Lotus Sutra

Examples of Lotus Sutra in the following topics:

• The Todaiji

  • Clustered around the Daibutsuden on a gently sloping hillside are a number of secondary halls: the Hokke-dō (Lotus Sutra Hall), with its principal image; the Fukukenjaku Kannon (the most popular bodhisattva), crafted of dry lacquer (cloth dipped in lacquer and shaped over a wooden armature); the Kaidanin (Ordination Hall) with its magnificent clay statues of the Four Guardian Kings; and the storehouse, called the Shōsōin.

• Architecture and Art in the Unified Silla Period

  • Dabotap (Many Treasure Pagoda) is 10.4 meters tall and dedicated to the Many Treasures Buddha mentioned in the Lotus Sutra.
  • The centerpiece of the granite sanctuary is a Buddha statue, seated on a lotus throne with legs crossed.
  • The ceiling of the grotto is decorated with half moons, and the top is decorated with a lotus flower.

• Japanese Painting and Sculpture in the Kamakura Period

  • Nichiren, founder of the Nichiren Sect, which emphasized devotion to the Lotus Sutra, a manual of Buddhist aphorisms presented as a discourse from the Buddha.

• Hindu Sculpture

  • Hindu sculpture represents the themes of its religion through its depiction of deities and recurring symbols, such as the lotus flower.
  • Because religion and culture are inseparable with Hinduism, recurring symbols such as the gods and their reincarnations, the lotus flower, extra limbs, and even the traditional arts make their appearances in many sculptures of Hindu origin.
  • Hindu sculpture is also characterized by a number of recurring holy symbols, including the om, an invocation of the divine consciousness of God; the swastika, a symbol of auspiciousness; and the lotus flower, a symbol of purity, beauty, prosperity, fertility, and transcendence.
  • The lotus flower is associated with these attributes due to its own process of blossoming: the flower grows out of mud and rests atop the water in which it grows, illustrating the hardship it must endure in order to achieve maximum beauty.
  • Many deities have their name based on the Sanskrit word for lotus, such as Lakshimi.

• Vedic and Upanishadic Periods

  • The grammar of Pāini marks a final apex in the codification of Sutra texts and, at the same time, the beginning of Classical Sanskrit.
  • The Sutra language texts: This is the last stratum of Vedic Sanskrit leading up to c. 500 BCE, comprising the bulk of the Śrauta and Grhya Sutras as well as some Upanishads.

• Painting under the Sultanate of Delhi

  • It began to show signs of change over the years, most notably in two manuscripts from Mandu, a Kalpa-sutra and a Kalakacaryakatha of about 1439, and a Kalpa-sutra painted at Jaunpur in 1465.

• Jain Illustrated Manuscripts

  • Common themes in Jain painting and illustrated manuscript, similar to other forms of Jain art, include the Tirthankaras (Jain saviors, or human beings who achieved the ultimate spiritual salvation and served as role models for society), yakshas and yakshinis (supernatural male and female guardian deities), and holy symbols such as the lotus and the swastika, which symbolized peace and well-being.
  • Rishabha, the first Tirthankara, is usually depicted in either the lotus position or kayotsarga, the standing position.

• Thai Buddhist Sculpture

  • Buddha in the Amaravati style with loosely folded legs, a continuous eyebrow, flat nose, thick lips, and a lotus-shaped aureole.
  • A square-faced Buddha with a cleft chin, Khmer features, and fully folded legs, sitting on a lotus base.

• Diversity of Angiosperms

  • The Nymphaeales are comprised of the water lilies, lotus, and similar plants; all species thrive in freshwater biomes and have leaves that float on the water surface or grow underwater.
  • (c) Lotus flowers, Nelumbo nucifera, have been cultivated since ancient times for their ornamental value; the root of the lotus flower is eaten as a vegetable.

• Religion Under the Tang Dynasty

  • In the year 714, Emperor Xuanzong forbade shops and vendors in the city of Chang'an to sell copied Buddhist sutras, instead giving the Buddhist clergy of the monasteries the sole right to distribute sutras to the laity.