太虛=Tai-xu; 法華經=the Lotus Sutra; 眾生成佛=all sentient beings can become the Buddha; 佛知見=the Knowing and Seeing of the Buddha; 一乘=One Vehicle; 法界圓覺宗=the perfect enlightenment of the Dharma Realm
Venerable Tai-xu was a great master in modern Chinese Buddhism, he has written many commentaries on Buddhist texts, including those on the Lotus Sutra. In this article, we discuss his thought of the Lotus Sutra, which shows his specific understanding. Before the exposition of the sentences, he suggested three issues to be solved, surrounding the possibility of every sentient being to be the Buddha. Tai-xu’s Exposition on the Lotus Sutra is a work based on Kui-ji’s A Commentary on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra written in Tang Dynasty. Kui-ji maintained that some kinds of sentient being cannot become the Buddha forever, however, Tai-xu confirmed the wisdom potentiality of each sentient being to become the Buddha. As regards the analysis of the structure of this sutra, he suggested “the teaching, displaying, making understood and making enlightened the knowing and seeing of the Buddha” as the main theme of this sutra, and based on that he showed the whole process of Buddha’s leading all sentient beings into the wonderful dharma of One Vehicle. Since Tai-xu regarded the “the Knowing and Seeing of the Buddha” as the most important concept in this sutra, the exposition of it became the first task. The used his specific idea of “the perfect enlightenment of the Dharma Realm” to interpret this concept, and showed that the Knowing and Seeing of the Buddha is the same thing as the Suchness or Dharma nature, Buddhahood, Tathāgata-garbha, the wonderful dharma of One Vehicle, etc. Althought the Buddhahood is equally owned by the Buddha and all sentient beings, due to the covering effect of ignorance the latter cannot realize this meaning. To make all the sentient beings realize the Knowing and Seeing of the Buddha is the only one purpose for the Buddha to appear on the earth.
