They call it a message of peace and harmonious co-existence from ancient India to the modern world. An exhibition on the Lotus Sutra, believed to be a record of Gautam Buddha’s teachings towards the end of his life and been transcribed between the first and second century CE, is on at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, in the city.

The exhibition — comprising a collection of artefacts, calligraphic and pictorial representations of the transcriptions, including historic originals and reproductions from India, Nepal, China and Japan — has already travelled to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Laos, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. This is its first appearance in the city.

The teachings have also been translated into a number of non-Asian languages such as German, Italian and Greek. “When I think about how many Buddhists must have endured tremendous adversities to protect and transmit the Lotus Sutra over countless centuries, I could not help but think that they looked happy to have survived the trials and tribulations and to be able to meet with so many people,” says Dr Daisaku Ikeda, president of exhibition organisers Soka Gakkai International. “The Lotus Sutra is an effort to develop a means for the contemporary society to confront the rampant suffering of our age and to make the social and cultural diversity of our world a source of creativity and joy for all.”

One of the exhibition’s main sections is devoted to the Chinese Mogao Cave paintings that depict famous scenes in the Lotus Sutra. “Each painting portrays the Lotus Sutra’s key messages to humanity such as the sanctity of life, women’s rights, the power of the people and the eternity of life, among others.”

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