Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.
Thereupon the Buddha said to Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahāsattva: “Ajita! Anyone who hears that my life is so long, and understands it by faith even at a moment’s thought, will be able to obtain innumerable merits. Suppose good men or women practiced [ the six pāramitās] except the prajñā- pāramitā, that is, the five pāramitās: the dāna-pāramitā, the śīla-pāramitā, the kṣānti-pāramitā, the vīrya-pāramitā, and the dhyāna-pāramitā, for eighty billion nayuta kalpas in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. These merits of the good men or women are far less than one hundredth or one thousandth of the merits of the person [who understand my longevity by faith even at a moment’s thought], or less than his merits divided by one hundred thousand billion. [The superiority of his merits to theirs] cannot be explained by any calculation or parable or simile.
It cannot be that the good man who obtained merits [by understanding my longevity by faith even at a moment’s thought] falters in walking the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.”
Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:
Suppose someone practiced
The five paramitas
For eighty billion nayuta kalpas
In order to attain the wisdom of the Buddha.Throughout these kalpas he offered
Wonderful food and drink,
Excellent garments and bedding,
And monasteries made of candana
And adorned with gardens and forests
To the Buddhas,
To the cause-knowers, to the disciples,
And to the Bodhisattvas.Throughout these kalpas he made
These various and wonderful offerings
In order to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha.He also observed the precepts,
Kept purity and faultlessness,
And sought the unsurpassed enlightenment
Extolled by the Buddhas.He was patient, gentle,
And friendly with others.
Even when many evils troubled him,
His mind was not moved.He endured all insults and disturbances
Inflicted upon him by arrogant people who thought
That they had already obtained the Dharma.He was strenuous and resolute in mind.
He concentrated his mind,
And refrained from indolence
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.He Lived in a retired place
For innumerable kalpas.
He sat or walked to avoid drowsiness
And to concentrate his mind.By doing so, he became able to practice
Many dhyāna-concentrations.
His mind was peaceful, not distracted
For eighty billion kalpas.With these merits of concentration of his mind,
He sought unsurpassed enlightenment, saying:
“I will complete all these dhyāna-concentrations,
And obtain the knowledge of all things.”He performed
The meritorious practices
As previously stated
For hundreds of thousands of billions of kalpas.The good men or women who believe my longevity,
Of which I told you,
Even at a moment’s thought
Will be able to obtain more merits than he.Those who firmly believe [my longevity ],
And have no doubts about it
Even for a moment,
Will be able to obtain more merits [than he].The Bodhisattvas who have practiced the Way
For the past innumerable kalpas,
Will believe my longevity
When they hear of it.They will receive this sūtra on their heads,
And wish:
“May we live long and save all living beings
Just as the World-Honored One of today,
Who is the King of the Śākyas, [saves them]
By expounding the Dharma without fear
At the place of enlightenment
With [a voice like] a lion’s roar!
When we sit at the place of enlightenment,
Respected by all living beings,
May we preach that we also shall live
As long [as the World-Honored One of today]!”Those who have firm faith,
And who are pure and upright,
And who hear much and memorize all teachings,
And who understand my words
According to their meaning,
Will have no doubts [about my longevity].
The Daily Dharma from Jan. 21, 2023, offers this:
He endured all insults and disturbances
Inflicted upon him by arrogant people who thought
That they had already obtained the Dharma.
The Buddha sings these verses to Maitreya Bodhisattva in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. In Chapter Two of the sūtra, five thousand people left the assembly after the Buddha declared that everything he had taught until then had been an expedient. The Buddha did not stop these people. He said they were arrogant, meaning they believed they already had reached enlightenment and could learn nothing from the Buddha. In this description of the Bodhisattva perfection of Endurance, the Buddha prepares us for the reactions of those who are too attached to their misery to hear the Buddha’s teaching. When we can anticipate this kind of reaction, rather than being shocked by it, we can more easily stay d
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