This volume addresses the development of Buddhism after the death of its founder Shakyamuni. Starting from the first council, organized by Shakyamuni's direct disciples, which brought order to the complex system of the Buddha's teachings, to the birth of the Mahayana movement, whose origins remain ill-defined. Daisaku Ikeda examines the scant historical information that has come down to us and interprets it with his characteristic originality and insight. He expounds on the essential tenets of the Lotus Sutra, the fundamental scripture of the Great Vehicle, and traces the fortunes of some of the leading 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.
