Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

This first time through under my single-topic rule allows me to focus on a followup to yesterday’s message and offer why the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma can be heard only once in hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas.

To sum up, all the teachings of the Tathagata, all the unhindered, supernatural powers of the Tathagata, all the treasury of the hidden core of the Tathagata, and all the profound achievements of the Tathagata are revealed and expounded explicitly in this sutra. Therefore, keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sutra, and act according to the teachings of it with all your hearts after my extinction! In any world where anyone keeps, reads, recites, expounds or copies this sutra, or acts according to its teachings, or in any place where a copy of this sutra is put, be it in a garden, in a forest, under a tree, in a monastery, in the house of a person in white robes, in a hall, in a mountain, in a valley, or in the wilderness, there should a stupa be erected and offerings be made to it because, know this, the place [where the stupa is erected] is the place of enlightenment. Here the Buddhas attained Anuttara­samyak-sambodhi. Here the Buddhas turned the wheel of the Dhanna. Here the Buddhas entered into Parinirvana.

This isn’t some ordinary sutra.

I shall not be able to tell all the merits of this sutra to those to whom this sutra is to be transmitted even if I continue telling them by my supernatural powers for many hundreds of thousands of billions of asamkhyas of kalpas.

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

My self-imposed single-topic restriction leaves me wondering how to approach both the story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva as a previous life of Sakyamuni and the next chapter where we see the reaction of Sakyamuni to the vow of the Bodhisattvas from Underground to expound the Lotus Sutra everywhere after Sakyamuni’s extinction.

And having no obvious choice, I’ll ignore all of that and instead underscore what I see as the bottom line of the tale of Never-Despising Bodhisattva:

This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sutra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sutra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sutra].

He should expound this sutra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

No doubts here.

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.

The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma

These men and women will accrue great merits of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Between yesterday’s portion and today, we have a wonderful – and here I mean full of wonder – litany of the merits to be earned by those who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sutra.

And all of this with “natural” sense organs:

Anyone who keeps this sutra
Will be able to have these merits of the nose
Although he has not yet obtained the nose
Of the Bodhisattva [who attained] the
Dharma-without-asravas.

And…

Although he has not yet obtained the wonderful body
[Of the Bodhisattva who knows] the nature of
the Dharma-without-asravas,
He will be able to have all these things
Reflected on his pure and natural body.

And…

Anyone who keeps the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will have his mind purified as previously stated.
Although he has not yet obtained the [wisdom-]without-asravas,
He will be able to obtain [these merits of the mind].

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.

Yesterday we read about the merits that accrue from “understanding by faith,” and today we learn of the merits of simply rejoicing at hearing even a gathas of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Asked by Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahasattva to quantify the merits to be given to the good man or woman who rejoices at hearing the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha offers this illustration of how the Lotus Sutra might be spread:

Ajita! Suppose a bhiksu, a bhiksuni, an upasaka, an upasika, or some other wise person, whether young or old, rejoices at hearing this sutra in a congregation after my extinction. After leaving the congregation, he or she goes to some other place, for instance, to a monastery, a retired place, a city, a street, a town, or a village. There he or she expounds this sutra, as he or she has heard it, to his or her father, mother, relative, friend or acquaintance as far as he or she can. Another person who has heard [this sutra from him or her], rejoices, goes [to some other place] and expounds it to a third person. The third person also rejoices at hearing it and expounds it to a fourth person. In this way this sutra is heard by a fiftieth person. Ajita! Now I will tell you the merits of the fiftieth good man or woman who rejoices at hearing [this sutra]. Listen attentively!

I have great affinity for this description: He or she expounds this sutra, as he or she has heard it, to his or her father, mother, relative, friend or acquaintance as far as he or she can.

Feeble and weak as my understanding may be, I rejoice in hearing and in turn pass it on.

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

Yesterday’s reading encouraged “understanding by faith” and today we learn the merits of doing just that.

Thereupon the Buddha said to Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahasattva: “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.

And …

Those who have firm faith,
And who are pure and upright,
And who hear much and memorize all teachings,
And who understand my words
According to their meaning,
Will have no doubts [about my longevity].

Most important of all …

Ajita! The good men or women who hear of my longevity of which I told you, and understand it by firm faith, will be able to see that I am expounding the Dharma on Mt. Grdhrakuta, surrounded by great Bodhisattvas and Sravakas. They also will be able to see that the ground of this Saha-World is made of lapis lazuli, that the ground is even, that the eight roads are marked off by ropes of jambunada gold, that the jeweled trees are standing in lines, and that the magnificent buildings are made of treasures. They also will be able to see that the Bodhisattvas are living in those buildings. They will be able to see all this because, know this, they have already understood [my longevity] by firm faith.

By faith.

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

Again, there is a wealth of material here but on the first time through with my one-topic limit I have to begin at the beginning.

Thereupon the Buddha said to the great multitude including Bodhisattvas and others, ‘Good men! Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!’

He said to the great multitude again, ‘Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!’

He said to them once again, ‘Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!’

What’s going to be said just can’t be understood without faith.

As the Buddha explains in Chapter 2, Expedients:

The Dharma cannot be shown.
It is inexplicable by words.
No one can understand it
Except the Buddhas
And the Bodhisattvas
Who are strong in the power of faith.

And in Chapter 3, A Parable, the Buddha repeats:

Even you, Sariputra,
Have understood this sutra
Only by faith.
Needless to say,
The other Sravakas cannot do otherwise.
They will be able to follow this sutra
Only because they believe my words,
Not because they have wisdom.

Again and again we learn of those who “received this sutra by faith” and “understood it by faith.”

Faith in the past, faith today and faith tomorrow.

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.

I’ll leave for coming months discussion of the surprise the great Bodhisattvas who rose from the ground present to Maitreya or the Buddha’s explanation or the consternation created by that explanation.

Instead I want to focus today on the Buddha’s response to the great Bodhisattvas, who asked if the living beings “are ready to receive your teaching.”

The Buddha replied:

Truly, truly good men! I am peaceful. I am in good health. The living beings are ready to be saved. They do not fatigue me because I already taught them in their consecutive previous existences, and also because they have already honored the past Buddhas respectfully and planted the roots of good. As soon as they saw me and heard my teachings, they received my teachings by faith and entered into the wisdom of the Tathagata, except those who had previously studied and practiced the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle. Now I am causing [the followers of the Lesser Vehicle] to hear this sutra and to enter into the wisdom of the Buddha.

Underline They do not fatigue me because I already taught them in their consecutive previous existences, and also because they have already honored the past Buddhas respectfully and planted the roots of good.

This is a confirmation of what was explained in Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City. There we learned that in the remotest past Sakyamuni was one of 16 princes who became sramaneras and taught the Lotus Sutra. Sakyamuni has been teaching these beings throughout all of their existences.

These sixteen Bodhisattvas willingly expounded the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Each of them taught six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings were always accompanied by the Bodhisattva[, by whom they were taught,] in their consecutive existences. [In each of their consecutive existences,] they heard the Dharma from him, and understood it by faith. By the merits [they had thus accumulated], they were given a privilege to see four billion Buddhas, that is, four billion World­Honored Ones. They have not yet seen all of them.

And again:

Bhiksus! When we were sramaneras, we each taught many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings who followed me, heard the Dharma from me in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Some of them are still in Sravakahood. I now teach them the Way to Anuttara-samyak­sarnbodhi. … Those living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, whom I taught [ when I was a sramanera], included you bhiksus and those who will be reborn as my disciples in Sravakahood after my extinction.

Which brings up the idea of us always having a good teacher, but I’ll leave that for the discussion of Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

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

Since I picked the Bodhisattvas for the day’s focus yesterday, I’ll continue with that topic today and again pass over the Peaceful Practices for future months, including The Parable of the Priceless Gem in the Top-Knot.

And so continuing from yesterday …

Thereupon the Bodhisattva-mahasattvas, more than eight times the number of the sands of the River Ganges, who had come from the other worlds, rose from among the great multitude, joined their hands together towards the Buddha, bowed to him, and said:

World-Honored One! If you permit us to protect, keep, read, recite and copy this sutra, and make offerings to it strenuously in this Saha-World after your extinction, we will [do so, and] expound it in this world.

Thereupon the Buddha said to those Bodhisattva-mahasattvas:

No, good men! I do not want you to protect or keep this sutra because there are Bodhisattva-mahasattvas sixty thousand times as many as the sands of the River Ganges in this Saha-World. They are each accompanied by attendants also numbering sixty thousand times as many as the sands of the River Ganges. They will protect, keep, read, recite and expound this sutra after my extinction.

These Bodhisattvas from other worlds who fretted yesterday so greatly about how they would be received in this Saha world in the evil times after the Buddha’s extinction need not have worried themselves. That job has already been filled by a vast crowd of not only a greater number but of a greater stature. Just how great we’ll see tomorrow.

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

This day’s content lends itself well to the idea of limiting myself to single topic. On this first time with the limit I’ll leave the Peaceful Practices for coming months, each one on a separate month. For today, I’ll stick to the “eighty billion nayuta Bodhisattva-mahasattvas” present at this time in the congregation.

These great bodhisattvas – they’d “already reached the stage of avaivartika, turned the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma, and obtained dharanis” – were waiting for the Buddha to tell them what to do.

If the World-Honored One commands us to keep and expound this sutra, we will expound the Dharma just as the Buddha teaches.

They also thought, ‘The Buddha keeps silence.’ He does not command us. What shall we do?

In order to follow the wish of the Buddha respectfully, and also to fulfill their original vow, they vowed to the Buddha with a loud voice like the roar of a lion:

World-Honored One! After your extinction, we will go to any place [not only of this Saha-World but also] of the worlds of the ten quarters, as often as required, and cause all living beings to copy, keep, read and recite this sutra, to expound the meanings of it, to act according to the Dharma, and to memorize this sutra correctly. We shall be able to do all this only by your powers. World-Honored One! Protect us from afar even when you are in another world!

And despite their willingness to brave the perils of the “dreadful, evil world after your extinction,” the Buddha has other plans.

To be continued…

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

So, again, my one-topic-a-day vow forces me to ignore the Dragon girl who defies all convention concerning female virtues, animal or otherwise, and quickly becomes a Buddha and also the reassurance given to Sakyamuni’s aunt and the mother of Rahula that when Sakyamuni said all sravakas would eventually attain enlightenment he meant all, both men and women. I’ll return to these in the coming months.

Today, what grabbed was the role that the teacher played in the king’s search for bodhi. This king, of course, was Sakyamuni in a previous life and the seer, Devadatta. Hear is what the teacher did:

Devadatta was my teacher. He caused me to complete the six paramitas. He caused me to have loving-kindness, compassion, joy and impartiality. He caused me to have the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks [of the Buddha]. He caused me to have my body purely gilt. He caused me to have the ten powers and the four kinds of fearlessness. He caused me to know the four ways to attract others. He caused me to have the eighteen properties and supernatural powers [of the Buddha]. He caused me to have the power of giving discourses. I attained perfect enlightenment and now save all living beings because Devadatta was my teacher.

Devadatta was a good friend of Sakyamuni, at least he was in that lifetime.