Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Having last month considered supernatural powers of the Buddhas, we conclude today’s portion of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.

Anyone who understands why the Buddhas expound [many] sūtras,
Who knows the position [of this sūtra in the series of sūtras],
And who expounds it after my extinction
According to its true meaning,
Will be able to eliminate the darkness
Of the living beings of the world where he walks about,
Just as the light of the sun and the moon
Eliminates all darkness.
He will be able to cause innumerable Bodhisattvas
To dwell finally in the One Vehicle.

Therefore, the man of wisdom
Who hears the benefits of these merits
And who keeps this sūtra after my extinction,
Will be able to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha
Definitely and doubtlessly.

The Daily Dharma from Feb. 27, 2023, offers this:

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to expound
The meanings of the teachings,
And the names and words [of this sūtra].
Their eloquence will be as boundless
And as unhindered as the wind in the sky.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. This teaching transforms us from beings who exist for our own comfort and awakens our true nature as Bodhisattvas: beings who exist for the benefit of all beings. This transition requires that we engage with these other beings and break out of the isolation of our own attachments. The first step is simply to listen, to be present and accept whatever the world has to offer. But at some point we need to speak. It can be difficult to know what to say. But with this Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, we find that because it embodies the Buddha’s highest wisdom, so long as we transmit what it has taught us, we will always have ways to use it to benefit other beings and bring this teaching to life in our world.

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