Saddharmapundarika Sutra (The Lotus Sutra), Korean Translation, Volume 7

The Lotus Sutra is one of the most popular and influential Buddhist sutras. One of its main teachings is that all beings have the potential to become Buddhas. The version of the sutra most widely distributed in ancient Korea was a classical Chinese translation of the Sanskrit sutra done by Monk Kumarajiva (344-413) in 406. The Lotus Sutra greatly informed Korean Buddhist thought and was the basis on which the Cheontae School of Korean Buddhism was established.

During the reign of King Sejo (r. 1455-1468), the 7th king of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), a temporary bureau for sutra publication was installed to translate and publish Buddhist texts from classical Chinese into Korean. In 1463, the bureau made printing woodblocks for the Lotus Sutra, and it was printed in 1472 upon the order of Queen Dowager Insu (1437-1504), as a prayer for the spirits of her deceased parents and other close royal family members.

This book includes the main sutra text in classical Chinese and a Korean translation of commentaries originally written in classical Chinese by Monk Jiehuan of Song China. It is the last volume of a seven volume set. At the end of the sutra, a note by Kim Su-on (1410-1481), a civil official of the early Joseon period, is added to explain how this sutra was published.

This book is a wood-printing on mulberry paper and measures 23cm in width and 32.5cm in length.

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08