Buddhism for Today

To generalize a bit, Americans, and modern people as whole, want to get "straight to the sources", and today's Buddhists are no different. Unfortunately, when western Buddhists pick up the Lotus Sutra without any preparation, they're left befuddled. It all seems so multi-leveled, symbolic, and dream-like. Where is the practical side of this sutra? How can this be the most important sutra for millions of Mahayana Buddhists? Luckily, we have Nikkyo Niwano's enjoyable book as a guide. Niwano was the founder of the second-largest Buddhist organization in Japan, and he manages to make the Lotus Sutra accessible, understandable, and even applicable to everyday life. Having studied the sutra his entire adult life, Niwano anticipates many of the questions the reader will have when he or she encounters the Lotus Sutra. No matter what faith tradition you belong to (Buddhist or otherwise), you'll find reading this book rewarding and frequently enlightening. Although profound, this isn't a work for scholars: its a work for laypeople, practicing the dharma in everyday life.

This book expands the reader's knowledge of the Threefold Lotus Sutra. Niwano incorporates all the important details of each cosmic scene and uses modern examples as parallels of the situation. The introduction was most fascinating, as it gave a thorough background of Buddhism and its relevancy to the Shakyamuni's time and the compilation of the Lotus Sutra. Each chapter provides an introductory on how the scene starts and leading to its hidden meaning. The style of quoting from the actual sutra is very simple with easy words to understand and follow. Furthermore, it gives a deep perspective on what Shakyamuni really meant as far as keeping the consistency throughout the whole book and not being susceptible to easy misleading/seemingly contradictory errors. Nevertheless, the use of japanese words to provide better clarity also make up the excellent construction of this book. Certain chapters like Chapter 2 on Tactfulness, 16 on Tathagatha and Chapter 25 on Kannon were the most enjoyable part of this book. Though I was somewhat dissapointed on Niwano forgetting to note that Kannon or Kanzeon takes the form of a female deity in asian mythology. I think this would make a large impact as to strengthening the equality of women in the text. This is a wonderful book for those who are very interested in the profound meaning of the Lotus sutra. I highly recommmend this book and Niwano's "A guide to the Lotus Sutra". Excellent work.