Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Having last month begun Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, complete today’s portion of the chapter.

At that time the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters] said loudly:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”

Having heard their voice from the skies, the living beings of those worlds joined their hands together towards the Sahā World, and said, “Namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya, namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya.” Then they strewed various flowers, various kinds of incense, various necklaces, streamers, canopies, personal ornaments, treasures, and other wonderful things to the Sahā-World from afar.

The strewn things came from the worlds of the ten quarters like gathering clouds and changed into a jeweled awning over the Sahā-World. The awning extended over the Buddhas staying in this world. At that time the worlds of the ten quarters became passable through each other without hindrance as if they had been a single Buddha-world.

Nichiren offers this comparison on the omens presented in Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas:

The Buddha, moreover, showed the ten supernatural powers in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter. These divine powers were far superior to the omens displayed in the “Introductory” and “Emergence of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth” chapters. In the case of the “Introductory” chapter, the rays of light emitted from the forehead of the Buddha shone on 18,000 lands to the east. Compared to this, similar rays of light shown in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter shone on all the worlds throughout the universe. The trembling of the earth described in the “Introductory” chapter was limited to the triple thousand worlds, but the great earthquakes of the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter covered all the worlds of numerous Buddhas, where the earth trembled in six different ways. Compared to the great omens described in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter, other omens were indeed inferior.

Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 123

Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month considered the eight hundred merits of the nose, we begin the gāthās.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

Their nose will be purified.
They will be able to know
The smells of all things,
Be they good or bad.

They will be able to recognize by smell
The sumanas-flowers and jātika-flowers;
Tamala[pattra] and candana;
Aloes and sappanwood;
Various flowers and fruits;
And all Jiving beings including men and women.

Anyone who expounds the Dharma will be able to locate
All living beings from afar by smell.
He will be able to locate by smell
The wheel-turning-kings of great [countries],
The wheel-turning-kings of small [countries],
And their sons, ministers and attendants.

He will be able to locate by smell
The wonderful treasures of personal ornaments,
The underground stores of treasures,
And the ladies of the wheel-turning-kings.

He will be able to recognize persons
By smelling their ornaments or garments
Or by smelling their necklaces
Or by smelling the incense applied to their skin.

Anyone who keeps
This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will be able to know by smell
Whether the gods are walking, sitting, playing or performing wonders.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to locate by smell, without moving about,
The flowers and fruits of trees,
And the oil taken from sumanas-flowers.

He will be able to recognize by smell
The flowers of the candana-trees
Blooming in steep mountains,
And the living beings in those mountains.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to locate by smell
The living beings in the Surrounding Iron Mountains,
In the oceans, and underground.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether asuras and their daughters
And their attendants are fighting
Or playing with each other.

He will be able to locate by smell
Lions, elephants, tigers,
Wolves, wild oxen and buffalos
In the wilderness and in steep places.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether an unborn child is a boy or a girl,
Or a child of ambiguous sex,
Or the embryo of a nonhuman being.

He will be able to know by smell
Whether a woman is an expectant mother,
Or whether she will give an easy birth
To a happy child or not.

He will be able to know by smell
What a man or a woman is thinking of,
Or whether he or she is greedy, ignorant or angry,
Or whether he or she is doing good.

The Daily Dharma from Feb. 14, 2018, offers this:

He will be able to know by smell
What a man or a woman is thinking of,
Or whether he or she is greedy, ignorant or angry,
Or whether he or she is doing good.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. As Bodhisattvas we chose to come into this world, as frightening and dangerous as it is, to make things better for all beings. We do not lose any of the six senses we have, but learn to use them in ways that may seem impossible to others. Any of our senses can be deluded. When we remove our attachments and delusions, we see with the Buddha’s eye 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 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Having last month begun discussion of the merits of the fiftieth good man or woman who rejoices at hearing this sūtra, we consider the example of the great alms giver.

“Suppose the Jambudvipa was filled with wonderful treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, coral and amber; elephant-carts and horse-carts; and palaces and stately buildings made of the even treasures. Suppose a man who was seeking merits gave all those pleasing things [filling the Jambudvipa] to the living beings of four hundred billion asaṃkhya worlds according to their wishes. A world consists of the six regions. The living beings [of the six regions] are of one or another of the four kinds of births: oviparous, viviparous, from moisture, or without any medium. Some of them have form while others do not. Some have desire while others do not. Some have no feet while other have two feet or four or more. Having continued giving those alms to them for eighty years, this great almsgiver thought, ‘I gave those pleasing things to them according to their wishes. Now they are old and decrepit. They are more than eighty years old. Their hair is grey; and their face , wrinkled. They will die before long. I will lead them by the Dharma of the Buddha.’

“Then he collected them. He propagated the Dharma to them, led them by the Dharma, showed them the Dharma, taught them, benefited them, and caused them to rejoice. He caused them to attain in a moment the enlightenment of the Srota-āpanna, of the Sakrdāgāmin, of the Anāgāmin or of the Arhat, eliminate all āsravas, practice deep dhyāna-concentration without hindrance, and obtain the eight emancipations. What do you think of this? Do you think that the merits obtained by this great alms giver were many or not?”

Maitreya said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! I think that his merits were many, immeasurable and limitless. His merits were already immeasurable when he gave all those pleasing things to them. Needless to say, so were his merits when he caused them to attain Arhatship.”

It’s good to ponder for a moment this alms giver. Let the acts of this man who was seeking merits sink in. “Do you think that the merits obtained by this great alms giver were many or not?”

Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

Having last month witnessed the reaction of the gods, we consider the innumerable merits of a moment’s faith.

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.”

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 20, 2017, offers this:

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.

The Buddha makes this declaration to his disciple Maitreya, also known as Invincible (Ajita) in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sutra. In the previous chapter, the Buddha revealed for the first time that his impending death was merely an expedient, intended to reach those who would take him for granted if they thought they could see him at any time. The Buddha explained that this is the teaching that is most difficult to believe and difficult to understand. Namely that he is always present, leading us and all beings to enlightenment.

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

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

Having last month repeated in gāthās the many hundreds of thousands of billions of trillions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas since Śākyamuni became the Buddha, we consider the reality of the power of the Buddha’s wisdom.

I see the [perverted] people sinking
In an ocean of suffering.
Therefore, I disappear from their eyes
And cause them to admire me.
When they adore me,
I appear and expound the Dharma to them.

I can do all this by my supernatural powers.
I live on Mt. Sacred Eagle
And also in the other abodes
For asaṃkhya kalpas.

The [perverted] people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa [of destruction] is coming.”
In reality this world of mine is peaceful.
It is filled with gods and men.
The gardens, forests and stately buildings
Are adorned with various treasures;
The jeweled trees have many flowers and fruits;
The living beings are enjoying themselves;
And the gods are beating heavenly drums,
Making various kinds of music,
And raining mandārava-flowers on the great multitude and me.

[This] pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the [perverted] people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

Because of their evil karmas,
These sinful people will not be able
To hear even the names of the Three Treasures
During asaṃkhya kalpas.

To those who have accumulated merits,
And who are gentle and upright,
And who see me living here,
Expounding the Dharma,
I say:
“The duration of my life is immeasurable.”
To those who see me after a long time,
I say, “It is difficult to see a Buddha.”

I can do all this by the power of my wisdom.
The light of my wisdom knows no bound.
The duration of my life is innumerable kalpas.
I obtained this longevity by ages of practices.

See Opening the Provisional to Reveal the Truth

Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month heard Maitreya’s doubts, we consider a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons.’

“World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’ You are like the young man. It is not long since you attained enlightenment. But it is many thousands of billions of kalpas since the great multitude of these Bodhisattvas began to practice the Way strenuously in order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha. During that time they entered into, stayed in, and came out of many hundreds of thousands of billions of samadhis, and obtained great supernatural powers. They performed brahma practices for a long time. They learned good teachings one by one, and obtained the ability to answer questions skillfully. They are regarded as the treasures of the world of men by all the people of the world because they are rare. Today you say that, after you attained the enlightenment of the Buddha, you caused them to aspire for enlightenment, taught them, and led them into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

“World-Honored One! You did these deeds of great merit although it is not long since you attained Buddhahood. We believe that your words given according to the capacities of all living beings are infallible, and that we understand all that you know. But the beginners in Bodhisattvahood after your extinction, if they hear these words of yours, will not receive them by faith but commit the sin of violating the Dharma. Therefore, World-Honored One! Explain all this so that we may be able to remove our doubts and that the good men in the future may have no doubts when they hear these words of yours!”

The Daily Dharma from May 12, 2018, offers this:

World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’

Maitreya Bodhisattva explains his perplexity to the Buddha in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha had just revealed that he was who taught all the Bodhisattvas who have appeared from underground to continue teaching the Wonderful Dharma after the extinction of the Buddha. Maitreya realizes that his doubts are no different from those of those gathered to hear the Buddha teach and asks the Buddha to explain. When our experience does not match what the Buddha teaches, we should not keep silence and just accept what he tells us. It is only through sincere questioning that we find the Buddha’s mind and make it our own.

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

Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Having last month heard the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top Knot, we consider the reason for expounding the Lotus Sūtra lastly.

“Mañjuśrī! This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most excellent and profound teaching of all the Tathāgatas. Therefore, I expound it lastly just as the powerful king gave the brilliant gem lastly, the one which he had kept [in his topknot) for a long time.

“Mañjuśrī! This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the treasury of the hidden core of the Buddhas, of the Tathāgatas. It is superior to all the other sūtras. I kept it [in secret] and refrained from expounding it for the long night. Now I expound it to you today for the first time.”

Nothing needs to be added to this declaration.

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Having last month considered the third set of peaceful practices, we repeat in gāthās and conclude today’s portion of Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

Anyone who wishes to expound this sūtra
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.

He should not despise others,
Or have fruitless disputes about the teachings.
He should not perplex others by saying to them:
“You will not be able to attain Buddhahood.”

Any son of mine who expounds the Dharma
Should be gentle, patient and compassionate
Towards all living beings.
He should not be lazy.

In the worlds of the ten quarters,
The great Bodhisattvas are practicing the Way
Out of their compassion towards all living beings.
He should respect them as his great teachers.

He should respect the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
As his unsurpassed fathers.
He should give up arrogance
So that he may expound the Dharma without hindrance.

This is the third set of peaceful practices.
A man of wisdom should perform all this.
Anyone who performs these peaceful practices
Will be respected by innumerable living beings.

The Daily Dharma from June 18, 2018, offers this:

Anyone who wishes to expound this sūtra
Should give up jealousy, anger, arrogance,
Flattery, deception and dishonesty.
He should always be upright.

The Buddha sings these verses to Mañjuśrī in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra in which he describes the peaceful practices of a Bodhisattva. The way we live our lives can either reinforce our delusions or help us gain more clarity about how things really are. In these verses, the Buddha advises against these actions not because he will think less of us when we do them, but because when we find ourselves behaving these ways it is because we are not seeing things for what they are.

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

Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Having last month learned Devadatta’s future and the future of those who receive this chapter, we consider Mañjuśrī and his efforts in the palace of Dragon-King Sagara.

At that time Many-Treasures, the World-Honored One, who had come from the nadir,’ was accompanied by a Bodhisattva called Accumulated-Wisdom. The Bodhisattva said to Many-Treasures Buddha, “Shall we go back to our home world?”

Śākyamuni Buddha said to Accumulated-Wisdom:

“Good man, wait for a while! A Bodhisattva called Mañjuśrī is coming. See him, talk about the Wonderful Dharma with him, and then go back to your home world!”

Thereupon Mañjuśrī came sitting on a one-thousand-petaled lotus-flower as large as the wheel of a chariot. He was accompanied by other Bodhisattvas who were also sitting on jeweled lotus-flowers. Mañjuśrī had sprung up from the palace of Dragon-King Sagara in the great ocean, gone up to the sky[, and traveled through the sky towards Mt. Sacred Eagle]. Having reached Mt. Sacred Eagle, he descended from the lotus flower, came to the two World-Honored Ones,” and worshipped their feet with his head. Having completed the worship, he came to Accumulated-Wisdom, exchanged greetings with him, retired and sat to one side.

Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva asked Mañjuśrī, “You went to the palace of the dragon-king. How many living beings did you lead into the Way to Bodhi there?”

Mañjuśrī answered, “Their number is immeasurable, incalculable, inexplicable, unthinkable. Wait for a while! You will be able to see them.”

No sooner had he said this than innumerable Bodhisattvas, who were sitting on jeweled lotus-flowers, sprang up from the sea, came to Mt. Sacred Eagle, went up to the sky, and stayed there. All these Bodhisattvas had been led [into the Way to Bodhi] by Mañjuśrī. They had already performed the Bodhisattva practices. [Up in the sky] they [began to] expound the six pāramitās. Some of them were formerly Śrāvakas. When they were Śrāvakas, they expounded the Śrāvaka practices in the sky. Now they were acting according to the truth of the Void of the Great Vehicle.

Mañjuśrī said to Accumulated-Wisdom, “Now you see the living beings whom I taught in the sea.”

See The Dragon Girl’s Example