The Lotus Sutra: Saddharma Pundarîka or the Lotus of the True Law

The Saddharma-Pundarika, one of the Mahayana sutras, is perhaps the single most important Mahayana Buddhist work. It was originally composed in India, with some sections written as early as the beginning of the Christian era. The Lotus is held in esteem by the Northern schools of Buddhism and by the Chinese and Japanese Buddhists, particularly Tendai and later developments. Described as the most eminent of all the sutras, the crown jewel in which all Buddha laws are succinctly taught, the Lotus is a keystone in the education of every serious Buddhist. Dutch scholar Hendrik Kern offers a rare translation of the Lotus Sutra directly from the Sanskrit. Rather than starting from the Chinese of Kumarajiva, Kern worked principally from a manuscript written on palm leaves in Nepal in 1039. The original was part of the collection of Dr. Daniel Wright at the University Library of Cambridge, England. In the present edition, Sanskrit terms are set with modern diacritical marks.