Kodachi publishes paper on Lotus Sutra

Posted August 5, 1999

The Rev. Zuigaku Kodachi, professor emeritus of Japanese language and literature at Lewis & Clark College, published two articles on the history of the Lotus Sutra, in Lotus, a Japanese academic journal focusing on religion.

In the Buddhist religion, the Lotus Sutra represents the essence of the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha.

The first part of the Lotus Sutra was completed about 50 years before the Christian era, according to Kodachi, a time when the Silk Road was a thriving international highway that provided the means for vast trade and commerce. Kodachi offers a sweeping survey of the geographical area, including China, India, the countless kingdoms and principalities along the Silk Road, the Middle East, Greece and the Roman Empire. To portray the setting in which the Lotus Sutra was created, Kodachi details the major political, commercial and economic developments of the time.

He is completing a third article about the Tocharians. Believed to be among the earliest practitioners of Buddhism, Tocharians were Indo-Europeans who resided in Western China more than 2,000 years ago. He plans to include his articles in a future book on the history of the Lotus Sutra.

Kodachi spoke on the history of the Lotus Sutra at the Buddhist Assembly in Los Angeles, Calif., in June. Last November, he addressed the Buddhist Assembly in Sacramento, Calif. In May 1998, he spoke on the history of the Lotus Sutra at the Assembly of Nichieren Buddhists of Europe at the University of London.

Kodachi, a native of Japan, is a Nichieren Buddhist minister. He joined Lewis & Clark in 1963, and he retired in 1996.

Lewis & Clark College, founded in 1867, is a highly selective college of liberal arts and sciences that draws students from throughout the nation and throughout the world. The largest independent college in Oregon, Lewis & Clark ranks among the top 10 undergraduate colleges in the nation for its international education program.

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