DESCRIPTION
The Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra 妙法蓮華經 (The Lotus Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. It is the primary text for the Tiantai, Tendai, Nichiren and Soka Gakkai schools of Buddhism. It is also vastly influential on other schools of East Asian Buddhism, such as Zen. According to the British Buddhologist Paul Williams, "For many Buddhists in East Asia since early times, the Lotus Sūtra contains the final teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha—complete and sufficient for salvation." The American Buddhologist Donald S. Lopez Jr. writes that the Lotus Sūtra "is arguably the most famous of all Buddhist texts."
Primary Reading
Suggested Reading
Donald S. Lopez Jr. The Lotus Sutra: A Biography (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2016)