Sadāparibhūta

Sadāparibhūta Bodhisattva, Never Disparaging Bodhisattva, (Ch: 常不輕菩薩 cháng bù qīng púsà; Jp: Jofukyo Bosatsu) appears in Lotus Sutra Chapter 20 "Never Disparaging" which describes the practices of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, who lived in the Middle Period of the Law (Ch: 像法 xiàng fă) of the Buddha Awesome Sound King (Ch: 威音王如來 Wēi yīn wáng rúlái).^[1] He persevered in the face of persecution for the sake of the correct teaching, and finally attained Buddhahood. Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was Shakyamuni Buddha in one of his past lifetimes.

Etymology

The name of Sadāparibhūta is thought to mean never despising (Skt. sadā-aparibhūta: always, not despising). However it can also be translated as sadā-paribhūta: always despised.^[2] According to Hurvitz, "It is possible that the name is a false sankritization of a Prakrit form going back to sadāparibhavitā, nom. s. of sadāparibhavitr, hence ever disgracing or never disgracing, of which, of course, the former is not possible."^[3]

Practice

Sadāparibhūta Bodhisattva (Never Disparaging Bodhisattva) was for many years cursed and humiliated, beaten with sticks and staves, and pelted with tiles and stones by countless monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen because he venerated them by uttering the twenty-four characters that read: "I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you are all practicing the bodhisattva way and are certain to attain Buddhahood."^[4]

See also

• Mahayana
• Nichiren Buddhism
• Tiantai

References

1. Kubo, Tsugunari; Yuyama, Akira, trans. (2007). The Lotus Sutra (PDF). Berkeley, Calif.: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. pp. 265–270. ISBN 978-1-886439-39-9.
2. Zimmermann, Michael (2002), A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. Biblotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica VI (PDF), Tokyo: The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, p. 77, archived from the original (PDF) on November 11, 2013
3. Hurvitz, Leon (1971-1972). The Lotus Sutra in East Asia: A Review of Hokke Shiso, Monumenta Serica 29, 729
4. Watson, Burton (tr.). The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Chapters. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai 2009. ISBN 978-4-412-01409-1, p. 312

Bibliography

• Murano, Senchu (1967). An Outline of the Lotus Sūtra, Contemporary Religions in Japan 8/1, 61-63
• Shinjo Suguro, Nichiren Buddhist International Center, trans. (1998): Introduction to the Lotus Sutra, Fremont, Calif.: Jain Publishing Company. ISBN 0875730787
• The English Buddhist Dictionary Committee (2002). The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism. Tōkyō: Soka Gakkai. ISBN 978-4-412-01205-9.