Lot Essay
For a full discussion of the Lotus Sutra dedicated in 1667 see lot 338. The dedication scroll lists Konoe Motohiro (1648-1722) as donor of this chapter.
In the frontispiece to Chapter 6 (Jukibon, or Assurance of Future Buddhahood), three disciples kneel in front of Shakyamuni Buddha, their hands pressed together in prayer. They are Maudgalyayana, Subhuti, and Maha-Katyayana. In the lower left corner three lay figures are eating meals served on trays in the presence of a king. This illustrates the following parable from Chapter 6:
Suppose a man came
From a country suffering from famine.
Now he saw the meal of a great king.
He did not take it in doubts and fears.
After he was told to take it by the king,
He took it at once.
We are like the man.
We know the defects of the Lesser Vehicle.
But we do not know how to obtain
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha.1
1. The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, trans. Senchu Murano (Tokyo: Nichiren Shu Headquarters, 1974), pp. 107-8.
In the frontispiece to Chapter 6 (Jukibon, or Assurance of Future Buddhahood), three disciples kneel in front of Shakyamuni Buddha, their hands pressed together in prayer. They are Maudgalyayana, Subhuti, and Maha-Katyayana. In the lower left corner three lay figures are eating meals served on trays in the presence of a king. This illustrates the following parable from Chapter 6:
Suppose a man came
From a country suffering from famine.
Now he saw the meal of a great king.
He did not take it in doubts and fears.
After he was told to take it by the king,
He took it at once.
We are like the man.
We know the defects of the Lesser Vehicle.
But we do not know how to obtain
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha.1
1. The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, trans. Senchu Murano (Tokyo: Nichiren Shu Headquarters, 1974), pp. 107-8.