The laminated facsimile edition of the ancient Buddhist Gilgit Lotus Sutra released

07 May, 2012

A laminated facsimile edition of the Gilgit Lotus Sutra manuscript containing the teachings of Buddha found in 1931 was released in Delhi last month, ahead of Buddha Purnima observed yesterday.

ACCORDING TO Press Trust of India, the Gilgit Lotus Sutra facsimile book is a joint initiative by the National Archives of India, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy and the NGO Soka Gakkai International (SGI).

Sangita Gairola, Culture Secretary, Government of India, while releasing the book said, "Much work on our cultural thought and norms has been done abroad and scholars have painstakingly worked at learning ancient scripts in order to understand the true meaning of what they have studied. It is fitting that we in India take care to preserve what we have, knowing that it is of relevance not just to us in India but the rest of the world as well,"

According to Mushirul Hasan, Director General, National Archives of India, the facsimile editions had great importance to scholarly research by making such rare documents accessible for study in the library.

At the book release event Lokesh Chandra, historian and Chairperson, International Centre for Indian Culture, the book was the most ancient feminist text sometimes even more aggressive than the modern feminism.

According to Daisaku Ikeda, President SGI, the book represented unlimited philosophy and wisdom of peace and happiness propagated by Buddhism.