Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Many Treasures, the Buddha who arrives in the Stupa of Treasures, made two Great Vows:

When he was yet practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas, he made a great vow: ‘If anyone expounds a sutra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in any of the worlds of the ten quarters after I become a Buddha and pass away, I will cause my stupa-mausoleum to spring up before him so that I may be able to prove the truthfulness of the sutra and say ‘excellent’ in praise of him because I wish to hear that sutra [directly from him].’

And…

Many-Treasures Buddha made another great vow: ‘If a Buddha wishes to show me to the four kinds of devotees when my stupa of treasures appears before him in order that I may be able to hear the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [directly from him], he must call back all the Buddhas of his replicas who will be expounding the Dharma in the worlds of the ten quarters at that time. Then I will show myself [to the four kinds of devotees].’

Which brings us to the big reveal:

Thereupon Sakyamuni Buddha, having seen that all the Buddhas of his replicas had already arrived and sat on the lion-like seats, and also having heard that they had told their attendants of their wish to see the stupa of treasures opened, rose from his seat, and went up to the sky. All the four kinds of devotees stood up, joined their hands together towards him, and looked up at him with all their hearts. Now he opened the door of the stupa of the seven treasures with the fingers of his right hand. The opening of the door made a sound as large as that of the removal of the bolt and lock of the gate of a great city. At that instant all the congregation saw Many-Treasures Tathagata sitting with his perfect and undestroyed body on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures as if he had been sitting in dhyana-concentration. They also heard him say:

“Excellent, excellent! You, Sakyamuni Buddha, have joyfully expounded the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. I have come to hear this sutra [directly from you].”

After Sakyamuni takes a seat beside Many-Treasures and Sakyamuni raises everyone up to see him beside Many Treasures, he asks:

Who will expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in this Saha-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvana before long. I wish to transmit this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sutra may be preserved.

And in gathas:

(The Buddha said to the great multitude.)
Who will protect
And keep this sutra,
And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me to do this!

Many-Treasures Buddha,
Who had passed away a long time ago,
Made a loud voice like the roar of a lion
According to his great vow.

Many-Treasures Tathagata and I
And the Buddhas of my replicas,
Who have assembled here,
Wish to know who will do [all this].

My sons!
Who will protect the Dharma?
Make a great vow
To preserve the Dharma forever!

The payoff for this job:

Anyone who expounds this sutra
Will be able to see me,
To see Many-Treasures Tathagata,
And to see the Buddhas of my replicas.

But, as Sakyamuni explains, it won’t be easy:

It is not difficult
To expound all the other sutras
As many as there are sands
in the River Ganges.

It is not difficult
To grasp Mt. Sumeru And hurl it to a distance
Of countless Buddha-worlds.

It is not difficult to move [a world]
[Composed of] one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
With the tip of a toe
And hurl it to another world.

It is not difficult
To stand in the Highest Heaven
And expound innumerable other sutras
To all living beings.

It is difficult
To expound this sutra
In the evil world
After my extinction.

And after outlining the rigors to be faced by the expounder of the Lotus Sutra, Sakyamuni says:

Since I attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
I have expounded many sutras
In innumerable worlds.

This sutra is
The most excellent.
To keep this sutra
Is to keep me.

Good men!
Who will receive and keep this sutra,
And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me
[To do all this]!

The Hotoge verses follow which reminds me of the scene described in Lotus in a Sea of Flames.

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

The powers of the expounder of the Lotus Sutra:

I have expounded many sutras. I am now expounding this sutra. I also will expound many sutras in the future. The total number of the sutras will amount to many thousands of billions. This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.

Medicine-King! This sutra is the store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas. Do not give it to others carelessly! It is protected by the Buddhas, by the World-Honored Ones. It has not been expounded explicitly. Many people hate it with jealousy even in my lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after my extinction.

Medicine-King, know this! Anyone who copies, keeps, reads and recites this sutra, 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.

Without laziness:

Medicine-King! How should the good men or women who live after my extinction expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees when they wish to? 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.

Without laziness in gathas:

If you wish to give up all indolence,
Hear this sutra!
It is difficult to hear this sut:ra.
Few receive it by faith.

And…

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!

Behold, a stupa of treasures appears from underground:

Thereupon a loud voice of praise was heard from within the stupa of treasures:

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.

To be continued…

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.

Chapter 9 covers the assurance of Buddhahood for Ananda, foremost in hearing the sutras, and Sakyamuni’s son, Rahula, foremost in inconspicuous practice, and 2,000 additional Sravakas.

The Bodhisattvas complained about the attention Ananda and the previous Sravakas were receiving:

There were eight thousand Bodhisattvas who had just resolved to aspire [for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi] in this congregation. They thought, ‘As far as we have heard, even great Bodhisattvas have never been assured of their future Buddhahood. Why have these Sravakas been so assured?’

But Ananda, as with Purna yesterday, is not an ordinary Sravaka:

“Good men! Ananda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sarnbodhi 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-sambodhi [, 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-sambodhi], according to his original vow. Therefore, now he has been assured of his future Buddhahood.”

As for Rahula, he too has a special relationship:

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

In his future life he will see
Many hundreds of millions of Buddhas,
Become the eldest son of those Buddhas, and seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha with all his heart.

Only I know his secret practices.
He shows himself
To all living beings
In the form of my eldest son.

He has many thousands of billions of merits.
His merits are countless.
He dwells peacefully in the Dharma of the Buddha,
And seeks unsurpassed enlightenment.

Sakyamuni then assured the 2,000 Sravakas in the audience of their future Buddhahood:

Thereupon the two thousand Sravakas, of whom some had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn, having heard the Buddha assure them of their future Buddhahood, danced with joy, and sang in a gatha:

You, the World-Honored One, are the light of wisdom.
Hearing from you
That we are assured of our future Buddhahood,
We are as joyful as if we were sprinkled with nectar.

All of that, though, was prelude for the big news to come in Chapter 10, “The Teacher of the Dharma.”

Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in the presence of the eighty thousand great men:

Medicine-King! Do you see the innumerable gods, dragon-kings, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, men, and nonhuman beings, and [the four kinds of devotees:] bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas, and those who are seeking Sravakahood or Pratyekabuddhahood or the enlightenment of the Buddha in this great multitude? If in my presence any of them rejoices, even on a moment’s thought, at hearing even a gatha or a phrase of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I will assure him of his future Buddhahood, saying to him, ‘You will be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.’

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 Sutra 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…

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. It is needless to say this of those who expound this sutra to many people in a great multitude.

Don’t shoot the messenger:

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.

Praise the messenger:

Why is that? It is because, while he is expounding the Dharma with joy, if you hear it even for a moment, you will immeruately be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

In gathas:

If you wish to dwell in the enlightenment of the Buddha,
And to obtain the self-originating wisdom,
Make offerings strenuously to the keeper
Of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma!

If you wish to obtain quickly the knowledge
Of the equality and differences of all things,
Keep this sutra, and also make offerings
To the keeper of this sutra!

Anyone who keeps
The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma,
Know this, has compassion towards all living beings
Because he is my messenger.

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

Purna, the son of Maitrayani, is one of the 10 great voice hearers. But he is not just any Sravaka:

Thereupon the Buddha said to the bhiksus:

“Do you see this Purna, the son of Maitrayani, I always praise him, saying that he is the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. I also praise him for his various merits. 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.

Purna is not an ordinary Sravaka seeking to remove himself from the World of Endurance. He is a son of the Buddha, a secret Bodhisattav:

Bhiksus, 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 [Sravakahood]
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.

After assuring the 1,200 Arhats of their future Buddhahood, the 500 Arhats tell the PARABLE OF THE PRICELESS GEM. Telling the Buddha that he is like the friend who sewed a priceless gem in the garment, they said:

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.