Professor Donald Lopez on how the understanding of buddhahood evolved and expanded in the centuries following the death of the historical Buddha. In Sanskrit, the word buddha can mean “awakened,” “expanded,” and “understood.” It was the title bestowed on an itinerant teacher about whom little is known, apart from the teachings that have been attributed […]
The First Noble Truth of Baseball
In the Baseball Sutra, recently discovered by scholar Donald Lopez, the Buddha explains why he created a game where suffering and failure are the norm.
What Actually Happens in the Lotus Sutra?
Donald S. Lopez, Jr. unpacks the Lotus Sutra, one of the most famous Buddhist scriptures, explaining how it came to be and how its influence has grown.