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The Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sutra, in chapters 15 and 16, uses a suspenseful dialogue form: chapter 15 raises the question of why the Tathagata, having taught the Dharma for only forty years, has been able to liberate innumerable Bodhisattvas. Then chapter 16 (The Lifespan of the Tathagata) answers that the lifespan of the Tathagata is, in fact, infinite and boundless in both time and space. Previously, in the chapters “The Appearance of the Jeweled Stupa” and “Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth,” the image of millions of transformation bodies of Bodhisattvas rising from the earth, along with poetic images of jeweled stupas and daffodil flowers, evoke the meaning of the unborn and undying, as well as the manifestation of birth and death.
Following this is an introduction to the Vinayapiṭaka (the Discipline Basket), distinguishing between precepts (śīla) and Vinaya (vinaya), and the organization of the sangha (saṅgha) according to the minimum number required:
- Four bhikshus for a legitimate sangha,
- Five members to transmit the bhikshu precepts,
- Ten members for the restoration of offenses requiring sangha action.
The regulations for confession (parivāsa, mānatta, sanghakamma for restoration) and the forms of sanghakamma (sangha karma) include:
- Mindfulness sanghakamma,
- Face-to-face sanghakamma (1–2 people),
- Sangha sanghakamma with levels of single proclamation, double proclamation, and quadruple proclamation.
