The Lotus Sutra
Chapter 22 — Entrustment (嘱累品)
Embedded Files
Part A — Traditional Summary (Text-Based)
In Chapter 22, the Buddha formally entrusts the Lotus Sutra to the bodhisattvas, especially those who emerged from the earth. He exhorts them to receive, uphold, read, recite, explain, copy, and widely spread the sutra after his passing. The Buddha emphasizes that wherever the Lotus Sutra is practiced, taught, or upheld, that place should be regarded as a site of the Buddha’s presence—a place worthy of offerings and reverence. The chapter concludes with the bodhisattvas accepting the entrustment and vowing to carry out the Buddha’s command without fear or hesitation.
Part B — Lesson-Focused Summary (Insight-Based)
The essential lesson of this chapter is transfer of responsibility without withdrawal of presence. Entrustment does not mean abandonment; rather, it marks the maturation of practitioners into full agents of the Dharma. The Buddha no longer positions himself as the sole teacher, but as the source whose work continues through others. This chapter teaches that the Buddha’s activity persists precisely through those who uphold the sutra. By declaring that any place where the Lotus Sutra is practiced becomes a Buddha-field, the Buddha collapses the distinction between sacred and ordinary space. Responsibility for the Dharma transforms both the practitioner and the environment itself.
Part C — Core Lesson Takeaways (With Chinese Terms)
Entrustment marks maturity, not abandonment (嘱累非退转)
Responsibility increases as capability ripens.The Buddha remains present through the Dharma (佛住于法中)
Presence is maintained through practice and transmission.Places of practice become Buddha-fields (行法之处即佛土)
Sacred space is created through conduct.Receiving the sutra is receiving the Buddha’s work (受经即承佛事)
Transmission is participation, not substitution.Entrustment requires fearlessness and resolve (受嘱须无畏)
Courage replaces reliance on direct guidance.The Dharma continues through human agency (法赖人弘)
Awakening must be carried forward consciously.
Key Concepts (English + Chinese)
Entrustment — 嘱累
Receiving and Upholding — 受持
Transmission — 流通
Buddha-field — 佛土
Presence of the Buddha — 佛在
Responsibility for the Dharma — 护法之责
Key Characters / Beings (English + Chinese)
Śākyamuni Buddha — 释迦牟尼佛
Formally entrusts the Lotus Sutra to future practitioners.Bodhisattvas from the Earth — 从地涌出菩萨
Primary recipients of the entrustment.All Bodhisattvas — 诸菩萨
Share responsibility for transmission.Future Practitioners — 后世修行者
Those who will uphold the sutra after the Buddha’s passing.The Great Assembly — 大众
Witnesses the entrustment.
Buddha’s Direct Instructions for Practitioners
1. Practitioners are instructed to uphold and spread the Lotus Sutra (当受持流通法华经)
Transmission is a direct command, not an option.
2. Practitioners are instructed to regard places of practice as sacred (行法之处当作佛塔)
Reverence is due wherever the Dharma is upheld.
3. Practitioners are instructed to accept responsibility without hesitation (受嘱不应退缩)
Entrustment implies readiness.
4. Practitioners are instructed to see themselves as continuators of the Buddha’s work (自任佛事)
The Dharma continues through them.
5. Practitioners are instructed to uphold the sutra for the benefit of future beings (为后世众生弘法)
Transmission is intergenerational compassion.
Page updated
Report abuse