Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month witnessed Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata’s turning of the wheel of the Dharma, we consider the request of the sixteen princes.

“When the Buddha expounded these teachings to the great multitude of gods and men, six hundred billion nayuta men emancipated themselves from āsravas, and obtained profound and wonderful dhyāna-concentrations, the six supernatural powers including the three major supernatural powers, and the eight emancipations because they gave up wrong views. At his second, third and fourth expoundings of these teachings also, thousands of billions of nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges, emancipated themselves from āsravas because they gave up wrong views. [They became Śrāvakas.] Those who became Śrāvakas thereafter were also innumerable, uncountable.

“The sixteen princes were young boys at that time. They renounced the world and became śramaṇeras. Their sense organs were keen; and their wisdom, bright. They had already made offerings to hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, performed brahma practices, and sought Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in their previous existence. They said to the Buddha simultaneously, ‘World-Honored One! All these Śrāvakas of great virtue, many thousands of billions in number, have already done [what they should do]. World-Honored One! Expound to us the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi! If we hear that teaching, we will study and practice it. World-Honored One! We wish to have the insight of the Tathāgata. You know what we have deep in our minds.’

When I read this section today I was struck by the princes’ request: “All these Śrāvakas of great virtue, many thousands of billions in number, have already done [what they should do]. World-Honored One! Expound to us the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi!” These teaching of the Śrāvakas, which later in this chapter will be described as temporary resting places, are not ultimate goal of the Buddha.

As the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra explains:

The Lesser Vehicle of the “Sravaka” and “Pratyekabuddha” drew a sharp line between this world of sufferings and the pure world of spirit. Its followers renounced worldly concerns, devoted their lives to religious austerities, and made every effort to attain absolute tranquility. This made for a two-dimensional world view, esteeming the pure world of spirit and devaluating the everyday world in which we live.

Bodhisattvas, on the other hand, saw the two worlds as one. They saw this world as the center stage for their religious practice, and preached that spiritual enlightenment must be realized in our life in this world. In short, the Bodhisattva’s mission to deliver people from suffering is to be accomplished in this world of sufferings.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, we start at the top with what occurred When Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The Buddha said to the bhikṣus:
“When Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, five hundred billion Buddha-worlds in each of the ten quarters quaked in the six ways, and all those worlds, including those intercepted from the brilliant rays of light of the sun and the moon by the neighboring worlds, were illumined [by great rays of light], and the living beings of those worlds were able to see each other for the first time. They said to each other, ‘How did you appear so suddenly?’ The palaces of the gods of those worlds, including the palace of Brahmans, also quaked in the six ways. The great rays of light which illumined all those worlds were brighter than the rays of light emitted by those gods.

“The palaces of the Brahman-heavenly[-kings] of the five hundred billion worlds in the east were illumined twice as brightly as ever. The Brahman-heavenly-kings [of those worlds] each thought, ‘My palace has never been illumined so brightly before. Why is that?’ They visited each other and discussed the reason. There was a great Brahman-heavenly-king called All-Saving among them. He said to the other Brahmans in gāthās:

Why are our palaces illumined
More brightly than ever?
Let us find [the place]
[From where this light has come].
Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
This great light illumines
The worlds of the ten quarters.

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds went to the west, carrying flower-plates filled with heavenly flowers, in order to find [the place from where the light had come]. Their palaces also moved as they went. They [reached the Well-Composed World and] saw that Great­Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata was sitting on the lion­like seat under the Bodhi-tree at the place of enlightenment, surrounded respectfully by gods, dragon-kings, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. They also saw that the sixteen princes were begging the Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma. Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly­kings worshipped the Buddha with their heads, walked around him a hundred thousand times, and strewed heavenly flowers to him. The strewn flowers were heaped up to the height of Mt. Sumeru. The Brahman-heavenly-kings offered flowers also to the ten-yojana-tall Bodhi-tree of the Buddha. Having offered flowers, they offered their palaces to the Buddha, saying, ‘We offer these palaces to you. Receive them and benefit us out of your compassion towards us!’ In the presence of the Buddha, they simultaneously praised him in gāthās with all their hearts:

You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
It is difficult to meet you.
You have innumerable merits.
You are saving all living beings.

As the great teacher of gods and men,
You are benefiting all living beings
Of the worlds of the ten quarters
Out of your compassion towards them.

We have come here from five hundred billion worlds.
We gave up the pleasure
Of deep dhyāna-concentration
Because we wished to make offerings to you.
Our palaces are beautifully adorned
Because we accumulated merits in our previous existence.
We offer [these palaces] to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!

“Thereupon the Brahman-heavenly-kings, having praised the Buddha with these gāthās, said, ‘World-Honored One! Turn the wheel of the Dharma and save all living beings! Open the Way to Nirvāṇa!’ They simultaneously said in a gāthā with all their hearts:

Hero of the World,
Most Honorable Biped!
Expound the Dharma!
Save the suffering beings
By the power of your great compassion!

“Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata gave his tacit consent to their appeal.

The Daily Dharma from April 23, 2019, offers this:

Did a god of great virtue or a Buddha
Appear somewhere in the universe?
This great light illumines
The worlds of the ten quarters.

The Brahma Heavenly Kings of the East sing these verses as part of a story the Buddha tells in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. Long ago there was another Buddha named Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence. When he became enlightened, the entire universe was illuminated. Beings who had never seen each other could recognize each other clearly. We can see this story as a metaphor for what happens when the Buddha’s wisdom comes into our lives. We leave the darkness of our ego attachment and come into the light of the world as it is.

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

Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.

Having last month considered the process needed for Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence to become that buddha, we meet the sixteens sons of the Buddha.

“Bhikṣus! At the end of the period of ten small kalpas, the Dharma of the Buddhas came into the mind of Great-Universal­Wisdom-Excellence Buddha. Now he attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Before he left home, he had sixteen sons. The first son was called Accumulated-Wisdom. Each of the sons had various playthings. When the sons heard that their father had attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, they gave up the playthings, left home, and came to that Buddha.

“[When they were leaving home,] their mothers saw them off, weeping. Not only the wheel-turning-holy-king, who was their grandfather, but also one hundred ministers and hundreds of thousands of billions of subjects surrounded and followed the princes, wishing to come to the place of enlightenment, to see Great­Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathāgata, to make offerings to that Buddha, respect him, honor him, and praise him.

“Having come [to that Buddha], the princes worshipped him at his feet with their heads, walked around him, joined their hands together towards him with all their hearts, looked up at the World­Honored One, and praised him in gāthās:

In order to save all living beings,
You, the World-Honored One,
Who have great powers and virtues,
[Made efforts] for many hundreds of millions of years.
Now you have become a Buddha.
You have finally fulfilled your vows. Congratulations!

You, the World-Honored One, are exceptional.
When you were sitting,
You were quiet and peaceful.
You did not move your body, hands or feet
For ten small kalpas.

Your mind was tranquil, not distracted.
You have finally obtained tranquil extinction.
You now dwell peacefully in the Dharma-without-āsravas.

Seeing that you have peacefully attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
We, too, have obtained benefits.
Congratulations! How glad we are!
All living beings are suffering.
Being blind, they have no leader.
They do not know how to stop suffering,
Or that they should seek emancipation.
In the long night fewer people go to heaven,
And more people go to the evil regions.
They go from darkness to darkness, and do not hear
Of the names of the Buddhas.

You are the Most Honorable One.
You have obtained the peaceful
Dharma-without-āsravas.
Not only we but also all gods and men
Will be able to obtain the greatest benefit.
Therefore, we bow and devote ourselves to you,
The Most Honorable One.

The Daily Dharma from March 1, 2020, offers this:

Seeing that you have peacefully attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
We, too, have obtained benefits.
Congratulations! How glad we are!

The children of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha sing these verses to their father in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. They realize that when one being reaches enlightenment, it is a benefit for all beings. In Chapter Ten, the Buddha teaches that many people will hate his Wonderful Dharma with jealousy during his lifetime, and many more will be jealous of it after his extinction. These people see the Buddha as different from themselves, and do not understand how they can become as enlightened as he is. They believe that for one person to gain, another must lose. The Buddha shows that all beings benefit from his teaching. Nothing is taken away from anyone.

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

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month considered how the Buddha is like the cloud, we consider the Buddha’s insight into our capacities, appearances, entities and natures.

“The various teachings I expound are of the same content, of the same taste. Those who emancipate themselves [from the bonds of existence,] from illusions, and from birth and death, will finally obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things. But those who hear or keep my teachings or read or recite the sutras in which my teachings are expounded, or act according to my teachings, do not know the merits that they will be able to obtain by these practices. Why is that? It is because only I know their capacities, appearances, entities and natures. Only I know what teachings they have in memory, what teachings they have in mind, what teachings they practice, how they memorize the teachings, how they think of the teachings, how they practice the teachings, for what purpose they memorize the teachings, for what purpose they think of the teachings, for what purpose they practice the teachings, and for what purpose they keep what teachings. Only I see clearly and without hindrance that they are at various stages [of enlightenment]. I know this, but they do not know just as the trees and grasses including herbs in the thickets and forests do not know whether they are superior or middle or inferior. My teachings are of the same content, of the same taste. Those who emancipate themselves [from the bonds of existence,] from illusions, and from birth and death, will finally attain Nirvana, that is, eternal tranquility or extinction. They will be able to return to the state of the Void.

“Although I knew the equality and differences of all things, I refrained from expounding it to them in order to protect them because I saw their [various] desires.

See Deliverance, Abandonment and Extinction

Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month considered how the Śrāvakas shunned the Bodhisattva teaching for themselves, we consider the rewards they received.

World-Honored One!
We have attained enlightenment, perfect fruit.
We have secured pure eyes
With which we can see the Dharma-without-āsravas.

We observed the pure precepts of the Buddha
In the long night.
Today we have obtained the effects and rewards
[Of our observance of the precepts].
We performed the brahma practices for long
According to the teachings of the King of the Dharma.
Now we have obtained the great fruit
Of the unsurpassed Dharma-without-āsravas.

We are Śrāvakas in this sense of the word.
We will cause all living beings
To hear the voice telling
Of the enlightenment of the Buddha.

We are Arhats
In the true sense of the word.
All gods and men,
All Maras and Brahmans
In the worlds
Should make offerings to us.

You, the World-Honored One, are the great benefactor.
By doing this rare thing,
You taught and benefited us
Out of your compassion towards us.

No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he tries to do so
For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.
No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he bows to you respectfully,
And offers you his hands, feet or anything else.

No one will be able to repay your favors
Even if he carries you on his head or shoulders
And respects you from the bottom of his heart
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges,
Or even if he offers you
Delicious food, innumerable garments of treasures,
Many beddings, and various medicines,
Or even if he erects a stupa-mausoleum
Made of the cow-head candana,
And adorns it with treasures,
Or even if he covers the ground
With garments of treasures
And offers them to the Buddha
For as many kalpas
As there are sands in the River Ganges.

Nichiren addresses these verses in his letter Treatise on Prayers:

[I]t is stated in the “Understanding by Faith” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra:

“We are greatly indebted to the World Honored One. Making use of various inexplicable powers, out of compassion He enlightened us, bringing benefit to us. In countless millions of kalpa (aeons) who can ever repay His great favors? Even if we offer Him our hands and feet, bow our heads respectfully and present all manner of offerings, none of us can repay His great favors. Or even if we carry Him on our heads, bear Him on both our shoulders, for kalpa as numerous as the sands in the Ganges River respect Him from bottom of our hearts; even if we offer Him delicious food, innumerable jeweled garments, together with articles of bedding, various kinds of medicines, or even if we build with ox-head sandalwood and all kinds of rare gems a stupa mausoleum and cover the ground with jeweled robes. Even if we were to do all this as the offering to the Buddha for as many kalpa as the sands of the Ganges River, still we will be unable to repay His great favor.”

This scriptural passage is the expression of gratitude of four great śrāvaka disciples to the Buddha and the Lotus Sūtra for preaching the “Parable” chapter telling them that they, too, will become Buddhas. Therefore, these śrāvaka disciples must have understood that those who practice the Lotus Sūtra are more precious than one’s own parents, loving children, two eyes, and even their own lives. It is inconceivable that such great śrāvaka disciples as Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana would abandon those who praise any of the holy teachings preached during His lifetime. However, it is possible that they bear some resentment against the pre-Lotus sūtras. The reason being in those pre-Lotus sūtras the Two Vehicles, śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha, are strongly denied the status of Buddhahood in such phrases as, “In Buddhism, the Two Vehicles are like the rotten seeds of Buddhahood.”

Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 58

Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable

Having last month considered the expedient used to convince the children to escape the burning house, we consider the rich man’s decision to give large carts of treasures to his children.

Seeing them come out
Of the burning house
To the safe crossroad,
He sat on the lion-like seat,
And said to others with joy:
“I am happy.
These children are difficult to bring up.
They are young and ignorant.
They entered the dangerous house.
In that house were
Many poisonous vermin
And many dangerous mountain spirits.
Raging flames of big fires rose
From the four sides of the house
At the same time.
But my children were
Engrossed in playing.
Now I saved them
From the dangers.
Therefore, I am happy.”

The children saw their father
Sitting in peace.
They came to him,
And said:
“Give us
The three kinds of jeweled carts
That you promised us!
You said:
“Come out, and I will give you
The three kinds of carts as you like.”
Now is the time for that.
Give them to us now!”

He was a very rich man.
He had many storehouses.
He made many large carts
Adorned with treasures,
Such as gold, silver,
Lapis lazuli, shell and agate.

[The carts] were beautifully adorned.
Railings were put around them.
Bells were hanging on the four sides
With ropes of gold.

[The carts] were roofed
With nets of pearls.
Garlands of golden flowers
Were hanging on all sides.

Other ornaments of fabrics
Of divers colors
Encircled the bodies of the carts.
Bedding was made of soft cloth.
[The bedding] was covered
With the most wonderful woolen fabrics.
They were bright, white, pure and clean,
Worth hundreds of thousands of millions.

Large white bullocks,
Fat, stout, powerful,
And beautiful in their build,
Were yoked to the jeweled carts.
The carts were also guarded
By many attendants.

[The rich man] gave to each of his children
One of these wonderful carts.
The children
Danced with joy.

They drove these jeweled carts
In all directions.
They were happy and delighted.
Nothing could stop their joy.

The Unity of All Buddhism is one perspective on this:

Great Master Chih-i extolled the teaching of the One Vehicle as the unifying principle of Buddhism, presenting it as the doctrine which “opens the Three to reveal the One (Vehicle)” or “encompasses the three with the One.” Since the Three Vehicles symbolize all the sects of Buddhism united through this principle, the One Vehicle could also mean the unity of all the religions of the world, non-Buddhist as well as Buddhist.
Introduction to the Lotus Sutra