LOTUS SUTRA

Three principal themes dominate the Lotus Sutra. 

First, all vehicles are one vehicle.  Here, the doctrine of triyana, or "three vehicles" to nirvana is discussed.   The triyana describes people who realize enlightenment by hearing the Buddha's sermons; people who realize enlightenment for themselves through their own effort; and, lastly, people who have chosen the way of the bodhisattva, a bodhisattva being one who has postponed buddhahood in order to help others gain enlightenment. But the Lotus Sutra says that the three vehicles are one vehicle, the buddha vehicle.

The second theme is that all beings may attain buddhahood and attain nirvana.  One point of significance here is the Buddha's promise to several women that they will attain buddhahood without having to be reborn as men.  Meantime, the Buddha is presented in the Lotus Sutra as dharmakaya--the unity of all things and beings, unmanifested, beyond existence or nonexistence, unbound by time and space. Because the dharmakaya is all beings, all beings have the potential to awaken to their true nature and attain buddhahood.

The final theme is the importance of faith and devotion.  This is to say that buddhahood may not be attained through intellect alone. Indeed, the Mahayana view is that the absolute teaching cannot be expressed in words or understood by ordinary cognition.  This is why the Lotus Sutra emphasizes the significance of faith and devotion because it makes buddhahood more accessible to laypeople, who do not spend their lives in ascetic monastic practice.

In 6th century China, the Lotus Sutra was promoted as the supreme sutra by the monk Chih-i, founder of the Tiantai school of Mahayana Buddhism, called Tendai in Japan. In part through Tendai influence, the Lotus became the most revered sutra in Japan. It deeply influenced Japanese Zen and also is an object of devotion of the Nichiren school.