Over several months in the Spring of 2017 I gave a series of lectures on some of the important material available to ministers in the Shutei Hoyo Shiki. Due to the importance of the material I felt it necessary to make it more widely available. Many ministers simply do not have the time to present this material especially given the ongoing nature of teaching basics to new Sangha members. Also, there is so much information that needs to be shared it would be a challenge to anyone even if their sole job was simply to teach. Ministers in the United States are not so blessed since in most instances all the administrative tasks, fund raising, conducting services, as well as provide counseling all usually come on top of holding a job to keep a roof over ones head and food on the table. As a mostly retired minister who mainly hosts an online sangha and who helps Kanjin Shonin with the training of his disciples I have a certain luxury of some freedom to focus on things which I feel are important and make them available to as wide an audience as possible.
A Modern Introduction to the Lotus Sutra Giving a Better Understanding of the Buddha’s Teachings
Nikkyō Niwano’s book, first published in Japanese in 1969 and in English in 1970, is not a book about the Lotus Sutra in the way Buddhism for Today is. Instead, this is a introduction to basic Buddhist teachings. The flyleaf on the book cover offers this handy outline:
This book
gives you a systematic knowledge of the essentials of the Lotus Sutra;
offers you a right view of life and the world from the standpoint of Mahayana Buddhism, and an ideal way of human life based on the Lotus Sutra;
is an indispensable companion for those who desire to promote mutual respect and cooperation among men of religion for the purpose of world peace.
The contents of the book are divided into three broad categories: The Necessity of Religion, The Origin of Buddhism and The Doctrine of Buddhism.
The Necessity of Religion is further broken down into four topics: Ethics Alone Cannot Save Man, Two Missions of Religion, On Science and Religion and Faith to All Men.
The Origin of Buddhism covers The Unrivaled Great Sage, Lord Śākyamuni; First Rolling of the Law-Wheel; Śākyamuni’s Life Devoted to Preaching the Law; Śākyamuni Passes Away; and Creative and Developing Buddhism.
The Doctrine of Buddhism includes The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, The Twelve-linked Chain of Dependent Origination; Six Perfections, The Void and The Seal of the Three Laws, The Doctrine of the Reality of All Existence and the Three Thousand Realms in One Mind, The Middle Path and Life View of Buddhism.
The reason for the title of the book is explained by Nikkyō Niwano at the conclusion of the book.
It has been traditionally said that there are the three factors (san-in) in the perfection of the buddha-nature: shō-in, ryō-in and en-in.
Shō-in means the buddha-nature that is originally possessed by all the people. It is the truth that they are united with the great life of the universe in a body. Of course, this is the fundamental factor leading them to enlightenment.
Ryō-in indicates wisdom which enables one to realize his original buddha-nature by knowing the truth and comparing with it. The reason why we must hear the teachings of the Buddha and study the truth lies in this fact. This is because if we do not do so, there is often the fear that our valuable buddha-nature will remain undiscovered.
En-in expresses good deeds which help one as a secondary cause to develop his potential buddha-nature. Good deeds are understood in various meanings and they include the “practices of benefiting oneself,” such as making a right living according to the Buddha’s teachings, sutra-reciting, worshiping, meditation and other religious exercises. Good deeds also include the “practices of benefiting others,” such as showing kindness to every person with whom we come in contact, performing conduct useful for society and leading others to the right law.
By accumulating good deeds in this way, our original buddha-nature will be polished and developed more and more. Therefore, as long as we remain only recognizing the fact “we have the buddha-nature,” it does not light up nor develop a strong energy which make others as well as ourselves be saved and elevated.
After all, when we constantly repeat the practice of the way to Buddhahood, namely, “studying Buddhism,” “practicing it,” and “preaching it,” the buddha-nature of others as well as of ourselves will begin to light up and, turning this world into the Pure Land, will be completed by making the buddha-nature of all people be disclosed.
Boiled down to the utmost limit, Buddhism reaches this truth. We can conclude that Buddhism is the teaching that discovers the buddha-nature possessed by all people, discloses it and polishes it. It is the Lotus Sutra that contains this teaching to perfection. This is the reason why I have entitled this book, The Lotus Sutra: Life and Soul of Buddhism.
Annotated Translation with Glossary of the Kaimoku-sho
Available on Amazon
From Ryuei Michael McCormick’s introduction:
The essay On the Opening of the Eyes (Kaimoku-shō) is one of the five major writings of Nichiren Daishonin (1222-1282), the progenitor of those Buddhist schools and movements that follow his teachings about the Lotus Sutra and practice the chanting of that sutra’s “august title” (daimoku) in the form of “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.” In this writing, he reflects upon the course of his life and the nature of the hardships and persecutions that had beset him. In the course of it, he clarifies his mission and renews his determination to work selflessly, even at the cost of his life, for the sake of Japan and by extension all sentient beings whose liberation is guaranteed by the universal promise of Buddhahood conveyed by the Lotus Sutra.
On September 12, 1271, Nichiren was arrested by the Hei no Saemon-no-jo Yoritsuna (d. 1293), deputy chief of the board of retainers of the Kamakura shogunate. He was taken to the execution grounds on Tatsunokuchi beach. The traditional story is that he was saved from death when a mysterious ball of light flew through the sky, frightening the executioner and the other samurai. A messenger from the regent arrived soon after with orders that Nichiren was to be exiled, not executed. On October 10, 1271, Nichiren was sent into exile on Sado Island. At first, he lived in a small broken-down shrine in a graveyard called Tsukuhara. It was the hope of his enemies that Nichiren would die in the harsh winter of Sado Island without any adequate shelter or provisions.
Many of Nichiren’s followers, like Nisshin and Nichiro had also been arrested and imprisoned. They wondered why they had not received divine protection from such persecution. In order to resolve these doubts Nichiren started writing On the Opening of the Eyes in November of 1271. He finished it in February of 1272, after the successful conclusion of the Tsukuhara Debate. This was a debate arranged by Sado Island’s deputy constable between Nichiren and several hundred monks from other schools of Buddhism on January 16 and 17. Nichiren addressed On the Opening of the Eyes to Shijo Kingo, a samurai in Kamakura who was one of his staunchest followers.
Shockingly, Nichiren wrote that he had been beheaded at Tatsunokuchi and it was his spirit that had come to Sado Island. Such a statement reflects Nichiren’s feelings that in a sense he had given up his life at the execution ground and begun a new life. At the same time, he was aware that he could still literally die in the harsh winter on Sado Island or that he might once again face execution. On the Opening of the Eyes was intended to be a memento in case of his death. In other words, it was Nichiren’s last will and testament, so that he could bestow his most important teachings upon his disciples before it was too late. Throughout the work, Nichiren states that the most important question is whether he really has been acting as the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra; and, if so, why he and his followers have not received the blessings and protection of the buddhas, bodhisattvas and other divine guardians of the Dharma.
In the following passage from his autobiographical work, On Various Distinguished Actions (Shuju onfurtnnai gosho), Nichiren describes the circumstances of writing On the Opening of the Eyes and his purpose for writing it:
After everyone had left [following the Tsukuhara debate] I finally finished writing a thesis entitled On the Opening of the Eyes in two fascicles, which I had been writing since the eleventh month of the previous year. I wrote it thinking that if I was to be beheaded, I should have recorded the miracles in my life. The gist of this writing is as follows:
The safety of Japan depends solely upon Nichiren. For example, a house cannot stand without pillars, and a person would be dead without a spirit. I am the spirit of the Japanese people. Hei no Saemon, however, has cut down the pillar of Japan. The world will be in turmoil; lies will prevail; fighting will begin among members of the Hojo clan; and moreover Japan will be attacked by foreign forces just as I wrote in my Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma (Risshō Ankoku-ron).
Thus I wrote On the Opening of the Eyes and gave it to my disciples and lay followers in Kamakura through Shijo Kingo’s messenger. It seems that some disciples who were still with me thought it was worded too strongly, but nobody could stop me. (WNS5, adapted, p. 36)
Throughout On the Opening of the Eyes Nichiren uses a series of comparisons to show that the teaching of the Lotus Sutra can enable all people to attain buddhahood. These comparisons range from the various non-Buddhist philosophies and religions of China and India to all the schools of Buddhism that had been brought to Japan by the thirteenth century. This writing is therefore a survey of the development of world religions, especially of Buddhism, from the perspective of a highly educated Japanese monk of the thirteenth century whose sole concern was to discern which teaching could best liberate people from suffering and enable them to attain the selfless compassion of buddhahood.
Nichiren also shows that the Lotus Sutra itself predicted that anyone propagating it in the Latter Age of the Dharma would be bound to encounter the kinds of hardships that Nichiren and his disciples had already faced and would continue to face. Nichiren also discerned that of all the teachers in Japan at that time, he was the only one who was directing people to the Lotus Sutra instead of away from it. Having reflected upon these things, Nichiren states his determination in the form of a threefold vow to continue upholding the Lotus Sutra for the sake of Japan, no matter what hardships he might have to face:
… no matter how many great difficulties fall upon me, I will not submit to them until a wise person defeats me by reason. Other difficulties are like dust in the wind. I will never break my vow to become the pillar of Japan, to become the eyes of Japan, and to become a great vessel for Japan.
For the Nichiren Buddhist tradition, this writing is considered Nichiren’s testimony regarding his identity as the foremost practitioner of the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyō-no-gyōja) in the Latter Age of Degeneration (mappō). The Latter Age of Degeneration is the era when the true spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings will be forgotten. Nichiren and his East Asian contemporaries believed that this era had begun in the year 1052. However, as the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren believed that he was fulfilling the mission given to Superior Practice Bodhisattva, one of the four leaders of the bodhisattvas appearing from underground in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sutra. These bodhisattvas are given the specific transmission to spread the Wonderful Dharma in the Latter Age by the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha in Chapter Twenty-one of the Lotus Sutra. By upholding the Lotus Sutra and spreading the practice of the daimoku, Nichiren came to believe that he was, at the very least, the forerunner of Superior Practice Bodhisattva. The mainstream of the Nichiren Buddhist tradition in Japan has long considered Nichiren to be the “appearance” of Superior Practice Bodhisattva” and the exemplar of all those who continue to uphold and practice the Lotus Sutra.
This collection of essays is the first English translation of Bukkyo No Oshie, Shakuson To Nichiren Shōnin. That book has been used mainly as the source material and study guide for an advanced examination taken by priests in the Nichiren Shū branch of Buddhism. Today, we have an increasing number of Nichiren Shū priests outside of Japan, many of whom do not speak Japanese fluently yet still want to participate in an English version of the exam.
The collection covers the life of Siddhārtha Gautama, also known as Śākyamuni Buddha; the teachings of the Buddha and their development over time; the Lotus Sūtra, the teaching of the Buddha which is the foundation of the practice of Nichiren Shū; the teachings of Tiāntái, a Chinese monk who lived in the 6th century CE and wrote extensively on the structure and ideas of the Lotus Sūtra; the life of Nichiren Shōnin who founded Nichiren Buddhism; the teachings of Nichiren Shōnin, based on the Lotus Sūtra and the teachings of the Buddha and Tiāntái; and finally a history of the various branches of Nichiren Buddhism following the death of Nichiren Shōnin in 1282 CE.
All those who worked on this first edition hope that it will find an audience beyond those ordained in Nichiren Shū, and provide a detailed background of Nichiren Buddhism, both for those who practice and for those with a more academic interest. …
With palms together,
Shinkyo Will Warner
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.
April 2021
Buddhist Integration of Religion, Thought and Culture
From Keisho Tsukamoto’s Preface:
The central idea of the Lotus Sutra is integration, that the teaching of three vehicles is an expedient to enable all to reach enlightenment (in the words of the classical commentators, “opening up and merging,” Ch., k’ai-san hsien-i). We may think of the Lotus Sutra as the scripture of a religious movement within Mahayana Buddhism that set out to integrate within Buddhism the religion, thought, and culture of the peoples who lived in northwestern India around the beginning of the common era. This is what is generally called Ekayāna (One Vehicle) thought. This book verifies the historical background, together with the relevant social and cultural factors, that encouraged such religious harmony and fostered establishment of the idea of integration. It approaches those phenomena through not only philology but also historical science, archaeology, art history, paleography, epigraphy, and numismatics.
Can one be a Buddhist who believes in protective deities and still enjoy moments of serendipity? I pick up one book and it leads me to another and that book talks about something I’m currently posting on this website. Coincidence?
When I was reading Daniel Montgomery’s Fire in the Lotus I enjoyed his summary of the life of Kumārajīva and posted it here. Montgomery noted that he picked up the story from Kōgen Mizuno’s “Buddhist Sutras: Origin, Development, Transmission.”
“Buddhist Sutras: Origin, Development, Transmission” was adapted by Mizuno in 1982 from a series of articles originally published in Kōsei, a monthly magazine of Risshō Kōsei-kai. In finding this book, I realized I had found the perfect companion for Keisho Tsukomoto’s “Source Elements of the Lotus Sutra: Buddhist Integraton of Religion, Thought, and Culture,” which Rev. Ryuei McCormick recommended. The two Risshō Kōsei-kai books will provide an excellent foundation upon which I can build my understanding of the Lotus Sutra.
While personally enjoying this esoteric material, I’ve been feeling a tad guilty about whether this might put off others who won’t see the value. Then the other day I came across this quote in Mizuno’s “Buddhist Sutras”:
In his Miao-fa lien-hua-ching wen-chü (Textual Commentary on the Lotus Sutra), Chih-i examined individual words and phrases of the Lotus Sutra from four points of view and further developed his thoughts in thirteen minutely considered facets. For instance, a Chinese ideogram meaning “buddha” is analyzed thoroughly from thirteen different perspectives. Such a study is invaluable from a scholar’s point of view because it encompasses all Chinese views on the Buddha current at that time; however, in terms of practical value, Chih-i’s commentary is so copious in its detail that it simply compounds any confusion that the average person might have been troubled with before consulting it.
In general, the following four interpretations of the word “buddha” offered by Chih-i seem to be most germane for the nonspecialist curious about the theoretical and practical meanings of the word.
The Buddha is one’s focus of devotion in the true sense. He is the savior who delivers human beings from their sufferings and fulfills their desires and is also the figurative parent and lord of humankind. Thus one should offer prayer and reverence to him with an attitude of total dedication and of obedience to his teaching. (This is regarded as the “first-step” view of the Buddha.)
When considering the essence of the Buddha objectively, the discriminating person thinks of his Law (that is, of the universal, logical truth of the universe), of justice and benevolence as the basic ideal virtues of humankind, and of selfless compassion as the means of saving all sentient beings.
Since the second interpretation alone is not sufficient to sustain a living faith, it must be merged with the first. Thus the third interpretation unites the abstract theory of the first with the concrete practice implied by the second.
When one has at last arrived at a state of profound faith, one has attained unity with the Buddha and is always embraced by him even if one’s awareness of the Buddha is not perfect (that is to say, not in complete accord with the union of theory and practice set forth above in the third interpretation). In this fourth interpretation one has already achieved buddhahood and sees the buddhanature in all the objects and beings one encounters and venerates all those objects and beings as buddhas. It is at this point that the buddha-land, or paradise, becomes a reality rather than an ideal or goal.
Although the T’ien-t’ai sect enjoyed a very highly developed intellectual and philosophical appreciation of Buddhism as a religion, unlike the Hua-yen sect [Flower Garland], for example, it also embraced a thoroughly pragmatic, down-to-earth practice of the religion that enabled it to survive while the completely academically oriented schools perished.
A timely message about the need for practice to leaven study.
Serendipity of simple coincidence or the intervention of the protective deities?
Available on AmazonWhen I first picked up Fire in the Lotus and saw that it devoted four chapters to Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai, I assumed it was going to be another homage to President Daisaku Ikeda. Instead I found a reasoned exploration of Nichiren Buddhism and its many varieties. If anything, Daniel Montgomery walks a doctrinal line established by Professor Senchu Murano (1908-2001), who translated the Lotus Sutra in 1974 for Nichiren Shu. Montgomery was the editor of the Second Edition revision of Murano’s translation.
Fire in the Lotus was published in 1991. As a result it does not address the excommunication of Soka Gakkai members by Nichiren Shoshu on Nov. 28, 1991. It also discusses groups such as Nichijo Shaka’s Buddhist School of America that have since disappeared. But on a whole, it stands up well today.
That’s not to say that I don’t have any complaints. Montgomery erroneously conflates the Parable of the Priceless Gem of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples, with the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top-Knot of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.
Another parable in the Sutra treats the matter from a different angle. A young man became drunk after an evening of carousing and passed out. A wealthy friend had to leave him there, but decided first to do him a favour. He took a valuable jewel and placed it in the drunken man’s topknot. Surely, he reasoned, when his friend woke up, he would notice the jewel, use it to pay any expenses, and still have plenty left over for whatever he wanted.
But this did not happen. When the drunken man got up the next day, it never occurred to him that he was now wealthy. First he was thrown out of the inn for not paying his bill. Then things went from bad to worse. He wandered from place to place, doing odd jobs when he could and living from hand to mouth.
Years later, his wealthy friend ran into him and was shocked by his appearance. ‘What happened to you?’ he asked. ‘How did you lose all your money?’
‘What money? I never had any. You know that.’
The money from the jewel I left in your topknot. I left it for you so that you could pay your expenses, invest the rest, and go into business for yourself.’
The poor man dug into his topknot and, sure enough, there was the priceless jewel! It had been there all along. He had been a rich man, carrying a fortune with him wherever he went, but he had never known it.
So it is, says the Buddha, with everyone. The priceless jewel, the Buddha nature, lies within us untapped. The only difference between the Buddha and us is that he knows this, has unraveled his topknot, and exposed the jewel of the Buddhahood. (Page 50)
Then there’s the question of how one writes the Daimoku in English. For most of the book, Montgomery uses Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. But occasionally Soka Gakkai’s spelling with Nam sneaks in. It is understandable when Montgomery is quoting a Nichiren Shoshu or a Soka Gakkai source, but then it pops up unexpectedly:
Even more extraordinary is the story of Nisshin Nabekamuri, the ‘pot-wearer’ (1407-88). A representative of Toki Jonin’s Nakayama School, he arrived in Kyoto at the age of 22, and promptly set to work writing a thesis in imitation of Nichiren’s, which he called, ‘Establish the Right Law and Rule the Country’. When he finished it he presented it to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, which was a mistake. The Shogun had once been an ordained monk on Mount Hiei, and had inherited a bitter hatred for Nichiren Buddhism. He decided to break Nisshin for his impertinence. The young priest was arrested and tortured. Nisshin was not tortured only once, but daily for two years. The Shogun took a perverse delight in watching the sufferings of the priest; he supervised the daily tortures by fire, rack, sword, and whatever else he could think of. Nothing would make Nisshin stop chanting, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Finally the Shogun ordered that a metal pot be jammed over his head to keep him quiet, but from underneath the pot could still be heard, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!
Nisshin’s ordeal might have continued indefinitely had not the cruel Shogun been assassinated one day while watching a theatrical performance. Nisshin was released, and the pot was removed from his head. He rebuilt his temple, which had been destroyed, took up his drum, and went back to the street corners to chant, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Never one to avoid a challenge, he is said to have triumphed in 60 religious debates in the course of his 65-year career. (Page 161-162)
One assumes Montgomery got this version of the tale from Nichiren Shoshu/Soka Gakkai materials, but the inconsistency grates.
Montgomery has something of pattern of picking up material whole. For example, in discussing Shariputra’s dislike for women he quotes from Buddha-Dharma: New English Edition, published by the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation in 1984.
However, there is a delightful Sanskrit story that even Shariputra met his match when he encountered a woman saint in heaven and asked her, ‘Now that you have the ability, why don’t you change yourself into a man?’ Instead of answering him, she turned him into a woman and asked him if he felt any different.
That “delightful Sanskrit story” is actually the Vimalakīrti Sūtra and the “saint in heaven” is actually a goddess who has been living in Vimalakīrti’s room for 12 years. Here’s Burton Watson’s translation of the exchange:
Shariputra said, “Why don’t you change out of this female body?
The goddess replied, “For the past twelve years I have been trying to take on female form, but in the end with no success. What is there to change? If a sorcerer were to conjure up a phantom woman and then someone asked her why she didn’t change out of her female body, would that be any kind of reasonable question?”
“No,” said Shariputra. “Phantoms have no fixed form, so what would there be to change?”
The goddess said, “All things are just the same—they have no fixed form. So why ask why I don’t change out of my female form?”
At that time the goddess employed her supernatural powers to change Shariputra into a goddess like herself, while she took on Shariputra’s form. Then she asked, “Why don’t you change out of this female body?”
Shariputra, now in the form of a goddess, replied, “I don’t know why I have suddenly changed and taken on a female body!”
The goddess said, “Shariputra, if you can change out of this female body, then all women can change likewise. Shariputra, who is not a woman, appears in a woman’s body. And the same is true of all women—though they appear in women’s bodies, they are not women. Therefore the Buddha teaches that all phenomena are neither male nor female.”
Then the goddess withdrew her supernatural powers, and Shariputra returned to his original form. The goddess said to Shariputra, “Where now is the form and shape of your female body?”
Shariputra said, “The form and shape of my female body does not exist, yet does not not exist.”
The goddess said, “All things are just like that—they do not exist, yet do not not exist. And that they do not exist, yet do not not exist, is exactly what the Buddha teaches.”(Page 90-91)
All things considered, Fire in the Lotus is an excellent addition to any library devoted to Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra.
From the NBIC Online Store
This prayer book is a handy new edition by Rev. Jodo Kiyose of Nichihonji Temple, published by Rev. Shukai Oikawa of Joenji Temple, designed to serve as an introduction to the liturgy of the Nichiren Order. Although it is impossible to replace a teacher who could explain the liturgy, this book will be helpful for those who may have been chanting the Japanese without a clear notion of its meaning as many of the important quotations of the liturgy have been extracted and broken down into simple components to acquaint the practitioner with its basic meaning.
The question my life presses upon me, whether I face it directly or not, is “How shall I live?” “As what kind of person?” All of us face the task of constructing a life for ourselves, of shaping ourselves into certain kinds of people who will live lives of one kind or another, for better or worse. Some people undertake this task deliberately; they make choices in life in view of an image of the kind of person they would hope to become. From the early beginnings of their tradition, Buddhists have maintained that nothing is more important than developing the freedom implied in their activity of self-cultivation—of deliberately shaping the kind of life you will live. For Buddhists, this is the primary responsibility and opportunity that human beings have. It is, they claim, our singular freedom, a freedom available to no other beings in the universe. And although circumstances beyond anyone’s control will make very different possibilities available for different people, Buddhists have always recognized that the difference between those who assume the task of self-sculpting with imagination, integrity, and courage, and those who do not is enormous, constituting in Buddhism the difference between enlightened ways of being in the world and unenlightened ways. …
One sutra introduces the six perfections by having a disciple ask the Buddha: “How many bases for training are there for those seeking enlightenment?” The Buddha responds: “There are six: generosity, morality, tolerance, energy, meditation, and wisdom.”
This sutra claims that the six perfections are “bases for training.” This means that they constitute a series of practices or “trainings” that guide Buddhist practitioners toward the goal of enlightenment or awakening. These six “trainings” are the means or methods to that all-important end. But the perfections are much more than techniques. They are also the most fundamental dimensions of the goal of enlightenment. Enlightenment is defined in terms of these six qualities of human character; together they constitute the essential qualities of that ideal human state. The perfections, therefore, are the ideal, not just the means to it. Being generous, morally aware, tolerant, energetic, meditative, and wise is what it means for a Buddhist to be enlightened. If perfection in these six dimensions of human character is the goal, then enlightenment, understood in this Buddhist sense, would also be closely correlated to these particular practices. Recognizing this, one sutra says: “Enlightenment just is the path and the path is enlightenment. ” To be moving along the path of self-cultivation by developing the six perfections is the very meaning of “enlightenment.”
The Flowering of the Two Truths Theory In Chinese Buddhism
From the Forward by David W. Chappell
This volume represents the first comprehensive study in English of the teaching of the Threefold Truth, perhaps the single most important doctrine in T’ien-t’ai Buddhism. Its author, Paul Swanson, stands as the first of a new generation of Buddhist scholars attempting to provide a comprehensive analysis of T’ien-t’ai for the West and thus to open new vistas for understanding East Asian Buddhism as a whole.
As the first major school of Buddhism in East Asia, T’ien-t’ai marked a watershed in Chinese philosophy. Subsequent developments in Buddhist thought defined themselves in terms of the position they took in its regard, and this is what makes its understanding so critical for the study of Buddhist intellectual history.
To take but one example, it has always been something of a minor mystery why the Three-Teatise (Sanlun) theories of the Chinese Mādhyamika School vanished after having played a decisive role in fifth and sixth century China. The present study provides part of the answer in arguing that Mādhyamika did not in fact die in China but only ceased to exist as a distinct, sociologically discernible entity because it had become absorbed into the foundations for a new breed of indigenous Buddhist schools. First among these new schools, as the author shows, was Tien-t’ai.
The key figure in this first of the major Chinese Buddhist schools was Chih-i (538-597), who is rightly considered the greatest of all Chinese Buddhist philosophers and has been ranked with Thomas Aquinas and al-Ghazali as one of the great systematizers of religious thought and practice in world history. In contrast to Ch’an and Pure Land Buddhism, however, T’ien-t’ai Buddhism is so multidimensional and comprehensive that it is often not easy to understand. This fact, together with its failure to attract a strong following in the West, has led to its neglect by serious scholars.
Nikkyō Niwano’s book, first published in Japanese in 1969 and in English in 1970, is not a book about the Lotus Sutra in the way 
Buddhist Integration of Religion, Thought and Culture
From the NBIC Online Store
From the Forward by David W. Chappell