Acknowledgements
Since 1997, the Soka Gakkai has published romanized texts and facsimile editions ofthe Lotus Sutra under the title “Lotus Sutra Manuscript Series”. The publications havebeen greeted with acclaim by universities, academic institutions, and scholars both inJapan and abroad. As the first of the series, Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from theLüshun Museum Collection, Facsimile Edition and Romanized Text was published on 3May 1997. The publication series numbers six with eight volumes (no. 2 consists of one
replica and two romanized texts), the latest publication of which was the Xixia Versionof the Lotus Sutra from the Collection of St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute ofOriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (25 March 2005).
My previous work, Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from University of Tokyo
General Library (No. 414), Romanized Text, was published as no. 5 of the series (25November 2003) under the guidance of the late Dr. Hirofumi Toda, Professor Emeritusof the University of Tokushima. In its appendix I, “Memorandum: A Brief History ofSanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript Studies”, I discussed Dr. Toda’s research in his lateryears, namely, the feasibility of grouping Nepalese manuscripts. My point was that theresearch in this field will bear fruit, not through discussions of the sutra texts, but by theconstant publication of romanized texts and as a result of the meticulous efforts oftransliteration within the framework of a long-term research vision.
Guided by my objective to publish at least this romanized text as a sequel to theLotus Sutra Manuscript Series, I set out to romanize manuscript no. 6 from the Royal
Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. It was also my response to Dr. Toda’s hopethat R and P3 be published after T8.
At the end of March 2005, I submitted my romanized draft to the Institute ofOriental Philosophy (IOP), and requested Mr. Yasuo Morita, then Chairman of theBoard of Trustees, and Dr. Yoichi Kawada, Director of the IOP, to publish the text. TheIOP and the Soka Gakkai warmly considered the request, as part of their ongoing efforts
to promote manuscript research. In the early autumn of 2006, they officially authorized
a second round of publications of the Lotus texts, a project that became much larger inscale than I had originally anticipated. The project will result in the following
publications within the five-year period that began in April 2006:(1) Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from the Royal Asiatic Society of GreatBritain and Ireland (No. 6), Romanized Text;(2) Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from the Société Asiatique (No. 2),
Romanized Text;

(3) Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from the British Library (Or. 2204), Facsimile
Edition;(4) Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from the British Library (Or. 2204),
Romanized Text; and(5) Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from Cambridge University Library (Add.
1684), Romanized Text.
The texts covered by the project are indispensable for research on the Nepalese
Sanskrit manuscripts of the Lotus Sutra because, (1) is the manuscript used as the firstoriginal text of the Kern-Nanjio edition; (2) is the manuscript used as the original of theFrench version by Eugène Burnouf (1801-1852); the manuscript to be published as (3)and (4) shows the typical reading of a palm-leaf manuscript from Nepal; and (5) is amanuscript used as the original for collating the Kn edition as well as the English
version by Hendrik Kern (1833-1917).
The most important aspect of the new project is the arrangement and classificationof the Nepalese palm-leaf and paper manuscripts into groups according to lineage and,in due course, to match to the extent possible the identification of each manuscript to its
indigenous group. Through these measures, one can present a clear and long-term
perspective towards the realization of a critical edition of the Nepalese Sanskrit Lotus
Sutra. The conceptual foundation upon which this undertaking was based was initiallycreated by Dr. Toda. It is, therefore, my great pleasure to present a romanized text of theLotus Sutra in book form to experts and colleagues in Japan and abroad.
This volume has been realized as a result of the warm understanding and support
from many different people. First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt
appreciation to Mr. Daisaku Ikeda, President of the Soka Gakkai International, whom I
regard as my mentor in life. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr.
Einosuke Akiya, former President of the Soka Gakkai, and to Mr. Minoru Harada,President of the Soka Gakkai. I also extend my gratitude to the staff of the IOP, inparticular, Mr. Yasuo Morita, former Chairman of the IOP Board of Trustees, Dr.
Yoichi Kawada, current IOP Director and Chairman, and Mr. Yukito Idogawa, IOP
Secretary-General.
Furthermore, I am deeply indebted to Mr. Noriyoshi Mizufune of the Soka
Gakkai’s Office of International Affairs, concurrently IOP researcher, who kindly
undertook numerous tasks related to public relations, general coordination, and theediting of the publication. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mrs. Alison
Ohta, Curator of the Royal Asiatic Society, and my deepest respect for Mrs. KathyLazenbatt, Librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society, who kindly granted permission topublish the manuscript as a romanized text.
I also wish to thank Prof. Seishi Karashima and Associate Prof. Noriyuki Kudo at
the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, whowere kind enough to provide me with an excellent copy of the manuscript. I shouldreport that the quality of this copy made otherwise indiscernible letters legible, animprovement which was reflected in the current edition. I am also grateful to Mr. DylanScudder, who kindly edited English portions of this volume.
Finally, I dedicate this edition to the late Dr. Hirofumi Toda, and report to him
today that our new project has just begun.
(In his memory, I wrote a 31-syllable Japanese poem on the way home from his
hometown, Chikushino, Fukuoka, in April 2004, eight months after his passing inAugust 2003.)
Chikaitono tanichiru sakura hirowanto
Hokkeno fumini inochi hakarite(Out of the door / with the pledge to succeed,I try in vain to pick up cherry petals
falling on the field,
measuring life / against the words / of the Lotus Sutra.)Haruaki Kotsuki
Researcher in charge of manuscript studies
Institute of Oriental Philosophy
Kyoto, 11 February 2007