The Authenticity of Sutras
The word “authenticity” of a doctrine refers to “originality” and “truthfulness”. When applied to Buddhist teachings, authenticity is about how a doctrine accords with the final Buddhist goal of overcoming sufferings and attaining enlightenment.
Disagreement between Theravada and Mahayana on authenticity of sutras
As academic sources reveal, about 100 years after the Buddha’s passing, a dispute took place between two groups in the Buddhist Council. The predecessors of today’s Theravada and Mahayana branches argued about the extent of truthfulness of the sutras employed by the monks - and which were all recited from memory with no written reference.
The Mahasanghika group (the origin of current Mahayana) disputed the validity of the “Way of the Elder’s” - or the Theravadins - teachings about the Buddha’s intent.
- The dispute centred on the denial of Theravada of the teaching of Buddhanature (a potential for a practitioner to experience Buddhahood as did Shakyamuni Buddha). Theravadins‘ teachings limited the aim of their practice to attaining Arahatship, a state of “spiritual purity” - as necessary to eliminate the cycle of Birth and death.
As detailed in various scholastic sources, the Mahasanghika group rejected the Theravadins teaching of “eliminating the cycle of Birth and Death” - as a teaching which contradicts the teachings of Buddhism, because the Buddha’s intent was to eliminate the suffering in the repeated cycle of rebirth, and not to eliminate rebirth itself.
- Another argument of Mahasanghika was that Theravada’s teaching of “No Rebirth” contradicts the Law of Impermanence.
The Truth of Impermanence teaches that there can be no phase in existence as “permanent”. There is no “Permanent Death”. According to the Buddha’s teachings: living changes into death and death changes into rebirth - in a natural cycle that cannot be stopped and cannot contradict the truth of Impermanence.
Since that time (100 years after the Buddha’s passing) the Theravadins accused the Mahasanghika of providing un-authentic sutras of teachings they did not hear of. The sutras Mahasanghika depended on were the Buddha’s teachings for ordinary people (not for monks-only group), and opened the way for all people to be free from repeated sufferings and for attaining enlightenment.
Theravada Buddhism is a monks-only practice having 250 rules for men and 350 rules for women, excluding ordinary people for such a rigid monastic practice. With the teaching that only monks who achieved spiritual purity (arahatship) can attain “permanent death” - while ordinary people will be continue the cycle of sufferings - this was also rejected by the Mahayana as creating for monks a class of “higher spirituality” - as was the case in pre-Buddhist Brahmin class of ascetics.
With the mounting tension and pressure between the two groups, the Mahayana developed in countries neighbouring India (Tibet, China, Korea) expounding Mahayana Sutra in both oral and written forms. The Lotus Sutra is regarded as the most complete of Mahayana Buddhism
The “criterion of validity” of a text as a Buddhist sutra
All sutras, classified as Theravada or Mahayana - were compiled by the Buddha’s disciples after his passing. This means that all sutras can be described as “teachings attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha”. This can be agreed on as the “common sense argument”.
Validity of the Sutra depends on whether the text of Sutra accords with the spirit of Buddhism, acknowledged as the Three Dharma Seals, Dharma seal | Dictionary of Buddhism | Nichiren Buddhism Library
Applying this “argument of validity”, one can conclude that various interpretations of Theravada and Pre-Lotus Mahayana” are not qualified to be acknowledged as valid. For any text to be consistent with Buddhism - its contents must acknowledge the basic three principles of Impermanence, Sunyata and attaining Enlightenment. The most essential aspect of the Dharma seal is attaining enlightenment, the goal of Buddhism.
It is rather the Lotus Sutra among all others that teaches the possibility of enlightenment of the individual in their current life and present circumstances.
The Irony of “Expiry date” of Buddhist sutras
While the Lotus Sutra predicts its ceaseless future propagation - some Buddhist traditions (who question the authenticity of the Lotus Sutra), themselves believe that their own sutras will become obsolete in the future.
Both Theravada and Pre-Lotus Mahayana traditions set a certain period of years for the “expiry date” of their teachings, and which they regard as “authentic”. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/decline-dharma
A truly authentic teaching would be consistent with the essence of Buddhist spirit of continuity in its power for offering benefit to humanity. This criterion of consistency and universality is taught in the Lotus Sutra, while all Pre-Lotus teachings predict the future decline of Buddhism. Based on this - the only authentic and valid teaching that predicts continuity of Buddhism - is the Lotus Sutra.
As Nichiren stated, without the Lotus Sutra, the long term effect of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment and teachings become meaningless, because Pre-Lotus sutras predict their own ineffectiveness at a future time.
The Completeness of the Lotus Sutra
For hundreds of years, the Lotus Sutra remained as a fantastic text of poetry until the Chinese scholar Tien Tai (c.500 AD) revealed its profoundness and superiority (in terms of capacity to save all people). The study of the sutra gained momentum within a Tientai’s limited circle of monks, but it did not go further than that, and for more than 700 years after Tien Tai - the Lotus Sutra did not find a way of practice among ordinary people, until Nichiren (1222 - 1282) established a concrete way of its practice by ordinary individuals.
The Lotus Sutra offers the potential to test its validity in the daily life of the practitioner. Unlike other Mahayana sutras (which also teach the doctrine of Bodhisattva and Buddhanature but postpone attaining enlightenment to many lifetimes) - the Lotus teachings opens the way for the path of enlightenment to all people in this lifetime, regardless of the individual’s karma and regardless of gender (doctrine, which were not included in pre-Lotus Mahayana).
In the current age of history of Buddhism, for most scholars, the Lotus Sutra gained a status of importance after the widespread propagation of its principles and practice of Nichiren Buddhism world wide, particularly in the second half of the 20th century.
Academic study of the text of the sutra can explain the date of various original documents, such as when they appeared and what translations were made of them. Authenticity in terms of benefit derived from the power of the sutra to transform sufferings and attain enlightenment - is the real proof of the validity of the document.
The Buddha’s compassion led him to teach gradually, and in accordance with his listeners’ capacity. Accordingly, Pre-Lotus sutras are provisional and preparatory. The Lotus Sutra makes use of these teachings expounded earlier, and integrates them in one final teaching of the Buddha. In this way it gives all of the Theravada and Mahayana sutras their function and correct meaning.
“Authenticity” in practical perspective: application to daily life
Authenticity of a doctrine is its truthfulness in what it teaches, and is measured or verified by benefit - or Actual Proof - of its application in daily life.
For example: A medicine, which produces beneficial effects and cures a problem or removes pain or suffering - such a medicine is regarded as authentic (regardless of any other criterion).
As Nichiren described it, authenticity means giving the Actual Proof of validity of teaching in the practice of dailylife.
There are literally millions of experiences of ordinary people, who confidently assert the value they experienced in their daily life through practicing the Lotus Sutra as taught by Nichiren Buddhism. Such confirmation of authenticity of the benefit derived from putting the Sutra in practice - is a fundamental factor that should be taken into account in judging the merits and truthfulness of the Sutra’s doctrines.