The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Luther, Martin S 267

lotus An aquatic flowering plant of special reli gious significance in H INDUISM and B UDDHISM . The range of meanings connected with the lotus and its bloom are extensive. In connection with L AKSHMI , the Hindu GOD DESS , the lotus symbolizes wealth, beauty, and fer tility. One common image shows Lakshmi stand ing on an open lotus and holding two lotus blooms in her upraised hands. In T ANTRISM the outline of an open lotus appears in many YANTRAS and MANDALAS , which are symbols for the forces of the universe. Lotus forms also define the various CAKRAS , which are energy centers of the human person. Because the lotus grows from mud but remains clean, it sometimes symbolizes a going beyond or transcendence of the world. Examples include lotuses in association with the Buddha Amitabha (A MIDA ) and the BODHISATTVA known as A VALOK ITESVARA . Amitabha and Avalokitesvara shower gifts of compassion on human beings but remain untouched by the world. The lotus is also asso ciated with YOGA . The cross-legged sitting posture that yoga practitioners frequently adopt is the well known lotus position. Lotus Sutra A Mahayana Buddhist scripture. The Tendai and N ICHIREN schools of Japanese B UD DHISM consider the Lotus Sutra absolute truth. The Lotus Sutra was written in Sanskrit around the first century C . E . and translated into Chinese in the third century. It develops a very high view of the B UDDHA . It teaches that the Buddha is an eternal being that appeared in history in the form of the Buddha Sakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama). It also invites people to attain enlightenment not by following the path of T HERAVADA B UDDHISM but by relying on the grace and favor of various BOD HISATTVAS . Chapter 25 is particularly important; it celebrates the bodhisattva A VALOKITESVARA . The Japanese nationalist Buddhist leader Nichiren (1222–82) established a school of Bud dhism centered on chanting the phrase “Namu Myoho-Renge-Kyo,” roughly, “Hail to the marvel ous teaching of the Lotus Sutra. ”

Luther, Martin (1483–1546) German priest whose disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church began the R EFORMATION . LIFE Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany. His father, a businessman in the mining industry, sent Martin to school, with the intention of having him become a lawyer. But one day in July 1505 Luther was walking through a severe thunder storm. According to tradition, he called out to the patron saint of miners, “Saint Ann, save me, and I shall become a monk!” Having survived the storm, he entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. Ordained to the priesthood, he was sent in 1508 to the recently founded University of Wittenberg, where he soon became professor of the B IBLE . During this period, Luther was wracked with worries about the certainty of his SALVATION . How could he do enough to make satisfaction to G OD for his SINS ? Reading a passage from the apostle P AUL ’s letter to the Romans helped alleviate his anxieties: “The one who is righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1.17). Reflection on this passage and others led Luther to his characteristic insistence that human beings are saved by God’s GRACE received through FAITH . In Luther’s day the Roman Catholic Church had a virtual monopoly on religion in Europe ( see R OMAN C ATHOLICISM ). Luther unintentionally ended this monopoly and started the Protestant Reforma tion. In 1517 a preacher named Johannes Tetzel had begun to sell what were known as plenary indulgences in a nearby town. They were called plenary indulgences because Tetzel promised that if people bought his indulgences, they would receive forgiveness for all their sins. Disturbed by this practice, Luther posted 95 theses or statements for debate on the door of the Castle Church at Wit tenberg on October 31. The theses were published elsewhere, and the debates quickly grew to include fundamentals of church teaching and authority. Luther’s differences with the Catholic Church of his day proved to be profound and irreconcilable. He was excommunicated on January 3, 1521. Technically an outlaw, Luther received sup port from several German princes. From May 1521