as Dogen Zenji said,
even the sound of the bell and the color of the mountain are bodhisattvas—they
all can teach. Actually, he means that all we see teaches the Lotus Sutra. That
is how we Zen Buddhists understand this sutra. Zen Buddhism, especially Dogen's
Zen, actually arose from the Tendai school and teaching. But the difference is
that the other school treats this sutra as the king of sutras, the highest
sutra, but we do not. We think this is one of the important sutras, but all of
the sutras are important. -------------------------------- Excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki lecture - 68-02-00-E as found on shunryusuzuki.com. Edited by DC