Whereas it's a symbol of paradise for the Pure Land school, in The Lotus Sutra, the principal sutra of the Tiantai school, the lotus represents the "mysterious law" through which people can gain enlightenment.
有別於淨土，大乘佛教天台宗的根本經典名為《妙法蓮華經》，蓮華，即妙法。蓮花代表接引眾生的法門。