The Lotus Sutra is a scripture that embodies the essence of Mahayana Buddhism.

It teaches unequivocally that all people can attain buddhahood.

This section will explain the significance and major doctrines of the Lotus Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra has radically changed the Buddhist view of life and of buddhahood.

The sutras Shakyamuni preached during the more than forty years before the Lotus Sutra teach that ordinary people cannot attain buddhahood in this lifetime.

Moreover, they stay in one of nine worlds other than buddhahood until they die and only then can move to another in rebirth.

Therefore, if people wish to attain buddhahood, they have to carry out Buddhist practices through numerous lifetimes until they eradicate all of their earthly desires, purify their lives, and obtain benefit and virtue worthy of buddhas.

Then and only then can they attain buddhahood.

And when they succeed, only the world of buddhahood will be present in their lives.

However, in the Lotus Sutra Shakyamuni reveals the truth that buddhahood exists inherently in the lives of ordinary people and that everyone can attain buddhahood immediately by bringing it forth from within their lives.

This teaching of the Lotus Sutra is founded on two doctrines: the true aspect of all phenomena and the attainment of buddhahood in the remote past.

《法華經》是大乘佛教精髓的經典，闡明「萬人成佛」。在此說明《法華經》的意義以及主要法理。

由於《法華經》的出現，使佛教的生命觀與成佛觀大大地改觀。釋尊在《法華經》之前四十餘年所講述的各種經典（爾前經），闡述凡夫的生命中沒有佛界，只屬於九界中的其中一個境界。所以凡夫要經過長期間的佛道修行，斷滅煩惱，淨化生命，積聚福德，才可以得到成佛。而成佛後，其生命只存在於佛界。

但是釋尊在《法華經》中，明示了凡夫的生命中其實具備了佛界，只要能開啟這佛界，誰人都能馬上成佛。

這《法華經》教義的骨幹就是「諸法實相」和「久遠實成」。