It is important to recognize that the bodhisattvas who spring up from the earth are not merely historical beings of the past. They include ourselves. Shakyamuni Buddha was a historical person. He was born, lived, and died on earth. So too were the leading shravakas who appear in the Dharma Flower Sutra – Shariputra, Ananda, Subhuti, Katyayana, Kashyapa, Maudgalyayana, and others. These are the names of historical people. But the famous, and not so famous, bodhisattvas are not historical, at least not in the same sense. Manjushri, Maitreya, Universal Sage (Pǔxián/Fugen/Samantabhadra), Earth Store (Dìzàng/Jizo/Kshitigharba), and Kwan-yin (Kannon/Avalokiteshvara) are the five most prominent bodhisattvas in East Asian religion and art. Though all, especially Manjushri, Maitreya, and Kwan-yin, are believed to have been embodied in a variety of historical figures, none is an actual historical figure. The same is true of other bodhisattvas who have important roles in the Dharma Flower Sutra, bodhisattvas such as Never Disrespectful, Medicine King, and Wonderful Voice, and the four leading bodhisattvas who emerge from the earth in Chapter 15. Although some are believed to have been embodied in one or more historical figures, none is historical in the sense that Shakyamuni, Shariputra, and you and I are historical. Rather, they are models for us, setting examples of bodhisattva practices that we can follow.

But the enormous horde of bodhisattvas who well up from the earth with the four leaders are perhaps a little different. They appear, not in historical time, but in a powerful story. The text says that the four groups, the monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, could see these bodhisattvas “by the divine powers of the Buddha.” This is another way of referring to the human imagination, to the power that we all have to transcend everyday life, the power to see the buddha in others. The bodhisattvas are nameless, and, except for greeting and showing respect to all the buddhas, in this story and in subsequent chapters of the Sutra they do nothing. We can understand this to mean that in a sense they are not yet. The emergence of bodhisattvas from the earth is not a one-time event in ordinary time, but an ongoing process – bodhisattvas are emerging from the earth still. And not only, of course, in India, but virtually everywhere there are human beings. If we use our own powers of imagination, we can see bodhisattvas emerging from the earth all around us! We ourselves can be among them.

While this story is about a king and his army, compared with many other religious texts, the Lotus Sutra is remarkably free of military imagery. Apart from this story, the only armies mentioned in the sutra are the armies of Mara, a sort of Indian version of the devil or Satan. Terms such as “soldier,” “general” (except for the “generals of heaven”), “war,” “military,” “battle,” and so on simply are not used in the Dharma Flower Sutra.

Even here, it is relevant to note that the powerful, holy, wheel-rolling king who is at the center of the parable is not primarily a warrior. He is a holy chakravartin-raja, an ideal ruler or king in Indian mythology, a king who rules not by force but by righteousness and doing good. Chakra is the Indian word for wheel and a chakravartin is a wheel-turner, a title that could be given to any powerful ruler, the idea being that, as the wheels of his chariot roll along, all obstacles in the ruler’s path are destroyed. In Buddhism, however, the wheel becomes the Dharma wheel, and the wheel-rolling king can become a symbol of one whose teachings are so powerful that they overcome all obstacles.

Today, when so many seem to think that the only way to safety and happiness for humanity is through war, and through constantly looking for evil in order to punish it, it is good to know that the Dharma Flower Sutra teaches that the way to peace is through seeking out and rewarding the good in others. For many, it is precisely this positive thrust of the Dharma Flower Sutra – its affirmation of the opportunities offered to us within this life, where suffering is pervasive – that makes it the supreme sutra. In this story, this parable of the jewel in the topknot, we can see both the idea that the Dharma Flower Sutra is supreme and the idea that it is supreme precisely because it directs us to seek out and reward the good that we can find everywhere.

After all, it is not only holy wheel-rolling kings who have jewels to give. Anyone, by seeking to reward others, can find their own life greatly enriched. Even if such a practice does not always lead to comfort, and you can be sure that there will be times when it will not, it can lead to a kind of equanimity that might be called “trouble-free.”

The chapter closes with the idea that those who read the Sutra will be rewarded in many ways and will have marvelous dreams assuring them of ultimately becoming buddhas. That is, receiving the Sutra not only changes our lives by making us more positive and happy, it even helps make our dreams more pleasant.