The Lotus Sutra

[Plenum]

for those with an interest in Buddhism (and that would seem to include many here), the Lotus Sutra is one of the core texts to examine. It is one of the Buddha's final speeches, and sums up much of his previous 40 years of teachings. I have going through the Burton Watson translation, and the foreword he writes gives a great intelligible overview of what Buddhism is, and how it developed in the east. It is a very digestible read. I've pasted a copy of this foreword to this tumblr.

http://aussie-plenum.tumblr.com/post/618...-the-lotus

it may or may not be of interest to you.

here is a great snippet:

This is followed by chapter twelve, the “Devadatta” chapter. Deva-datta, an evil-minded disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha, comparable to the Judas figure in Christianity, is revealed to have been a friend and teacher of the Buddha in a past life and to be destined to attain Buddhahood himself in a future existence. The chapter also describes a daughter of the dragon king Sagara who, though only a child of eight, has attained the highest level of enlightenment. Earlier Buddhism had generally denied that women could attain Buddhahood, at least while in female form, and one school of thinkers had declared that some people are so inherently evil in nature that they can never hope to gain enlightenment. The Lotus Sutra firmly rejects such assertions. We are to understand that all beings without exception, good or evil, female or male, are equally capable of becoming Buddhas.

Buddhism is full of myths and magical happenings

edit: fixed author name

[Wai]

"You labour and struggle endlessly, not understanding that what you already possess, is all that you seek." The Lotus Sutra