Gene Reeves is just the kind of preacher-teacher I like, one who lays his wares out, takes a step back and lets you appraise what he has to offer without obligation. Buddhism, like all religions, is best appreciated when free of enforcement, and the sound and fury of the zealous.
Originating in India over 2,000 years ago, the Lotus Sutra was memorized and then transmitted orally until it could be recorded in Sanskrit, Chinese and other scripts. The idea of a standard, authoritative version of the work does not exist. Its importance and centrality, in whatever form it has reached us, however, is not disputed.
In his book on the Lotus Sutra, Reeves presents the stories in digest form, supplementing the tales with interpretation and commentary. The author furnishes the uninitiated reader with analysis of a high order. Along the way, he clarifies a number of terms like dharma, samadhi, and nirvana, whose meanings are often only obtusely understood. There are also words we think we know, like "interdependence" and "mutability," which, in the Buddhist context, may require a degree of readjustment.