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

This chapter ends with this summary of the variety of merits enjoyed by anyone who understands, however briefly, the ever-present nature of the Buddha:

Anyone who not only understands
This sutra by faith
But also keeps, reads and recites
And copies it, or causes others to copy it,
And strews flowers, incense,
And incense powder to a copy of it,
And lights lamps of the perfumed oil
Of sumanas, campaka, and atimuktaka
Around the copy of this sutra
And offers the light thus produced to it,
Will be able lo obtain inumerable merits.
His merits will be as limitless as the sky.

Needless to say, so will be the merits of the person
Who keeps this sutra, gives alms, observes the precepts,
Practices patience, prefers dhyana-concentrations,
And does not get angry or speak ill of others.

Anyone who respects the stupa-mausoleum,
Who is modest before bhiksus,
Who gives up self-conceit,
Who always thinks of wisdom,
Who does not get angry when asked questions,
And who expounds the Dharma
According to the capacities of the questioners,
Will be able to obtain innumerable merits.

When you see any teacher of the Dharma
Who has obtained these merits,
You should strew heavenly flowers to him,
Dress him in a heavenly garment,
Worship his feet with your head,
And think that he will become a Buddha.

You should think
“He will go to the place of enlightenment before long.
He will be free from asravas and free from causality.
He will benefit all gods and men.”

Erect a stupa in the place
Where he expounded even a gatha of this sutra
While he was standing,
Walking, sitting or reclining!
Adorn the stupa beautifully,
And make various offerings to it!

He is my son.
I will accept his place as mine.
I will be there.
l will walk, sit or recline there.

Note the Buddha’s attitude toward teachers of the Dharma. As noted in the Daily Dharma from May 9, 2015:

It is important for us to treat all people, especially those who share this practice of the Buddha Dharma with us, with the same respect we would give to the Buddha himself.

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

After focusing on the need for “faith” and what is so difficult to believe, I want to step back at this point and just marvel at how long the Buddha has been the Buddha.

Listen to me attentively! I will tell you about my hidden core and supernatural powers. The gods, men and asuras in the world think that I, Sakyamuni Buddha, left the palace of the Sakyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gaya, and attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi [forty and odd years ago]. To tell the truth, good men, it is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of kalpas since I became the Buddha.

Pausing here to underline hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas. That’s hundreds of thousands of billions times a hundred thousand million. And then you multiply that by the number of years in a kalpa, which some estimate to be around 4.32 billion years.

Suppose someone smashed into dust five hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhya worlds, which were each composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, and went to the east [carrying the dust with them). When he reached a world at a distance of five hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhya worlds [from this world], he put a particle of dust on that world.

Pausing again to underline a distance of five hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhya worlds. That’s five hundred thousand billion times a hundred thousand million times 10 to the 52nd power. And that’s just the number of worlds between one particle of dust and the next.

Then he went on again to the east, and repeated the putting of a particle of the dust [on the world at every distance of five hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhya worlds] until the particles of the dust were exhausted. Good men! What do you think of this? Do you think that the number of the world he went through is conceivable, countable, or not?

Maitreya Bodhisattva and others said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Those worlds are innumerable, uncountable, inconceivable. No Sravaka or Pratyekabuddha could count them even by his wisdom-without-asravas. We are now in the state of avaivartika, but cannot, either. World-Honoured One! Those worlds are innumerable.

Thereupon the Buddha said to the great multitude of Bodhisattvas:

Good Men! Now I will tell you clearly. Suppose those worlds, whether they were marked with the particles of the dust or not, were smashed into dust. The number of the kalpas which have elapsed since I became the Buddha is one hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhyas larger than the number of the particles of the dust thus produced. All this time I have been living in this Saha-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhya worlds outside this world.

And later he adds:

Good men! The duration of my life, which I obtained by the practice of the way of Bodhisattvas, has not yet expired. It is twice as long as the length of time as previously stated.

Eternity is a matter of perspective. For example, a quick Google search finds that the shortest lifespan of an animal is the Dolania americana, or mayfly. The adult females of the species live for less than five minutes. My single lifetime of more than 64 years encompasses something like 6,727,680 generations of female mayflies. Now consider that homo sapiens have been walking this earth for perhaps 10,000 generations.

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.

Last month dealt with Maitreya’s puzzlement over the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from Underground.

The Buddha’s explanation:

Thereupon Sakyamuni Buddha said to Maitreya Bodhisattva:

Excellent, excellent, Ajita! You asked me a very important question. All of you should concentrate your minds, wear the armor of endeavors, and be resolute. Now I will reveal, I will show, the wisdom of the Buddhas, their supernatural power without hindrance, their dauntles powers like a lion’s, and their great power of bravery.

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

Exert yourselves and concentrate your minds!
Now I will tell you about this matter.
Do not doubt me!
My wisdom is difficult to understand.

Arouse your power of faith,
And do good patiently!
You will be able to hear the Dharma
That you have never heard before.

Now I will relieve you.
Do not doubt me! Do not be afraid!
I do not tell a lie.
My wisdom is immeasurable.
The highest Dharma that I attained
Is profound and difficult to understand.
Now I will expound it.
Listen to me with all your hearts!

There upon the World-Honored One, having sung these gathas, said to Maitreya Bodhisattva:

Now I will tell all of you in this great multitude, Ajita! [I know that] you have never seen these great, innumerable, asamkhya Bodhisattva-mahasattvas who sprang up from underground. After I attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in this Saha-World, I taught these Bodhisattvas, led them, trained them, and caused them to aspire for enlightenment. They lived in the sky below this Saha-World. When they were there, they read many sutras, recited them, understood them, thought them over, evaluated them, and remembered them correctly. Ajita! These good men did not wish to talk much with others [about things other than the Dharma] but to live in a quiet place. They practiced the way strenuously without a rest. They did not live among gods and men. They had no hindrance in seeking profound wisdom. They always sought the teaching of the Buddha. They sought unsurpassed wisdom strenuously with all their hearts.

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

Ajita, know this, these great Bodhisattvas
Have studied and practiced
The wisdom of the Buddha
For the past inmumerable kalpas.

They are my sons because I taught them
And caused them to aspire for great enlightenment.
They have been living in this world
[For the past innumerable kalpas]

They always practiced the dhuta.
They wished to live in a quiet place.
They kept away from bustling crowds.
They did not wish to talk much.

These sons of mine studied my teachings
Strenuously day and night
In order to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha.
They lived in the sky
Below this Saha-World.

Resolute in mind,
They always sought wisdom,
And expounded
Various wonderful teachings without fear.

I once sat under the Bodhi-tree
In the City of Gaya,
Attained perfect enlightenment,
And turned the wheel of the unsurpassed Dharma.

Then I taught them,
And caused them to aspire £or enlightenment.
Now they do not falter [in seeking enlightenment].
They will be able to become Buddhas.

My words are true.
Believe me with all your hearts!
I have been teaching them
Since the remotest past.

Underscore this:

Arouse your power of faith,
And do good patiently!
You will be able to hear the Dharma
That you have never heard before.

Ryusho Jeffus Shonin’s Lecture on the Lotus Sutra says this about faith:

Frequently when the word faith is used there is a subtext present when some people hear it that informs them there should be absolute belief without question in order for faith to be present. It is important to understand that faith in Buddhism is about questioning and exploring. Faith and questioning are not incompatible or exclusive of each other. Our questions are not indicators of doubt and should not be viewed with suspicion or fear.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Next month I’ll focus on Maitreya’s questions about what the Buddha has just told him to accept in faith.

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

Last month, I focused on the Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top-Knot and this month I had intended to follow yesterday’s peaceful practices with more of the same. Instead, I want to dream.

Sakyamuni promises that anyone who seeks the elightenment of the Buddha and adheres to the peaceful practics will gain certain benefits, among them a dream:

He will dream:
‘Surrounded by bhiksus,
The Tathagatas are sitting
On the lion-like seats,
And expounding the Dharma.’

He also will dream:
‘As many living beings, including dragons and asuras,
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Are joining their hands together
Towards me respectfully,
And I am expounding the Dharma to them.’

He also will dream:
‘The bodies of the Buddhas are golden-colored.
They are emitting innumerable ray of light,
And illumining all things.
The Buddhas are expounding all teachings
With their brahma voices.
I am among the four kinds of devotees
To whom a Buddha is expounding
The unsurpassed Dharma.
I praised the Buddha
With my hands joined together.
I heard the Dharma from him with joy.
I made offerings to him, and obtained dharanis.
I also obtained irrevocable wisdom.
The Buddha knew
That I entered deep into the Way to Buddhahood.
So he assured me of my future attainment
Of perfect enlightenment, saying:
‘Good man, in your future life,
You will be able to attain immeasurable wisdom,
That is, the great enlightenment of the Buddha.
Your world will be pure and large
Without a parallel.
There will be the four kinds of devotees there.
They will hear the Dharma from you
With their hands joined together.’

He also will dream:
‘I am now in the forest of a mountain.
I studied and practiced good teachings.
I attained the truth of the reality of all things.
I am now in deep dhyana-concentration.
I see the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.’

He also will have a good dream:
‘The bodies of the Buddhas are golden-colored.
They are adorned with a hundred marks of merits.
Having heard the Dharma from them,
I am now expounding it to others.’

He also will dream:
‘Although I was a king, I gave up the five desires
And the most wonderful pleasures.
I left my palace and attendants,
And reached the place of enlightenment.
I sat on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi-tree,
And sought enlightenment.
After seven days, I obtained the wisdom of the Buddhas
And attained unsurpassed enlightenment.
I emerged [from dhyana] and turned the wheel of the Dharma.
I expounded the Dharma to the four kinds of devotees
For a thousand billion kalpas.
I expounded the Wonderful Dharma without asravas
And saved innumerable living beings.
Then I entered into Nirvana
Just as a flame dies when smoke is gone.’

Anyone who expounds
This supreme teaching
In the evil world after [my extinction]
Will obtain great benefits as previously stated.

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

Last month, I discussed the first of the four sets of things a Bodhisattva-mahasattva who wishes to expound this sutra should do in the evil world after the Buddha’s extinction. This time through, I review the things to be approached:

We are given a lengthy list of proper things the Bodhisattva-mahasattva should avoid, e.g. kings, princes, ministers or other government directors; heretics; aspirants for the teaching of Brahman; writers of worldly literature; players of dangerous sports such as boxers or wrestlers; or hunters or fishermen.

That’s just a partial list of those whom a Bodhisattva should not approach.

But…

When they come to him, he should expound the Dharma to them, but should not wish [to receive anything from them].

And in gathas:

A Bodhisattva who wishes
To expound this sutra without fear
In the evil world
After [my extinction]
Should perform proper practices
And approach proper things.

He should keep away
From kings, princes and ministers,
From other government officials,
From players of dangerous sports,
From candalas, from heretics,
And from aspirants for the teaching of Brahman.

He should not approach arrogant people,
Or the scholars who are deeply attached
To the Three Stores of the Lesser Vehicle,
Or the bhilsus
Who violate the precepts,
Or self-appointed Arhats,
Or the bhisunis
Who like to laugh playfully.

He should not approach the upasikas
Who are attached to the five desires
Or who seek in their present life
The extitiction[-without-remainder].

When they come to him
With good intent
In order to hear
About the enlightenment of the Buddha,
He should expound the Dharma to them
Without fear,
But should not wish to receive
Anything from them.

Next month, the proper things a Bodhisattva should know.

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

Today’s reading in Chapter 12 includes Sakyamuni’s description of his previous life as a king:

I remember that I became a kjng in a kalpa of the past.
Although I was a king,
I did not indulge in the pleasures of the five desires
Because l was seeking the Great Dharma.

The bottom line of this tale is, of course, that the king seeks a teacher and finds a seer who was a previous life of Devadatta.

But what stood out for me today was this explanation of why he, a king, sought the Dharma:

I sought the Great Dharma strenuously
Because I wished to save all living beings.
I did not wish to benefit myself
Or to have the pleasures of the five desires.

Such selfless compassion.

Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Yesterday and last month, I focused on the arrival of the stupa of treasures containing Many Treasures Tathagata.

But you can’t just see the Buddha in the Stupa of Treasures, as Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva learns when he asks to see Many Treasures Buddha.

The Buddha said to Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva-mahasattva:

Many-Treasures Buddha made another great vow: ‘If a Buddha wishes to show me to the four kinds of devotees when my stupa of treasures appears before him in order that I may be able to hear the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharrna [directly from him], he must call back all the Buddhas of his replicas who will be expounding the Dharma in the worlds of the ten quarters at that time. Then I will show myself [to the four kinds of devotees].’ Great­Eloquence! Now I will collect the Buddhas of my replicas who are now expounding the Dharma in the worlds of the ten quarters.

The June 9 Daily Dharma discusses the significance of this:

The Buddha makes this declaration to Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva in Chapter Eleven of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, a large tower has sprung up from underground. From inside, the voice of Many-Treasures Buddha proclaims the truth of the Lotus Sutra that Śākyamuni Buddha is teaching. Before the Buddha can open the door to this tower and allow the congregation to see this Buddha, Śākyamuni must summon all the other Buddhas in the other worlds throughout the universe. We often say of others, “They live in their own world.” We are surrounded by as many worlds as there are people in our lives. When we summon their Buddha-Nature using our Buddha-Nature, we open doors to treasures we can barely imagine.

Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

Last month and the month before I focused on the promises made to those who expound this sutra after the extinction of the Buddha.

Now it is time for the arrival of the stupa of treasures:

Thereupon a stupa of the seven treasures sprang up from underground and hung in the sky before the Buddha. The stupa was five hundred yojanas high and two hundred and fifty yojanas wide and deep. It was adorned with various treasures. It was furnished with five thousand railings and ten million chambers. It was adorned with innumerable banners and streamers, from which jeweled necklaces and billions of jeweled bells were hanging down. The fragrance of tamalapattra and candana was sent forth from the four sides of the stupa to all the corners of the world. Many canopies, adorned with streamers, and made of the seven treasures–gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, pearl and ruby–were hanging in the sky [one upon another from the top of the stupa] up to the [heaven of the] palaces of the four heavenly-kings. The thirty-three gods offered a rain of heavenly mandarava-flowers to the stupa of treasures. Thousands of billions of living beings, including the other gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, also offered flowers, incense, necklaces, streamers, canopies and music to the stupa of treasures, venerated the stupa, honored it, and praised it.

Thereupon a loud voice of praise was heard from within the stupa of treasures:

“Excellent, excellent! You, Sakyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Sakyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”

From Rev. Ryuei McCormick’s book “Lotus Seeds“:

Many Treasures Tathagata represents many things. On one level, he represents all the Buddhas of the past, and his testimony shows that Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings are in accord with the universal truth, valid in all ages and in all worlds. On another level, Shakyamuni Buddha personifies subjective wisdom while Many Treasures Tathagata personifies objective reality. When they share the seat within the Stupa of Treasures they are actually demonstrating the unity of wisdom and reality, subject and object. The emergence of the Stupa of Treasures itself and the testimony of the Many Treasures Tathagata from within it could also indicate the emergence of Buddhahood from within our lives and our own inner recognition of and response to the truth when we hear it.

Lotus Seeds

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Last month, I focused on Ananda, who is foremost in hearing the sutras. This month I’ll move to Rahula.

When I was a crown prince,
Rahula was my eldest son.
When I attained the enlightenment of the Buddha,
He received the Dharma, and became the son of the Dharma.

In his future life he will see
Many hundreds of millions of Buddhas,
Become the eldest son of those Buddhas, and seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha with all his heart.

Only I know his secret practices.
He shows himself
To all living beings
In the form of my eldest son.

He has many thousands of billions of merits.
His merits are countless.
He dwells peacefully in the Dharma of the Buddha,
And seeks unsurpassed enlightenment.

Ryusho Jeffus Shonin’s Lecture on the Lotus Sutra says this about Rahula’s secret practices:

It is the ordinary day-to-day practice that each of us performs that is actually the great secret practice of Rahula. It isn’t fame or acquiring a big name that is required to attain enlightenment. It isn’t being famous that will lead others to practice the Lotus Sutra. It is our practice of the Lotus Sutra in our everyday lives that will enable countless others just like us to ultimately take faith in the Lotus Sutra. We should not be discouraged, instead we can look at Rahula who will become Walking-On-Flowers-Of-Seven-Treasures Buddha and we too can walk on the flowers of the seven treasures of Myoho-Renge-Kyo.

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Last month, I focused on Purna, the son of Maitrayani. The Buddha reveals that his appearance as the Sravaka foremost in expounding the Dharma is only an expedient. He is really a Bodhisattva.

After the Buddha assures “these twelve hundred Arhats, who are present before me,” of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi one after another, the arhats come to understand “we were like men of no wisdom because we were satisfied with the wisdom of the Lesser Vehicle although we had already been qualified to obtain the wisdom of the Tathagata.”

They offer the Parable of the Priceless Gem and recognize that they had forgotten that they, like Purna, are really bodhisattvas.

We thought that we had attained extinction when we attained Arhatship because we forgot that we had been taught to aspire for the knowledge of all things by you when you were a Bodhisattva just as the man who had difficulty in earning his livelihood satisfied himself with what little he had earned. You, the World-Honored One, saw that the aspiration for the knowledge of all things was still latent in our minds; therefore, you awakened us, saying, ‘Bhiksus! What you had attained was not perfect extinction. I caused you to plant the good root of Buddhahood a long time ago. [You have forgotten this; therefore,] I expounded the teaching of Nirva]Ja as an expedient. You thought that you had attained true extinction when you attained the Nirvana [which I taught you as an expedient].’

World-Honored One! Now we see that we are Bodhisattvas in reality, and that we are assured of our future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Therefore, we have the greatest joy that we have ever had.