This paper focuses on the interpretation of the “One Vehicle of the Lotus Sūtra”, a concept created by Zhu Daosheng 竺道生 (355?–434), a disciple of Kumārajīva (344–413 or 350–409). Daosheng’s interpretation of the Lotus Sūtra is based on the viewpoint of 6 factors: “Cause”, “Effect”, “People”, “Teaching”, “Noumenal Principle”, and “Salvific Impetus”. In addition, he implemented his interpretation of the Lotus Sūtra by the theory that the bodhisattva in the three vehicles is absolute Truth, but he ultimately interpreted the Lotus Sūtra as being bound neither by the “Three Vehicles” nor the “One Vehicle”. It can be said that this became the ideological basis of Lotus Sūtra interpretation in Chinese Buddhism, because Daosheng’s interpretation largely influenced later interpreations of the Lotus Sūtra.
