotus Sutra

In reading the 14 volumes of Chinese Master Hsuan Hua’s commentary on the Lotus Sutra I’ve identified a number of places where his translation differs – mostly minor points – from other English translations of Kumārajīva’s fifth century Chinese translation. (See here, here, and here.)

For the final example, consider this description of monks who tormented Never-Despising Bodhisattva from Hsuan Hua’s commentary on Chapter 20:

SUTRA

After that Buddha passed into nirvāṇa,
When his Dharma was about to perish,
There was a Bodhisattva
Known as Never Slighting.
At that time the fourfold assembly
Was attached to the Dharma. …

COMMENTARY

The fourfold assembly at that time was attached to the Dharma. Even the Dharma has to be relinquished, how much more so that which is not the Dharma? If you don’t understand the Dharma, you must strive to understand it. Once you understand it, you have to let go of it. You can’t cling to it. At that time, because the Buddhadharma was about to perish, the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, and upāsikās were all attached to the superficial aspects of the Dharma. They focused their efforts on the trivial aspects of the Dharma and clung to them rigidly. Not only did they fail to understand the Dharma, they were attached to it. Attached to the Dharma, they gave rise to overbearing pride.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v11, ch20, p198-199

This idea that you shouldn’t cling to the boat that carries you across the water after you reach the other shore is a common reframe in Hsuan Hua’s commentary. But other English translation offer a different picture.

Senchu Murano’s translation says:

Some time after the extinction of that Buddha,
His teachings had almost died out.
At that time there lived a Bodhisattva Called Never-Despising.
The four kinds of devotees at that time Were attached to views.

The Modern Rissho Kosei-kai translation offers:

The four groups of that era
Were attached to their own views of the teachings.

Gene Reeves has:

At that time the four groups
Were attached to self-centered views of things.

The BDK Tripiṭaka translation says:

At that time the fourfold assembly
Was becoming attached
To its own interpretation of the Dharma.

Leon Hurvitz’s translation, considered by many to be the most academically thorough, is the least clear on the point:

At the time, the fourfold multitudes
Were reckoning in terms of dharma.

Hsuan Hua spent many years in China printing sutras in Chinese and distributing them as part of his practice. Given the ways in which his English translation of Kumārajīva differs from other English translators, I’m left to wonder whether he was working from a different copy of Kumārajīva’s work.  The volume that contains the English translation of the sutra also contains the Chinese version from which it was translated.

While there’s a clear difference between Hsuan Hua’s translation describing the monks who tormented Never-Despising Bodhisattva, other differences reveal examples of where Senchu Murano, whose  translation I use in my daily practice, differed from the majority of English translators.

Consider this part of Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. Hsuan Hua’s English translation has:

SUTRA

“Having spoken this verse, Bodhisattva All Beings Delight to See said to the Buddha, ‘World Honored One! World Honored One! You are still in the world!”

COMMENTARY

Having spoken this verse, Bodhisattva All Beings Delight to See said to the Buddha Pure Bright Virtue Resembling the Sun and Moon, “World Honored One! World Honored One! You are still in the world!” This Bodhisattva exclaimed “World Honored One” twice because the Buddha hadn’t yet entered parinirvāņa, so he could meet the Buddha for a second time in his new life.

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v12, ch23, p88-89

That repetition is not present in Senchu Murano’s translation:

“Having sung this gāthā, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One! You do not change, do you?’

On the other hand, Leon Hurvitz’s translation agrees that “World Honored One” is repeated:

“At that time the bodhisattva Seen with Joy by All Living Beings, having proclaimed this gāthā, addressed the buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, World-Honored One, you are still in the world!’

In fact, Murano’s is the only translation that does not include the title World Honored One twice in the verse. But those repetitions are unlike Hsuan Hua and Hurvitz. For Example, Reeves has:

“Having recited this verse, Seen with Joy by All the Living Bodhisattva said to that buddha: ‘World-Honored One, is the World-Honored One still alive in the world?’

Or the BDK Tripiṭaka’s:

“Thereupon Bodhisattva Sarvarūpasamdarśana, having spoken this verse, addressed the Buddha, saying: O Bhagavat! The Bhagavat is yet in this world!

The Modern Rissho Kosei-kai translation offers:

Then the Bodhisattva Delight to Behold for All Living Beings, having uttered these verses, said to that buddha, ‘World-Honored One, just as before, you are still the world-honored one in this world.’

As a scholar-priest within the Nichiren Shu, Murano is highly regarded for the clarity of his translations and for his alignment with the traditional Japanese understanding of the text. To reach that  clarity appears to have led to differences between Murano’s  translation and other English translators.

Next: Where Chinese Master Hsuan Hua and Nichiren Would Disagree

AI Contribution

AI Magic

Going forward I intend to use Google’s AI tools to create illustrations for text. All of these illustrations will be categorized as AI Contribution. The illustration for today’s Daily Dharma is one example, but I want to explore other opportunies.

For example, I have a 1983 PDF document by Robert F. Rhodes entitled The Four Extensive Vows and Four Noble Truths in T’ien-t’ai Buddhism. I uploaded this to Google’s NotebookLM and asked it to produce an infographic based on the contents of the PDF document. Here’s the result:

four-vows-four-truths-illustration-web
Click to view PDF of image
AI Contribution, Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma for December 22, 2025

Daily Dharma illustration

Illustration by Google Gemini

Show Gemini's thinking

Composing Visuals
I'm focusing on the user's request for a square illustration using Japanese Buddhist iconography for an Instagram post. I've broken down the request into its core components: format, style (Japanese Buddhist), and subject (a scene from the Lotus Sutra, specifically a discussion between the Buddha and his aunt). My aim is to accurately represent the discussion, while adhering to the specified format and style.

Crafting the Scene
I'm now carefully mapping out the elements to ensure the scene from the Lotus Sutra resonates within a square format. I'm focusing on the interaction between the Buddha and Mahā-Prajāpatī Gautamī, ensuring their poses and expressions convey the essence of their conversation. The visual emphasis will be on their interaction, with the surrounding elements serving as supporting context, all while respecting the traditional Japanese Buddhist aesthetic. My aim is a visually engaging and spiritually resonant composition.

Verifying Image Accuracy
I'm verifying that the image matches the user's specific request. It is a square illustration with Buddhist iconography as the style, for use on Instagram, and represents the requested figures, including the exact quote.

Assessing Prompt Alignment
I'm now focusing on the image's adherence to the original prompt, which specified a square format, Buddhist iconography, and the inclusion of specific figures and a quote. I've confirmed that these details are all present and accurately represented. The alignment of the visual elements and the text is as requested.

Why do you look at me so anxiously? You do not think that I assured you of your future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi because I did not mention you by name, do you? Gautamī! I have already said that I assured all the Śrāvakas of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. Now you wish to know my assurance of your future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].

The Buddha has this discussion with his aunt, Mahā-Prajāpatī, also called Gautamī, in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sutra. She raised the young Siddhartha after his mother Queen Māyā died when he was only six weeks old. Gautamī was also the first woman to be ordained into the Sangha. Since women then were thought by some to be not as capable as men, the Buddha specifically assures Gautamī, and thus all women, of the certainty of her enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Promises

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Dec. 22, 2025

When all the people under the heaven and various schools of Buddhism are all converted to the one and real vehicle, and when only the Lotus Sutra flourishes and all the people recite “Namu Myoho Renge-kyo” in unison, the howling wind will not blow on the branches, falling rain will not erode the soil, and the world will become as good as during the reigns of the Chinese Emperors Fu-hsi and Shen-neng. You will see that such times will come when the calamities cease to exist, people live long, and men and their faith become eternal. There should be no doubt about the proof of the tranquility in life.

An Instruction from Sado to Disciples and Followers, Shingyō Hikkei: Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō

About this project

Promises

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Dec. 21, 2025

Accept suffering as suffering, joy as joy; life consists of suffering and joy; therefore recite “Namu Myoho Renge-kyo” for either case. Isn’t this religious ecstasy? Please strive to keep firm faith.

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo

About this project

Promises

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Dec. 20, 2025

With Nichiren’s boundless compassion, “Namu Myōhōrengekyō” will be heard forever even beyond the ten thousand year-period. It has the merit of curing the “blindness” of all the people in Japan, blocking the way to hell. This merit is superior to those of Dengyō, T’ien-t’ai, Nāgārjuna, and Kāśyapa. Practice for a hundred years in the Pure Land is not worth the merit of chanting the daimoku for one day in this defiled world. Propagation of the daimoku in a two thousand year-period following the death of the Buddha is not worth as much as spreading the daimoku for even a short while in the Latter Age of Degeneration.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude

About this project

AI Contribution, Blog, Daily Dharma

The Illustrated Daily Dharma

I’m considering using Google’s AI to illustrate Rev. Shinkyo Warner’s Daily Dharma. Here’s some examples. (Click on image for full-size.)

To see a Buddha is as difficult
As to see an udumbara[-flower].
To avert a misfortune is also difficult.

These verses are sung by two sons of a king in a story told by the Buddha in Chapter Twenty-Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, the boys have heard the Dharma from a previous Buddha and are asking permission from their parents to leave home and follow that Buddha. The legend of the udumbara flower is that it only blooms every 3000 years. Meeting a Buddha is not to be taken for granted. However, it is still important to remember the ties of our families. Rather than leaving in secret from their home, the sons’ asking permission from their parents creates more benefits. The King and Queen accompany their sons and learn the Wonderful Dharma. As Bodhisattvas it is important to use our relationships wisely as we lead all beings to enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

The Buddha is great, but compared to the Lotus Sutra He is like the light of a firefly in front of the sun and moon. When compared in terms of height, the Buddha is like the earth while the Lotus Sutra reaches the heavens. If making offerings to the Buddha has such great merit, how much more so does one gain by making offerings to the Lotus Sutra?

Nichiren wrote this passage in a Reply to Lord Ueno (Ueno-dono Gohenji). When we encounter someone we consider great because of their fame, their wisdom, or anything else that leads them to be dear to us, our natural inclination is to show our gratitude to them by offering them gifts or services. When we learn about the Buddha, his life and what he taught us, even from a distance of 2500 years, we cannot help but be grateful for everything he has done to benefit us and all beings. But, as Nichiren instructs, when we realize the treasure of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, and how it is the embodiment of the Ever-Present Buddha who continues to teach all beings through all worlds and all time, our gratitude to it is even greater. We make offerings to the Sūtra through our practice, our determination not to allow suffering to dictate what we do, but to cultivate the wisdom and compassion within us, and repay the Ever-Present Buddha with the enlightenment of all beings.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

There is a daughter of Dragon-King Sāgara [among those whom I taught]. She is eight years old. She is clever. She knows the karmas of all living beings. She obtained dhāraṇīs. She keeps all the treasury of the profound and hidden core expounded by the Buddhas. She entered deep into dhyāna-concentration, and understood all teachings. She aspired for Bodhi in a kṣana, and reached the stage of irrevocability. She is eloquent without hindrance. She is compassionate towards all living beings just as a mother is towards her babe. She obtained all merits. Her thoughts and words are wonderful and great. She is compassionate, humble, gentle and graceful. She [has already been qualified to] attain Bodhi[, and to become a Buddha quickly].

The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī gives this description in Chapter Twelve of the Lotus Sūtra. This is his response to the question of whether any of the beings in the sea whom he taught will become a Buddha quickly. Those hearing his answer did not expect that a woman, much less a girl, much less a nonhuman being such as a dragon could reach the same enlightenment as the Buddha. Mañjuśrī’s response shows that all beings have within us the capability of developing the qualities that allow us to see things as they are and benefit all beings.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Using Google’s Gemini I upload a reference image showing the two panel format and style. I then prompt Gemini:

Use the uploaded photo as guideline for two-panel style

Reproduce this text verbatim (the first paragraph is a quote, second a commentary and third is smaller credit line) and create an illustration

Here I add the text of the Daily Dharma.

Takes less than a minute to create one of these.

The three examples illustrate that Gemini is not consistent in following the reference style, but the quality of the product is undeniable.

Promises

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Dec. 19, 2025

QUESTION: If someone chanted Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō without understanding its meaning will the benefit of understanding still be received?

ANSWER: When a baby nurses, it does not comprehend the taste; nevertheless, it receives the benefits of the milk naturally.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra

About this project

Promises

Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Dec. 18, 2025

[T]he titles of various Buddhas and sūtras are expedient teachings, which were opened to reveal the true one by the Lotus Sūtra. The five-character daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra is the one that opened them to reveal the true teaching, and therefore we should chant the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra

About this project

On the Journey to a Place of Treasures