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Acknowledgements

Einosuke Akiya

IN January of 1994 the Soka Gakkai, hoping to make available toscholars of Buddhism throughout the world facsimile editions ofimportant fragments of the original Sanskrit text of the Lotus Sutra,
along with romanized versions of the texts, set up a committee for thepublications of such facsimile editions. This marked the start of the present project. The committee entrusted details regarding its researches,
public relations and editing procedures to the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP) in Tokyo.
Since then, eight years have passed. In May, 1997, Sanskrit Lotus
Sutra Fragments from the Lüshun Museum Collection (Lotus Sutra
Manuscript Series 1) was published, followed in November of 1998
by Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from the National Archives ofNepal (No. 4-21), Facsimile Edition (Series 2-1), in May of 2000 byFragments of a Manuscript of the Saddharmapuˆ∂ar¥kasËtra fromKhådaliq (Series 3), and in May of 2001 by Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript from the National Archives of Nepal (No. 4-21), Romanized Text1 (Series 2-2). Much to our gratification, these publications were wellreceived by scholars throughout the world who are concerned with
Indian and Buddhist studies and matters pertaining to Buddhist bibliography, and the initial objective of our series was thus achieved. As
sponsors of the project, we are deeply grateful to all those who contributed to this success.
The project to produce the present publication, Sanskrit Lotus
Sutra Manuscripts from Cambridge University Library (Add. 1682 andAdd. 1683), originated from this background, and proceeded in the following manner.
Shortly after the initiation of the project, members of IOP or its affiliated centre in Europe, Institute of Oriental Philosophy European Centre(IOPEC), paid a number of visits to Craig Jamieson, keeper of Sanskrit
manuscripts, Cambridge University Library, and were shown the manuscripts of the Sanskrit Lotus Sutra in the library’s collection. In May of1998, a representative of IOP responsible for the facsimile project visit162

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ed Cambridge and arranged for the publication of facsimiles of manuscripts Add. 1682 and Add. 1683. In May of 2000, the arrangements forthe actual photographing of these manuscripts were made by trained
personnel of both parties. In August of that year, colour photographs ofthe two manuscripts were produced by the library’s Photography
Department and sent to Japan the following month. In the latter part of2000 and the first part of 2001, the photo plates were made, and thewhole process was completed in 2002.
Cambridge University Library preserves in its collection and makes
available to the public a number of highly important materials, including many Sanskrit texts found in Nepal in the 1870s by Daniel Wright(1833–1902) and later by Cecil Bendall (1856–1906). Bendall’s Catalogue constitutes a fitting monument to the importance of these labours.
The texts reproduced in the present volume, Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscripts from Cambridge University Library (Add. 1682 and Add. 1683),
are among the oldest of the Nepalese-Tibetan manuscripts in thelibrary’s collection and are of vital importance for textual studies of theLotus Sutra. Add. 1682 and Add. 1683 were used as the original texts
for the Hendrik Kern translation of the Lotus Sutra, The Saddharmapuˆ∂ar¥ka, or The Lotus of the True Law, Sacred Books of the East 21(Oxford 1884), and Add. 1683 was used for the collation of the KernNanjio edition of the Sanskrit text, Hendrik Kern and Bunyiu Nanjio,eds., Saddharmapuˆ∂ar¥ka, Bibliotheca Buddhica 10 (St Petersburg
1908–12). The publication of facsimile editions of these important texts
in the initial years of the twenty-first century is an event of deep significance and a cause for congratulations.
During the period leading up to publication, we were fortunate inhaving the warm support and cooperation of Deputy Librarian D. J.
Hall, Craig Jamieson, and others associated with Cambridge University
Library. The members of the Photography Department in particular, inspite of their busy schedule, obliged us by producing beautiful colour
photographs of the manuscripts. I wish to express special thanks fortheir help. In addition, Professor Hirofumi Toda of the University ofTokushima in Japan, an authority in Sanskrit Lotus Sutra manuscript
studies, undertook the task of editorial supervision for us. The notations
appearing at the lower right of the facsimile edition indicating the corresponding page and line in the Kern-Nanjio edition are all based onmaterials provided by Professor Toda, for which we offer sincerethanks.
I would like to close by once more acknowledging the debt of gratitude we owe to all those who contributed to the success of this project. IJ/Orient/02 03.1.17 1:26 PM ページ 164

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might add that, as a continuation of the project, we are now making
plans to publish a volume entitled “Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscriptfrom the University of Tokyo General Library (No. 414), Romanized
Text”, and another entitled “Tangut Lotus Sutra from the St Petersburg
Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences”.
26 January 2002*This article is reprinted from the Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscripts fromCambridge University Library (Add. 1682 and Add. 1683), Facsimile Edition (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 2002).