The Lotus Sutra is arguably the most influential of all of the Mahayana sutras, and an understanding of it and its themes is essential to the study of East Asian Buddhist doctrine and practice.
In the theoretical teaching, the Buddha declares that the three vehicles, [the teachings for voice-hearers, cause-awakened ones, and bodhisattvas] stressed in the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings are not ends in themselves but only means to lead people to the one supreme vehicle of Buddhahood.
The commentaries by the two great Zen Masters Nichiren Shonin and Shunryu Suzuki shine considerable light on the internal nuances of the text and provide a comprehensive view of the scope and meaning of this great work.
