Buddhism for Today: A Modern Interpretation of the Threefold Lotus Sutra

The book is structured around the Threefold Lotus Sutra, moving through the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, the Lotus Sutra, and the Sutra of Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue. It begins by explaining why Buddhist sutras often appear difficult and why the Lotus Sutra should be read as a practical and universal teaching rather than as distant mythology. The discussion then treats the formation and propagation of the Lotus Sutra, its symbolic expressions, Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation, and its transmission into Japan. The main body follows the chapters of the Lotus Sutra in sequence, interpreting major themes such as tactfulness, faith, parables, prediction of Buddhahood, teachers of the Law, the Precious Stupa, Devadatta, the eternal life of the Tathāgata, religious merits, bodhisattva practice, Avalokiteśvara, dhāraṇī, and the role of Universal Virtue. Throughout, Niwano links scriptural teaching to concrete spiritual cultivation: overcoming ego, practicing compassion, cultivating wisdom, forming good habits, repenting wrongdoing, honoring Buddha-nature in others, and living the Dharma in everyday life. The final part explains meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue, emphasizing repentance, reflection on the six sense faculties, purification of body and mind, and the practical embodiment of Buddhist faith.