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So and So
Carlita
Bastian please! Save us!United States Veteran
In the Lotus Sutra, sometimes when the disciples are naming the different Buddhas, they'd say and "so-and-so" for example:
After my parinivana
So-and-so will become a Buddha
The world he inspires
Will be exactly like mine today
And so on pg. 154 in the BDK English Tripataka translation.
Why do they say so-and-so?
Does it mean there isnt an appropriate English translation?
Is that phrased used in the suttas? (From what I read, it isnt; however, I am not well versed in them)
Thanks guys
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Comments
@Carlita , are you asking what the term "So and so" means ?
I'm thinking they said So and So instead of saying the name of whoever the authors are translating. Kind of like putting Jane Smith instead of Julia Manuel. That or their isn't a good translation so that "person" is named So and So instead of a name or who/what he/she is.
Naw. Who are they referring to when they say So and So? It's not mentioned as we would say "ex cetera."
Could you post a link to the text you are talking about?
I couldn't find it anywhere else. I have the BDK version but Burton Watson has somewhat the same wording. Not perfect.
The life span of this buddha will be sixty thousand kalpas,
his Correct Law will endure twice that time,
his Counterfeit Law twice that time again,
and when his Law is extinguished, heavenly and human beings will grieve.
The five hundred monks
will one by one become buddhas,
all with the same name, Universal Brightness.
Each will bestow a prophecy on his successor, saying,
“After I have entered extinction,
you,so-and-so, will become a buddha.
The world in which you carry out conversions
will be like mine today.”
The adornment and purity of their lands,
their various transcendental powers,
their bodhisattvas and voice-hearers,
their Correct Laws and Counterfeit Laws,
the number of kalpas in their life spans—
all will be as I have described above.
Kashyapa, now you know the future
of these five hundred who are free in mind.
The remainder of the multitude of voice-hearers
will also be like this."
-Lotus Sutra
It's on Page 189
they mean 'anyone and everyone' rather than having to name anyone, they refer to anyone who might cross their path as 'so-and-so'. It's like I heard someone say in a shop, "I'm sorry madam, we can't give a refund on this item, if we did, we'd have to give one to any so-and-so." The translation is probably as correct as it could be. This line is a give-away:
The names won't matter after Enlightenment; they will all be 'Buddha'. Before Enlightenment, they will be 'individual' but too numerous to name as such.
Yes, that sounds right.