On the basis of traditional analysis and an understanding of the historical evolution of the text, the central ideas of the Lotus Sutra can be said to encompass three elements: the law (dharma), the perfect being (buddha), and human beings (bodhisattvas); or truth, life, and practice. In other words, the unifying truth of the universe (the wonderful law as the one vehicle), eternal life (the eternal Śākyamuni), and human activities in the real world (bodhisattva practices) are the corresponding themes of the first realm of traces, the second realm of origin, and the third realm. These are the three great ideas of the Lotus Sutra. They also form the true essence of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and it is no exaggeration to say that the three treasures of Mahāyāna Buddhism were established by the Lotus Sutra, which is why since ancient times all Mahāyāna Buddhists have revered and extolled this sutra, regardless of sect.