Manuscript

Series of the lotus sutra manuscript

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Soka Gakkai

Since 1997, in cooperation with prominent experts and scholars and with various institutions from around the world that preserve precious Lotus Sutra manuscripts, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP) and the Soka Gakkai have been involved in publishing the Lotus Sutra Manuscript Series, including facsimile editions and romanized texts, which help promote Buddhist studies and in particular further studies of early Mahayana Buddhism centering on the Lotus Sutra.

Soka Gakkai’s
Lotus Sutra Manuscript Series

  • Cambridge University Library
    The University of Cambridge has and 800-year tradition. Completed in 1934, its main library, the University Library, holds more than 5.5million books in its collection. It has also Europe’s largest collection of Sanskrit Lotus Sutra manuscripts originating from Nepal.
    Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript – Facsimile Edition
    Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript – Romanized Texts
  • The National Archives of Nepal
    The National Archives of Nepal keeps a great number of Sanskrit and Tibetan manuscripts together with ordinary official documents. It has been striving to perserve precious manuscripts, including cataloguing and microfilming.
    Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript – Facsimile Edition
    Lotus Sutra Manuscript – Romanized Texts 1 and 2
  • The British Library
    The British Library was granted independent status in 1973 based on the British Library Act1972, before that it was part of the British Museum[established in 1753]. It holds in its collections 150 millions item as well as 310,000 manuscripts volumes.
    Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript – Facsimile Edition
    Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript – Romanized Texts
  • Lushun Museum, China
    Known as one of the most distinguished museums in China, the Lushun Museum preserves tens of thousands of relics, materials and artworks. It is famous for its collection of manuscripts and relics from the Western Regions obtained by Japan’s Otani expeditions at the beginning of the 20th century. Sanskrit Lotus Sutra fragments from Khotan kept in its collection can be classified into the oldest group among the sutra’s extant texts.
    Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments – Facsimile Edition and Romanized Texts
  • Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences
    The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (formerly St.Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences)preserves a great amount of ancient documents including Buddhist manuscripts and block prints brought by the Russian research expeditions to Central Asia along the Silk Road at the turn of the century around 1900. During the Second World War, members of the institute kept the manuscripts unharmed, resisting the starvation and bitter cold under the fierce attack of the Nazi armies.
    Xixia Version of the Lotus Sutra- Facsimile Edition (compared Kumarajiva translation)
  • The National Archives of India
    As one of its purposes, the National Archives preserves official documents of the Indian government in New Delhi. It also keeps the largest portion of the Gilgit manuscripts, shich are the oldest extant manuscripts of the Lotus and other sutras in India
    Gilgit Lotus Sutra manuscript - Facsimile Edition