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

Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya and the others gathered to hear the Buddha teach make this declaration in Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. He and the others thought that their existence was merely to hear and preserve what the Buddha taught them, and to transmit it to others. They believed they were incapable of becoming as enlightened as the Buddha, because the Buddha’s earlier teachings had only led them so far. With the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha reminds all of us of our decision to come to this world of conflict to benefit all beings. He awakens us to our capacity to see the world with his eyes and experience the joy of reality.

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I am always thinking:
“How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?”

The Buddha sings these verses at the end of Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In this chapter he revealed his existence as the Buddha who lives throughout time and space rather than in the limited human body in which we recognize him. When we realize that all the moments of our lives, all the joys and grief we face, all the people and other beings we encounter are in truth the Buddha leading us towards his own enlightenment, we see the Buddha in his true form, and we see the world for what it is.

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Ignorant people will speak ill of us,
Abuse us, and threaten us
With swords or sticks.
But we will endure all this.

Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva, along with their attendants, declare these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha had asked previously who would teach the Lotus Sūtra after the Buddha’s death. These Bodhisattvas realize the difficulty of teaching and keeping this sūtra. They know that some who come to hear the Buddha Dharma are strongly attached to their anger. These Bodhisattvas vow to look beyond the violence and suffering of these people and promise to lead even them to enlightenment.

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Star-King-Flower! This sūtra saves all living beings. This sūtra saves them from all sufferings, and gives them great benefits. All living beings will be able to fulfill their wishes by this sūtra just as a man who reaches a pond of fresh water when he is thirsty, just as a man who gets fire when he suffers from cold.

The Buddha gives this description of the merits of the Lotus Sūtra to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The comparison of our bodily desires to our desire for enlightenment shows the kind of joy we can expect when we realize what this teaching can accomplish. Anyone whose thirst is quenched is sure to become thirsty again, now matter how pleasant it is to drink. The Buddha Dharma fulfills a thirst of which we may not even be aware. We are certain that things in this world of conflict will bring us joy. When we realize they can only bring us pleasure, and know the difference between joy and pleasure, we become aware of our true wishes and what this sūtra does for us.

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Ajita! They need not build a stūpa or a monastery in my honor, or make the four kinds of offerings to the Saṃgha because those who keep, read and recite this sūtra should be considered to have already built a stūpa or a monastery or made offerings to the Saṃgha.

The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva, whom he calls Ajita – Invincible, in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our zeal to emulate the great deeds of the Buddha, or even of our founder Nichiren, we might believe that only by extraordinary accomplishments can we show our gratitude for this teaching. The Buddha reminds us in this chapter that because we are practicing his Dharma in this world of conflict, we have already made these extraordinary accomplishments. He also reminds us that others who practice with us should be treated with the same admiration we have for anyone who has done valuable work.

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When you see anyone who does not receive [this sūtra] by faith, you should show him some other profound teachings of mine, teach him, benefit him, and cause him to rejoice. When you do all this, you will be able to repay the favors given to you by the Buddhas.

The Buddha gives these instructions in Chapter Twenty-Two of the Lotus Sūtra. They remind us to be patient with those whom we work to benefit. Even though they may not be ready to hear the Wonderful Dharma, we can use the Expedient Teachings to prepare them for the Buddha’s highest teaching. When we are assured that countless beings are helping us all to become enlightened, we are less likely to be disappointed in the progress that we see.

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Therefore, Star-King-Flower! I will transmit this Chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva to you. Propagate this chapter throughout the Jambudvīpa in the later five hundred years after my extinction lest it should be lost, and lest Māra the Evil One, the followers of Māra, gods, dragons, yakṣas, and kumbhāṇḍas should take advantage [of the weak points of the people of the Jambudvīpa].

The Buddha gives this explanation to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra. The Jambudvīpa is the name the Buddha gives to this world of conflict and attachment in which we live. Nichiren interprets “the later five hundred years” as the time in which we are living today. The story of Medicine-King Bodhisattva is one of a being who does not spare any part of his life to benefit others. This Bodhisattva is confident that he will become enlightened, and that whatever happens to his physical body, he will always be reborn in worlds where he has the chance to benefit others and lead them by the wisdom of the Buddha. This chapter, and all those towards the end of the Lotus Sūtra, give us examples of how to bring the teachings of the Buddha to life.

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They will be able to recognize all the sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, although they have not yet obtained heavenly ears. Even when they recognize all these various sounds and voices, their organ of hearing will not be destroyed.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. As we shed our delusions and see the world more for what it is, we begin to see and understand things not visible or comprehensible to those still mired in their suffering and attachment. Knowing the suffering we have left behind, we may be lured into abandoning this world and those in it. In this chapter, the Buddha shows that all of the sense organs we have in this life, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and thought, all of these can be used either to increase our delusion or bring us towards awakening. The Buddha reached enlightenment in this world, and so do we.

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Now I will transmit [the Dharma] to you. Keep, read, recite and expound [this sūtra in which the Dharma is given], and cause all living beings to hear it and know it! Why is that? It is because I have great compassion. I do not begrudge anything. I am fearless. I wish to give the wisdom of the Buddha, the wisdom of the Tathāgata, the wisdom of the Self-Existing One, to all living beings.

The Buddha gives these instructions in Chapter Twenty-Two of the Lotus Sūtra. In this transmission, the Buddha bestows his highest teaching not just on those gathered 2500 years ago. He gives it to all of us who hear and keep his teaching today. When the Buddha revealed his true nature as existing through all time and space, he assured us that he is always teaching us, and that the Lotus Sūtra is the vehicle by which he comes to us. By giving us this teaching, he does not lose it. In the same way, when we benefit other beings, we should not be afraid of losing anything, other than our delusion and attachments.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Expound it
To those who make efforts,
Who have compassion towards others,
And who do not spare their lives!

The Buddha sings these verses to all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. These are instructions for us to know who will benefit from the Wonderful Dharma. It is difficult for those who are absorbed in their own suffering to realize the benefit of helping others. It is difficult for those who are distracted by their preoccupations, or who do not believe they can become enlightened, to maintain their efforts to lead all beings to enlightenment. These insights also help us keep our minds open to the Buddha’s teachings.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com