Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs.

Before getting to the Dharanis and those who offer protective spells, I begin with the answer to Medicine-King Bodhisattva’s question, “How many merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read, recite, understand or copy the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma?”

The Buddha said to him:

Suppose some good men or women make offerings to eight hundred billion nayuta Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. What do you think of this? Are the merits given to them many or not?

“Very many, World-Honored One!”

The Buddha said:

More merits will b given to the good men or women who keep, read or recite· even a single gatha of four lines of this sutra, understand the meanings of it or act according to it.”

As a postscript, on my To-Do list is a compilation of all of the references to the number representing sands in the River Ganges, e.g. eight hundred billion nayuta.