Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sutra--one of the most popular Buddhist classics--is here accessibly introduced by one of its most eminent scholars.<BR><BR>"Soon after entering university in December of 1943, I was sent to the front as a student soldier. I wondered if I were allowed to bring but a single book on the trip, possibly to my death, which would I want to bring. It was the Lotus Sutra" -- from the author's Preface. <BR> Having developed a lifelong appreciation of the Lotus Sutra -- even carrying a dog-eared copy with him through service in World War II -- Yoshiro Tamura sought to author an introduction to this beloved work of Buddhist literature. Tamura wanted it to be different than other basic explorations of the text; his introduction would be plain-spoken, relevant and sensitive to modern concerns, and well-informed by contemporary scholarship. He succeeded marvelously with Introduction to the Lotus Sutra, which Gene Reeves -- Tamura's student and translator of the popular English edition of The Lotus Sutra -- translates and introduces in English for the first time here. <BR> Tackling issues of authenticity in the so-called "words of Buddha," the influence of culture and history on the development of the Lotus Sutra, and the sutra's role in Japanese life, <i>Introduction to the Lotus Sutra</i> grounds this ancient work of literature in the real, workaday world, revealing its continued appeal across the ages.