Rare Buddhist birch bark scrolls, photo panels of wall paintings and murals discovered from a town on the Silk Road and artefacts from early recorded history will be shown during a rare exhibition in New Delhi next month on the Lotus Sutra, the final teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Why are we born? Why must we meet the inevitable sufferings of illness, ageing and death? It was only in the core of the Lotus Sutra that Shakyamuni sought to provide answers to the fundamental questions of human existence.

The exhibits are rare manuscripts and reproductions of items created in the early part of recorded history from the first century onwards - in India, Nepal, China and Japan. Some are in languages now considered archaic and others are from regions along the legendary Silk Route.

There are 12 rare manuscripts, 63 photographic panels depicting the relics, documents, manuscripts and facsimile editions of the Lotus Sutra, which have all been brought together in an effort to convey the spirit of Lotus Sutra and its relevance to modern society.

The exhibition projects the message of the Sutra, the message of empowerment of the individual, the message of mutual coexistence and the need to respect the sanctity of all life. It reveals the great hidden treasure of the heart, as vast as the universe itself, which dispels any feelings of powerlessness. It reveals how the inner determination of an individual can transform everything around. The Lotus Sutra comes across as a living, breathing manual for finding happiness and fulfillment today. 

Depicting events in a cosmic world that transcends ordinary perceptions of time and space, the Lotus Sutra presents abstract religious concepts in concrete terms. Nichiren Daishonin, a 13th century Japanese Buddhist sage, who unwrapped Shakyamuni's gift for all of us, says the Sutra "represents the bone and marrow of all the sacred teachings of the Buddha's lifetime”.

Now in the homeland of the Lotus Sutra, this exhibition is being sponsored by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Bharat Soka Gakkai and supported by the St Petersburg Branch of The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the International Academy of Indian Culture.

Updated on: 26th Feb 2009