Buddhism, the First Millennium

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The volume addresses the development of Buddhism after the death of its founder. Beginning with the first council organized by the direct disciples of Shakyamuni, which organized the complex system of the Buddha's teachings, it goes on to the emergence of the Mahayana movement, whose origins remain somewhat unclear. Daisaku Ikeda examines the scarce historical information that has come down to us and interprets it with his characteristic originality and insight. He presents the essential principles of the Lotus Sutra, the fundamental scripture of the Great Vehicle, and recounts the stories of key figures in the history of Buddhism: King Ashoka and the philosophers Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu, who contributed to its establishment as one of the world's major religions.