The Lotus Sūtra : A Biography / Donald S. Lopez.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lopez, Donald S., author.

Series:

Lives of great religious books.

Lives of Great Religious Books ; 26

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tripiṭaka. Sūtrapiṭaka. Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.

Tripiṭaka.

Tripiṭaka. Sūtrapiṭaka. Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Mahayana Buddhism.

Mahayana Buddhism--Sacred books.

Mahayana Buddhism--Sacred books--History.

Genre:

Sacred books.

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (266 pages).

Edition:

[Enhanced Credo edition].

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2016]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The Lotus Sutra is arguably the most famous of all Buddhist scriptures. Composed in India in the first centuries of the Common Era, it is renowned for its inspiring message that all beings are destined for supreme enlightenment. Here, Donald Lopez provides an engaging and accessible biography of this enduring classic.Lopez traces the many roles the Lotus Sutra has played in its travels through Asia, Europe, and across the seas to America. The story begins in India, where it was one of the early Mahayana sutras, which sought to redefine the Buddhist path. In the centuries that followed, the text would have a profound influence in China and Japan, and would go on to play a central role in the European discovery of Buddhism. It was the first Buddhist sutra to be translated from Sanskrit into a Western language-into French in 1844 by the eminent scholar Eugène Burnouf. That same year, portions of the Lotus Sutra appeared in English in The Dial, the journal of New England's Transcendentalists. Lopez provides a balanced account of the many controversies surrounding the text and its teachings, and describes how the book has helped to shape the popular image of the Buddha today. He explores how it was read by major literary figures such as Henry David Thoreau and Gustave Flaubert, and how it was used to justify self-immolation in China and political extremism in Japan.Concise and authoritative, this is the essential introduction to the life and afterlife of a timeless masterpiece.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Plot Summary

Chapter 2. The Lotus Sūtra in India

Chapter 3. The Lotus Sūtra in China

Chapter 4. The Lotus Sūtra in Japan

Chapter 5. Across the Atlantic

Chapter 6. The Lotus Sūtra in the Twentieth Century

Chapter 7. Across the Pacific

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9781787853874

178785387X

9781400883349

1400883342

OCLC:

1114609450