The Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra is one of the most popular and influential Mahayana sutras, and the basis on which several schools of Buddhism were established.The oldest parts of the text (Chapters 1-9 and 17) were probably written down between 100 BC and 100 AD: most of the text had appeared by 200 AD. The earliest known Sanskrit title for the sutra is the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra, which translates to "the Lotus Flower Formula (or Rule) of Good Dharma." The Lotus Sutra presents itself as a discourse delivered by the Buddha toward the end of his life. The tradition in Mahayana states that the sutra was written down at the time of the Buddha and stored for five hundred years in a realm of nagas. After this they were reintroduced into the human realm at the time of the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir.

The Lotus Sutra is one of the most popular and influential Mahayana sutras, and the basis on which several schools of Buddhism were established.The oldest parts of the text (Chapters 1-9 and 17) were probably written down between 100 BC and 100 AD: most of the text had appeared by 200 AD. The earliest known Sanskrit title for the sutra is the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra, which translates to "the Lotus Flower Formula (or Rule) of Good Dharma." The Lotus Sutra presents itself as a discourse delivered by the Buddha toward the end of his life. The tradition in Mahayana states that the sutra was written down at the time of the Buddha and stored for five hundred years in a realm of nagas. After this they were reintroduced into the human realm at the time of the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir.

The Lotus Sutra (Taisho no. 262), translated by Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama from the fifth-century Chinese version by the scholar-monk Kumarajiva, is one of the most important and revered texts in East Asian Buddhism. With its vivid descriptions of cosmic events and large cast of characters, the Saddharmapundarika-sutra (Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Fine Dharma) unfolds like a magnificent drama. Its twenty-eight chapters offer a combination of doctrine, teachings, stories, and parables, devotional practices, and portraits of the many buddhas and bodhisattvas that inhabit the world of the Lotus Sutra. This text presents an emerging Mahayana vision that affirms the possibility of enlightenment for all.

The Lotus Sutra (Taisho no. 262), translated by Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama from the fifth-century Chinese version by the scholar-monk Kumarajiva, is one of the most important and revered texts in East Asian Buddhism. With its vivid descriptions of cosmic events and large cast of characters, the Saddharmapundarika-sutra (Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Fine Dharma) unfolds like a magnificent drama. Its twenty-eight chapters offer a combination of doctrine, teachings, stories, and parables, devotional practices, and portraits of the many buddhas and bodhisattvas that inhabit the world of the Lotus Sutra. This text presents an emerging Mahayana vision that affirms the possibility of enlightenment for all.