Sutra kwiatu lotosu cudownego prawa, zwój drugi, O przypowieści, rozdział trzeci

The Lotus Sutra (The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law) is one of the most important and most well-known texts of Mahayana Buddhism. It has been one of the most popular texts for many schools of Buddhism in Japan, especially Tendai and Nichiren, but also Zen practicioners use fragments of it for daily chanting practice. From the doctrinal point of view in this sutra the most important is the teaching of One Vehicle (ekayāna, or ichijō in Japanese), which unites all the Buddhist teachings, because all the different paths lead to enlightenment. Buddha guides people using different methods, so called upāya kauśalya, or hōben in Japanese, meaning skillful means, in order to ease their sufering and make them understand the ultimate truth. These are also the main subjects of the third chapter, The Parable of the Burning House, one of the most famous Buddhist parables, often used also as a subject in art and literature. In this chapter Buddha tells a story about the wealthy man who in order to lure his children out of the dangerous, burning house promises to give them many beautiful carts, like they always wanted to have, and when they finally leave the house, he gives them one wonderful vehicle. The Taishō Tripitaka is the definitive edition of Chinese canon of Buddhist texts, edited and published by Japanese scholars beginning in the Taishō era (1912–1926), and since then used as a basis for study and translation works. The translation in this volume is based on Taishō text, as published in a series containing Chinese Buddhist texts accompanied by a yomikudashi bun transcription, translation into modern Japanese, studies and commentaries, Butten Kōza. This is the first full and annotated translation of The Parable of the Burning House chapter into Polish language.