Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory.
Having last month considered Wonderful-Light’s expounding of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, we consider the life of the lazy man.
There was a lazy man
Among the disciples
Of Wonderful-Light, the Teacher of the Dharma.
[The lazy man] was attached to fame and gain.Always seeking fame and gain,
He often visited noble families.
He did not understand what he had recited,
Gave it up, and forgot it.
Because of this,
He was called Fame-Seeking.But he [later] did many good karmas,
And became able to see innumerable Buddhas.
He made offerings to them,
Followed them, practiced the Great Way,
And performed the six paramitas.
Now he sees the Lion-Like One of the Sakyas.He will become a Buddha
In his future life.
He will be called Maitreya.
He will save innumerable living beings.The lazy man who lived after the extinction
Of [Sun-Moon-] Light Buddha was
No one but you.
Wonderful-Light, the Teacher of the Dharma, was I.
I always smile when I consider that the next Buddha in the Sahā World was a slackard in a previous life. Then there is this from Lotus World: an Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon:
A particularly popular manifestation of Maitreya is the jovial monk whose statue is often mistaken for the Buddha. Taigen Daniel Leighton relates the following about this well-known but misunderstood figure:
“In China Maitreya is nearly synonymous with his supposed incarnation as the historical tenth-century Chinese Zen monk Budai, whose Japanese name, Hotei, may be more familiar in the West. Chinese images of Budai, or Hotei, are frequently labeled simply “Maitreya” (Milo in Chinese) such that in popular Chinese awareness they are virtually identical. Hotei is legendary as a wandering sage with supernatural powers who spent his time in village streets rather than in the security of temples. His image is recognizable as the disheveled, fat, jolly “laughing buddha” whose statue is seen in many Chinese restaurants and in all Chinese Buddhist temples.
“Hotei’s name means “cloth bag,” as he carried a sack full of candies and toys to give to children, with whom he is often depicted in play. This scruffy Buddhist Santa Claus expands our view of Maitreya’s warmth and loving-kindness. Hotei’s fat belly and affinity with children reflects yet another aspect of Maitreya in popular folk religion, that of a fertility deity. Maitreya was sometimes prayed to by those who wanted children, especially in Korea.”