Eternal Buddha

In East Asian Buddhism the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra is regarded as the eternal Buddha. It is a popular notion, which may have contributed to the tathagatagarbha doctrine, although the notion of an eternal Buddha is not explicitly stated in the Lotus Sutra.

The belief in the Eternal Buddha transcends through time and is commonly associated with Shakyamuni Buddha, but can also refer to both his past and future incarnations. However, no exact definition of the Eternal Buddha is defined in the Lotus Sutra, which was also revealed by Siddhartha Gautama; thereby making open interpretations to various religious groups.

In east-Asian Buddhism, the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra is regarded as the eternal Buddha. "The Tathagata´s Lifespan" chapter (ch 16) of the Lotus Sutra portrays the Buddha as indicating that he became awakened countless aeons ("kalpas") ago. The sutra itself, however, does not directly employ the phrase "eternal Buddha".

In China the Lotus Sutra was associated with the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, which propagates the tathagatagarbha-doctrine, and with the Awakening of Faith. The Mahaparinirvana Sutra presents the Buddha as eternal, and equates him with the Dharmakaya.

The Lotus Sutra itself does hardly seem to accept the tathagatagarbha-teachings. According to Paul Williams, this association may be explained by the systematization of the Lotus Sutra teachings by the Tiantai school, using teachings from other schools "to equate the Buddha of the Lotus Sutra with the ultimate truth and to teach a cosmic Buddha."

The Chinese Tiantai scholar Zhiyi [天台] (538–597) divided the sutra into the "trace teaching" about the historical Shakyamuni Buddha (ch 1-14) and the "origin teaching" (ch 15-28) revealing the original Buddha of inconceivable life span. Zhiyi viewed Shakyamuni Buddha of Ch 16 of the Lotus Sutra as a unification of the three Buddha bodies, possessing all three bodies, whereas other sutras are taught from the standpoint of a single Buddha body.

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