Day 15 closes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures

As the Buddha continues his instruction to the Bodhisattvas, he tells them that the Lotus Sutra is the “store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas.” It is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. It’s not to be bandied about carelessly.

Medicine-King, know this! Anyone who copies, keeps, reads and recites this sotra, makes offerings to it, and expounds it to others after my extinction, will be covered by my robe. He also will be protected by the present Buddhas of the other worlds. He will have the great power of faith, the power of vows, and the power of roots of good. Know this! He will live with me. I will pat him on the head.

The Buddha tells Medicine-King to erect a stupa of treasures in any place where the sutra is taught or where a copy of the sutra exists. But the Buddha tells Medicine-King that he need not enshrine the Buddha’s sariras. In reading this tonight, the power of the sutra and its gift were underlined for me by the Buddha’s explanation of why enshrining his relics in such a stupa would be superfluous:

It is because it will contain my perfect body.

Anyone seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi will be digging in a dry hole if he has not heard and understood by faith the Lotus Sutra.

Medicine-King! The Bodhisattvas who, having been surprised at hearing this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, doubt and fear it, know this, are beginners in Bodhisattvahood. The Sravakas who, having been surprised at hearing this sutra, doubt and fear it, know this, are men of arrogance.

The Buddha’s description of how those living after his extinction should expound this sutra is one of my favorite verses:

They should enter the room of the Tathagata, wear the robe of the Tathagata, sit on the seat of the Tathagata, and then expound this sutra to the four kinds of devotees. To enter the room of the Tathagata means to have great compassion towards all living beings. To wear the robe of the Tathagata means to be gentle and patient. To sit on the seat of the Tathagata means to see the voidness of all things. They should do these [three] things and then without indolence expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to Bodhisattvas and the four kinds of devotees.

And in gathas:

If you wish to expound this sutra,
Enter the room of the Tathagata,
Wear the robe of the Tathagata,
Sit on the seat of the Tathagata,
[And after doing these three things,]
Expound it to people without fear!

To enter the room of the Tathagata means
to have great compassion.
To wear his robe means to be gentle and patient.
To sit on his seat means to see the voidness
of all things.
Expound the Dharma only after you do these
[three] things!

Following this, we move into Chapter 11 and the arrival of the Stupa of Treasures. The voice from inside intones:

“Excellent, excellent! You, Sakyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Sakyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”

It is little wonder that those who witnessed this “had delight in the Dharma, but wondered why these unprecedented things had happened.”

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

In Chapter 9, Ananda and Rahula and bunches of Sravakas are assured of their future as Buddhas. When the Bodhisattvas ask why these Sravakas are being singled out, the Buddha reveals a previous life of Ananda:

Good men! Ananda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi under the Void-King Buddha at the same time [in our previous existence]. At that time Ananda always wished to hear much while I always practiced strenuously. Therefore, I have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saIT1bodhi[, but he has not yet]. Now he protects my teachings. He also will protect the store of the teachings of future Buddhas, teach Bodhisattvas, and cause them to attain [Anuttara-samyak-saIT1bodhi], according to his original vow. Therefore, now he has been assured of his future Buddhahood.

Those can, do; those who can’t, protect the teachings. Couldn’t resist.

As for Rahula:

When I was a crown prince,
Rahula was my eldest son.
When I attained the enlightemnent of the Buddha,
He received the Dharma, and became the son of the Dharma.

In Chapter 10, the Buddha, having finished with the Sravakas, addresses the Bodhisattvas:

The Buddha said to Medicine-King:

If after my extinction anyone rejoices, even on a moment’s thought, at hearing even a gatha or a phrase of the Sotra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I also will assure him of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. If anyone keeps, reads, recites, expounds and copies even a gatha of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and respects a copy of this sutra just as he respects me, and offers flowers, incense, necklaces, incense powder, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, canopies, banners, streamers, garments and music to it, or just joins his hands together respectfully towards it, Medicine-King, know this, he should be considered to have appeared in the world of men out of his compassion towards all living beings, although he already made offerings to ten billion Buddhas and fulfilled his great vow under those Buddhas in a previous existence.

And if that wasn’t clear enough for the Bodhisattvas:

The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound and copy even a phrase of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and offer flowers, incense, necklaces, incense powder, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, canopies, banners, streamers, garments and music to a copy of this sutra, or just join their hands together respectfully towards it, should be respected by all the people of the world. All the people of the world should make the same offerings to them as they do to me. Know this! These good men or women are great Bodhisattvas. They should be considered to have appeared in this world by their vow to expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma out of their compassion towards all living beings, although they already attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi [in their previous existence].

The Buddha’s messenger service:

The good men or women who expound even a phrase of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma even to one person even in secret after my extinction, know this, are my messengers. They are dispatched by me. They do my work. lt is needless to say this of those who expound this sotra to many people in a great multitude.

And the Buddha’s messenger are protected:

An evil man who speaks ill of me in my presence with evil intent for as long as a kalpa is not as sinful as the person who reproaches laymen or monks with even a single word of abuse for their reading and reciting the Sntra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The benefits of praising the messenger:

Whoever for as long as a kalpa
Joins his hands together towards me
And praises me with innumerable gathas
In order to attain the enlightenment of
the Buddha,
Will obtain innumerable merits
Because he praises me.
Whoever praises the keeper of this sutra
Will obtain even more merits.

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Purna, the son of Maitrayani having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [of the Buddha] according to the capacilies of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sarnbodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy].

And so begins Chapter 8. The Buddha praises Purna as “the most excellent expounder of the Dharma.”

He strenuously protects my teachings, and helps me propagate them. He shows the Way to the four kinds of devotees, teaches them, benefits them and causes them to rejoice. He explains my right teachings perfectly, and gives great benefits to those who are performing brahma practices with him. No one except the Tathagata excels him in eloquence.

The Buddha reminds us that Purna appears to be a Sravaka only as an expedient for spreading the Dharma:

Although he had the supernatural powers of Bodhisattvas, he performed brahma practices throughout his previous existence. Therefore, the people of the world of the Buddha [under whom he performed brahma practices] thought that he was a Sravaka. He benefited many hundreds of thousands of living beings with this expedient, and also caused innumerable, asamkhya people to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. He did the work of the Buddha, that is, taught all living beings so that the world of the Buddha might be purified.

And in gathas:

Bhisksus, listen to me attentively!
The Way practiced by my sons
Is beyond your comprehension
Because they learned how to employ expedients.

Knowing that people wish to hear
The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle,
And that they are afraid of having the great wisdom,
[My sons, that is,] the Bodhisattvas transform themselves
Into Sravakas or cause-knowers,
And teach the people with innumerable expedients.

Saying to the innumerable living beings, [for instance,]
“We are Sravakas.
We are far from the enlightenment of the Buddha,”
They save them, and cause them to attain [Sravakahoodl
Even the lazy people who wish to hear the Lesser Vehicle
Will become Buddhas with this expedient in the course of time.

My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly
Though they show themselves in the form of Sravakas.
They are purifying my world
Though they pretend to want little
And to shun birth-and-death.
In the presence of the people,
They pretend to have the three poisons and wrong views.
They save them with these expedients.
They change themselves into various forms.
If I speak of all their transformations,
The listeners will doubt me.

The 1,200 Arhats, having heard of the future Buddhahood of Purna and the others, seek assurance of their opportunity and the Buddha complies, saying, “Now I will assure these twelve hundred Arhats, who are present before me, of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi one after another.” And if anyone feels left out he adds:

All the other Sravakas also will [become Buddhas].
Tell this to the Sravakas
Who are not present here!

The Arhats, who feel like dancing at the news, offer the Parable of the Priceless Gem to explain why they settled for the Lesser Vehicle.

World-Honored One! Now we see that we are Bodhisattvas in reality, and that we are assured of our future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Therefore, we have the greatest joy that we have ever had.”

And in gathas:

We are like the poor man.
In the long night you taught us
Out of your compassion towards us,
And caused us to aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].

Because we had no wisdom, we did not notice that
The Nirvana we attained was only part [of your wisdom].
Satsifying ourselves with it,
We did not wish to attain anything more.

Now you have awakened us, saying:
“What you attained was not true extinction.
When you have the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha,
You will attain true extinction.”

Hearing from you that we are assured
Of becoming Buddhas one after another,
And that our worlds will be adorned,
We are joyful in body and mind.

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathagata assented to the requests from the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the worlds of the ten quarters and also by the sixteen princes and turned the wheel of the Dharma:

The Buddha said, ‘This is suffering. This is the cause of suffering. This is extinction of suffering. This is the Way to extinction of suffering.’

Then he expounded the teaching of the twelve causes, saying, ‘Ignorance causes predisposition. Predisposition causes consciousness. Consciousness causes name-and-form. Name-and-form causes the six sense organs. The six sense organs cause impression. Impression causes feeling. Feeling causes craving. Craving causes grasping. Grasping causes existence. Existence causes birth. Birth causes aging-and-death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. When ignorance is eliminated, predisposition is eliminated. When predisposition is eliminated, consciousness is eliminated. When consciousness is eliminated, name-and-form is eliminated. When name-and-form is eliminated, the six sense organs are eliminated. When the six sense organs are eliminated, impression is eliminated. When impression is eliminated, feeling is eliminated. When feeling is eliminated, craving is eliminated. When craving is eliminated, grasping is eliminated. When grasping is eliminated, existence is eliminated. When existence is eliminated, birth is eliminated. When birth is eliminated, aging-and-death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation are eliminated.’

Countless gods and men emancipated themselves upon hearing the teachings and became Sravakas. But the sixteen princes, who renounced the world and became Sramaneras Bodhisattvas sought more:

They said to the Buddha simultaneously, ‘World-Honored One! All these Sravakas of great virtue, many thousands of billions in number, have already done [what they should do]. World-Honored One! Expound to us the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi! If we hear that teaching, we will study and practice it. World-Honored One! We wish to have the insight of the Tathagata. You know what we have deep in our minds.’

Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha assented but he waited 20,000 kalpas before finally expounding “the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ ”

When the Buddha completed the expounding of this sutra, the sixteen sramaneras kept, recited and understood this sutra in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. The sixteen sramaneras, [who were] Bodhisattvas, received this sutra by faith. Some Sravakas understood it by faith, but the other Sravakas and other living beings, thousands of billions in number, doubted it.

At this point Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha entered a quiet room and didn’t come out for 84,000 kalpas. During this period the 16 sramaneras expounded the Lotus Sutra to the four kinds of devotees, showed them the Way, taught them, benefited them, caused them to rejoice and to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

Each of them taught six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings were always accompanied by the Bodhisattva[, by whom they were taught,] in their consecutive existences. [In each of their consecutive existences,] they heard the Dharma from him, and understood it by faith.

Each of the 16 former princes became Buddhas in the worlds of the 10 directions. The 16th sramanera was Sakyamuni, who attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in this Saha-World.

Those living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, whom I taught [when I was a sramanera], included you bhiksus and those who will be reborn as my disciples in Sravakahood after my extinction.

And in gathas:

I was one of the sixteen sramaneras.
You were among those to whom I expounded the Dharma.
Therefore, I now lead you with expedients
To the wisdom of the Buddha.

Because I taught you in my previous existence,
I expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
In order to lead you into the Way to Buddhahood.
Think it over! Do not be surprised! Do not be afraid!

Sakyamuni says “No one in the world can attain [true] extinction by the two vehicles. [True] extinction can be attained only by the One Buddha-Vehicle” and proceeds to offer the Parable of the Magic City. The lesser vehicles are simply places to rest and recuperate on the long, dangerous journey to the wisdom of the Buddha.

I know that the bad road, which is made of birth-and-death and illusions, is dangerous and long, and that we should pass through it and get off it. If you had heard only of the One Vehicle of the Buddha, you would not have wished to see or approach the Buddha, but would have thought, ‘The Way to Buddhahood is too long for us to pass through unless we make painstaking efforts for a long time.’

I knew that you were mean and timid. In order to give you a rest halfway, I expounded expediently to you the teaching of Nirvana by the two vehicles. To those who attained the two [vehicles], I say, ‘You have not yet done all that you should do. You are near the wisdom of the Buddha. Think it over and consider it! The Nirvana you attained is not true. I divided the One Vehicle of the Buddha into three only expediently.’

And in gathas:

The Buddhas expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles
Only as an expedient.
There is only the One Buddha-Vehicle.
The two [vehicles] were taught only as resting places.