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25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Three of the Buddha's greatest sermons, May 28, 2000
The word 'Sutra,' literally means 'thread' or 'string.' The scriptures containing the teachings of the Buddha. Most of the major Sutras were originally written in Pali or Sanscrit, although some were written in Tibetan or Chinese. They are among the world's oldest literature. These Sutras are called The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings; The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law; and The Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue. Ananda, a cousin of Sakyamuni and one of the Buddha's ten great disciples, famous for his excellent memory, is supposed to have memorized the Buddha's sermons, which were later recorded as Sutras. The word bodhi, used in Bodhisattva, means 'wisdom,', or enlightenment, and pertains to buddhahood. Boddhisattva, then, refers to a living being in the final stages of achieving buddhahood, or becoming one who is enlightened. These are among the most important of the Sutras. At their heart are three major concepts of Mahayana (the great path) Buddhism: First, all sentient beings may attain perfect enlightenment, the main goal of Buddhism; Second, the Buddha is eternal, having existed throughout the infinite past and appearing in many forms throughout the ages, guiding and teaching the law; and Third, the noblest form of Buddhist practice is the way of the Boddhisattva, who devotes himself to enlightenment. The Threefold Sutra records three of the sermons preached by the Buddha best-known to us (Siddhartha, a prince of Gautama, of the Sakyamuni clan--sometimes referred to simply as Sakyamuni) to a host of boddhisattvas, consisting of the "Opening Sutra," the "Meditation on the Boddhisattva Universal Virtue Sutra," and finally the "Lotis Sutra." For the serious student of Buddhism, this is a most desirable book. Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity
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by Red Pine
by Professor Burton Watson
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