The ''Threefold Lotus Sutra'' (法華三部経

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: fǎ huá sān bù jīng, Jp: Hokke-sambu-kyo) is the composition of three complementary

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an a ...

s that together form the "three-part Dharma flower sutra": :1. The ''

Innumerable Meanings Sutra The ''Innumerable Meanings Sutra'' also known as the ''Sutra of Infinite Meanings'' (Sanskrit: अनन्त निर्देश सूत्र, ''Ananta Nirdeśa Sūtra''; ; Japanese: ''Muryōgi Kyō''; Korean: ''Muryangeui Gyeong'') is a ...

'' (無量義經 Ch: Wú Liáng Yì Jīng, Jp: Muryōgi Kyō),

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

to the ''Lotus Sutra''. :2. The ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

'' (妙法蓮華經 Ch: Miào Fǎ Lián Huá Jīng, Jp: Myōhō Renge Kyō) itself. :3. The '' Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue''/''

Samantabhadra Meditation Sutra The ''Samantabhadra Meditation Sūtra'' (; 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 ...

'' (普賢經 Ch: Pǔ Xián Jīng, Jp: Fugen Kyō),

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring c ...

to the ''Lotus Sutra''. They have been known collectively as the ''Threefold Lotus Sutra'' in China and Japan since ancient times.

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References

* * * * * Mahayana sutras Mahayana texts Nichiren Buddhism {{Buddhist-text-stub