INTRODUCTION.

The Saddharma-pundarîka Lotus of the True Law is one of the nine Dharmas religious laws/teachings known by the titles of: 1. Ashtasahasrikâ Pragñâpâramitâ; 2. Ganda-vyûha; 3. Dasabhûmîsvara; 4. Samâdhi-râga; 5. Lañkâvatâra; 6. Saddharma-pundarîka; 7. Tathâgata-guhyaka; 8. Lalita-vistara; 9. Suvarna-prabhâsa.

These nine works, to which divine worship is offered, embrace (to use the words of the first investigator of Nepalese Buddhism 1)) ‘in the first, an abstract of the philosophy of Buddhism 2); in the seventh, a treatise on the esoteric doctrines; and in the seven remaining ones, a full illustration of every point of the ordinary doctrine and discipline, taught in the easy and effective way of example and anecdote, interspersed with occasional instances of dogmatic instruction. With the exception of the first, these works are therefore of a narrative kind; but interwoven with much occasional speculative matter.’

As to the form, it would seem that all the Dharmas may rank as narrative works, which, however, does not exclude in some of them a total difference in style of composition and character. The Lalita-vistara e.g. has the movement of a real epic, the Saddharma-pundarîka has not. The latter bears the character of a dramatic performance, an undeveloped mystery play, in which the chief interlocutor, not the only one, is Sâkyamuni, the Lord. It consists of a series of dialogues, brightened by the magic effects of a would-be supernatural scenery.

1 B. H. Hodgson, Essays on the Language, Literature, and Religion of Nepál and Tibet, p. 13; cf. p. 49.
2 As the Perfect Pragñâ wisdom is she who has produced all Tathâgatas Buddhas, the mother of all Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas solitary enlightened ones, and Disciples (see Cowell and Eggeling, Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series, VIII, p. 3), we must infer that the work is chiefly intended to set forth the principia rerum first principles of things. It begins with chaos (pradhâna primordial matter or pragñâ); and hence its place at the commencement of the list. We may, perhaps, best designate it as an abstract of mystic-natural or materialistic philosophy.