In the twelfth chapter of the Lotus Sutra describes an exceptional event: the bodhisattva Manjushri said to have preached in the palace of the king of Nagas, on the sea floor, and Sagara, the daughter of dragon king, after learning of the teachings of Buddha, he attained enlightenment. The naga or dragons, revered in ancient Indian folk religion, were one of eight categories of non-human beings that protected Buddhism. The event described in this text is very exceptional: Sagara, in addition to being female, has just eight years.
is the first time in the Buddhist scriptures that mention the possibility to attain enlightenment "as is", without having to practice austerity in life after life, for aeons. The fact is particularly striking because Sagara, in addition to belonging to a breed of animal, are women: until then, it was believed that a woman could not get the right lighting, but should first be reborn as a man.
According to the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra, whose first editions come down to us date back to 255 AD was preached in the last eight years of the life of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived around the sixth and fifth centuries BC and, together the Sutra of Infinite Meanings and the Sutra of Nirvana, is the summation of his teachings.
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