The Most Inclusive and Important Expression of the Teachings of the Buddha

While Kumarajiva’s Chinese version has been adapted into Japanese, no one imagines that this Japanese version, or the Chinese version, or any other version is by itself the Dharma Flower Sutra, the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, to use the full title. The precise meaning of the term “The Dharma Flower Sutra” and its equivalents in other languages has to remain somewhat imprecise, as there is no single text which is “The Lotus Sutra,” no one original from which others are derived. Even in the Sutra itself, there is no consistently maintained distinction between the Dharma Flower Sutra and Buddha Dharma. In a sense, we can say that the Sutra understands itself to be the most inclusive and important expression of the teachings of the Buddha.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p9