Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra

Statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva on Mount Emei, with his six-tusked elephants.

The Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra (traditional Chinese: 觀普賢菩薩行法經; simplified Chinese: 观普贤菩萨行法经; pinyin: guān pǔxián púsà xíngfǎ jīng; Japanese: 普賢経; rōmaji fugen-kyō; Vietnamese: Kinh Quán Phổ Hiền Bồ Tát Hạnh Pháp; Korean: 관보현보살행법경; Gwanbohyeonbosalhaengbeop Gyeong), also known as the Sūtra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue, is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra teaching meditation and repentance practices.

The extant Chinese text of the meditation sutra was translated by Dharmamitra between 424 and 442 CE (T09n277).[1] The Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra is often included in the so-called "Threefold Lotus Sutra," along with the Lotus Sutra and the Innumerable Meanings Sutra. It is not known, however, when or by whom the sutra was first recited, but it is considered by many Mahayana sects to be a continuation (an epilogue) of the Buddha's teachings found within the Lotus Sutra.[2] This sutra is believed to have followed two earlier translations, including one by Kumarajiva, which are now lost; no original Sanskrit translation has been found.[1]

  1. ^ a b Reeves 2008, p. 4
  2. ^ Niwano 1976, p. 423