This volume, the third in the series on the history of Buddhism published by Soka Gakkai, describes the fascinating transformation of Buddhism into a world religion through its spread from India, the Buddha's homeland, to China and beyond.
The author Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International, vividly narrates the stories of the merchants and monks who first brought Buddhism to China along the Silk Road, as well as the lives of Chinese Buddhist masters of that time, the development of various Buddhist schools - especially the Tiantai school, which later exerted great influence in Japan - and the subsequent decline of Buddhism in China after the harsh persecutions it suffered in the 10th century.
In the text, the wisdom and vision of key figures such as the great translator Kumarajiva and the Buddhist master Tiantai Zhiyi are highlighted, and in this way the author offers significant reflections on the role of Buddhism in Chinese society and, by extension, in its entirety, and charts the course that religion should follow to meet the needs of the times, then as now.
