Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Today begins the “big reveal.” Śāriputra, foremost in wisdom, discovers he’s not so smart after all.

In short, the Buddhas attained the innumerable teachings which you have never heard before. No more, Śāriputra, will I say because the Dharma attained by the Buddhas is the highest Truth, rare [to hear] and difficult to understand.

And in gathas:

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.

This revelation causes confusion, especially among those who thought they knew it all.

The great multitude at that time included Sravakas. [They also included] Ajinata-Kaundinya, and other Arhats, twelve hundred altogether, who had already eliminated asravas. [They also included] the bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas, [that is, the four kinds of devotees] who had already aspired for Sravakahood or Pratyekabuddhahood. All of them thought:

“Why does the World-Honored One extol so enthusiastically the power of the Buddhas to employ expedients? Why does he say that the Dharma attained by him, is profound and difficult to understand, and that the true purpose of his teachings is too difficult for Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas to know? He expounded to us the teaching of emancipation. We obtained this teaching and reached Nirvana. We do not know why he says all this.”

And in gathas:

No one asks you about the Dharma you attained
At the place of enlightenment.
[The Dharma] is too difficult for me to measure.
[So it is for others; therefore,] no one asks you.

Although you are not asked, you extol the teachings
[Of the past Buddhas] which you practiced.
Your wisdom is wonderful.
It is the same wisdom that the other Buddhas obtained.

The Arhats-without-asravas
And those who are seeking Nirvana
Are now in the mesh of doubts, wondering:
“Why does the Buddha say all this?”

Having been here before and knowing where all this is going, I have a much better appreciation of what Sakyamuni is revealing. These guys know they’re not Buddhas and never considered asking how to become Buddhas. They have no idea what they’ve learned is only expedient used to help them free themselves enough to see that there is something more.

It’s no wonder that 5,000 people walk out when the Buddha finally accedes to Śāriputra’s request to explain himself. Their loss.

“Śāriputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds? The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves. They appear in the worlds in order to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to obtain the insight of the Buddha. They appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to enter the Way to the insight of the Buddha. Sariputra! This is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas appear in the worlds.”

The Buddha said to Śāriputra:

The Buddhas, the Tathagatas, teach only Bodhisattvas. All they do is for one purpose, that is, to show the insight of the Buddha to all living beings, to cause them to obtain the insight of the Buddha.

Śāriputra! I also expound various teachings to all living beings only for the purpose of revealing the One Buddha-Vehicle. There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra! All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

And…

I know that all living beings have various desires. I also know that they have attachments deep in their minds. Therefore, I expound various teachings to them with stories of previous lives, parables, similes and discourses, that is to say, with various expedients according to their natures.

Śāriputra! I do all this for the purpose of causing them to realize the teaching of the One Buddha-Vehicle, that is, to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things. Śāriputra! There is not a second vehicle in the worlds of the ten quarters. How can there be a third?

The day ends with this:

“Sariputra and all of you present here! Understand the Dharma by faith with all your hearts! There is no vehicle other than the One Buddha-Vehicle.”

Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory

Most interesting to me in this chapter is the way it sets up what will come in the following chapters. On the first day everyone witnesses what is happening in worlds in the east that are being illuminated by the Buddha. Today, Manjusri explains that what everyone sees today is exactly what he saw happen in a long-ago previous existence.

As Day 2 opens, Manjusri answers Maitreya’s question about whether Manjusri has ever seen such an omen before.

Good men! I think that the Buddha, the World-Honored One, wishes to expound a great teaching, to send the rain of a great teaching, to blow the conch-shell horn of a great teaching, to beat the drum of a great teaching, and to explain the meaning of a great teaching.

Good men! I met many Buddhas in my previous existence. At that time I saw the same good omen as this. Those Buddhas emitted the same ray of light as this, and then expounded a great teaching. Therefore, know this! I think that this Buddha also is emitting this ray of light, and showing this good omen, wishing to cause all living beings to hear and understand the most difficult teaching in the world to believe.

What’s important, in my view, is that the preaching and lessons seen today by the Buddha’s light and the teachings witnessed by Manjusri in a previous existence are the same as Sakyamuni has been practicing.

Manjusri explains that the previous Buddha, Sun-Moon-Light “expounded the right teachings.”

His expounding of the right teachings was good at the beginning, good in the middle, and good at the end. The meanings of those teachings were profound. The words were skilful, pure, unpolluted, perfect, clean, and suitable for the explanation of brahma practices. To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching of the four truths, a teaching suitable for them, saved them from birth, old age, disease, and death, and caused them to attain Nirvaoa. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching of the twelve causes, a teaching suitable for them. To Bodhisattvas, he expounded the teaching of the six paramitas, a teaching suitable for them, and caused them to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, that is, to obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.

This Buddha was followed by 20,000 identical Buddhas who taught the same right teaching until the last Sun-Moon-Light decided to take it a step farther:

Thereupon the last Sun-Moon-Light Buddha expounded a sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Having expounded this sutra, he sat cross-legged [facing the east] in the midst of the great multitude, and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.

Thereupon the gods rained mandarava-flowers, maha-mandarava-flowers, manjusaka-flowers, and maha-manjusaka-flowers upon the Buddha and the great multitude. The world of the Buddha quaked in the six ways. The great multitude of the congregation, which included bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kirpnaras, mahoragas, men, nonhuman beings, the kings of small countries, and the wheel turning-holy kings, were astonished. They rejoiced, joined their hands together [towards the Buddha], and looked up at him with one mind.

Thereupon the Tathagata emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand Buddha-worlds in the east just as this Buddha is illumining the Buddha-worlds as we see now.

When the last Sun-Moon-Light Buddha emerged from his samadhi he expounded the “Great Vehicle” for 60 small kalpas.

It was called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ The hearers in the congregation also sat in the same place for sixty small kalpas, and their bodies and minds were motionless. They thought that they had heard the Buddha expounding the Dharma for only a mealtime. None of them felt tired in body or mind.

As an aside, I love that supernatural power of the Buddha – the power to make 60 small kalpas seem as though it lasted for only a mealtime.

So we have set the stage, alerting everyone to expect something big tomorrow.

One aside in this day’s reading is the story about Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva and a lazy disciple:

One of the eight hundred disciples [of Wonderful-Light] was called Fame-Seeking. He was attached to gain. He read and recited many sutras, but did not understand them. He forgot many parts of those sutras. Therefore, he was called Fame-Seeking. But he [later] planted the roots of good, and became able to see many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas. He made offerings to them, respected them, honored them, and praised them.

Maitreya, know this! Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself; and Fame-Seeking Bodhisattva, no one but you.

And in gathas:

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.

It makes me smile to imagine that our next Buddha was once a fame-seeking slacker. There’s hope for me yet!

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Around and around we go…

I understand that the list of names at the start of the Lotus Sutra can be off-putting, but each time I start over I again enjoy this introduction to what is to come.

The accomplishments of these people is amazing. For example, the 12,000 bhiksus:

They were Arhats. They had already eliminated asravas, and had no illusions. They had already benefited themselves, broken off the bonds of existence [in the world of birth and death], and obtained liberty in their minds.

Or the 80,000 Bodhisattva-mahasattvas:

They had already obtained dharanis, turned the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma with eloquence according to the wishes [of all living beings], made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas, and planted the roots of virtue under those Buddhas, by whom they had always been praised. They had already trained themselves out of their compassion towards others, entered the Way to the wisdom of the Buddha, obtained great wisdom, and reached the Other Shore so that their fame had already extended over innumerable worlds. They had already saved many hundreds of thousands of living beings.

What’s even more impressive as this sutra opens is that absolutely everyone is represented: Gods, dragon kings, gandharva kings, asura kings, garuda kings and a king who had overthrown his father and helped Devadatta’s rebellion but repented.

Then we get to that light that the Buddha emits illuminating 18,000 worlds in the east. This wasn’t just light:

The congregation saw from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds. They also saw the present Buddhas of those worlds. They also heard the Dharma expounded by those Buddhas. They also saw the bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas of those worlds who had already attained [the various fruits of] enlighterunent by their various practices. They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahasattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith. They also saw the past Buddhas [of those worlds] who had already entered into Parinirvana. They also saw the stupas of the seven treasures which had been erected to enshrine the sariras of those Buddhas after their Parinirvana.

Maitreya tells what he sees and asks manjusri why this is happening:

Manjusri, Son of the Buddha!
Remove our doubts!
The four kinds of devotees
Are looking up with joy at you and me,
Wishing to know why this ray of light is emitted
By the World-Honored One.

Son of the Buddha, answer me!
Remove our doubts and cause us to rejoice!
For what purpose is the Buddha
Emitting this ray of light?

Does he wish to expound the Wonderful Dharma
Which he attained when he was sitting
At the place of enlightenment?
Does he wish to assure us of our future Buddhahood?

He shows us the worlds of the Buddhas
Adorned with many treasures.
We can see the Buddhas of those worlds.
This cannot be for some insignificant reason.

Manjusri, know this!
The four kinds of devotees and the dragons
Are looking at you, thinking:
“What is he going to say?”

Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

And so we come to the end again. Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, who has arrived from a world to the east, asks how people will obtain this sutra after the Buddha’s extinction.

The Buddha said to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva:

The good men or women will be able to obtain this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma after my extinction if they do the following four things:

1. secure the protection of the Buddhas,
2. plant the roots of virtue,
3. reach the stage of steadiness [in proceeding to enlightenment],
4. resolve to save all living beings.

The good men or women will be able to obtain this sutra after my extinction if they do these four things.

Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, in turn, offers his protection:

If anyone keeps, reads and recites this sutra while he walks or stands, I will mount a kingly white elephant with six tusks, go to him together with great Bodhisattvas, show myself to him, make offerings to him, protect him, and comfort him, because I wish to make offerings to the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. If he sits and thinks over this sutra, I also wi11 mount a kingly white elephant and appear before him. If he forgets a phrase or a gatha of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I will remind him of it, and read and recite it with him so that he may be able to understand it. Anyone who keeps, reads and recites the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [after your extinction], will be able to see me with such joy that he will make more efforts.

This final chapter is the one I find the most conflicted about women.

Universal-Sage Bodhisattva offers to appear before those who study the sutra – with my body which all living beings wish to see – and offer dharanis spells so that those who study the sutra “will not be killed by nonhuman beings or captivated by women.” Then he says:

Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this sutra, memorizes it correctly, understands the meanings of it, and acts according to it, know this, does the same practices that I do. He should be considered to have already planted deeply the roots of good under innumerable Buddhas [in his previous existence]. He will be caressed on the head by the hands of the Tathagatas. Anyone who copies this sutra will be reborn in the Heaven of the Trayastrimsa Gods immediately after his present life. On that occasion, eighty-four thousand goddesses will come and receive him, making many kinds of music. A crown of the seven treasures will be put on his head, and he will enjoy himself among the ladies in waiting.

The Buddha responds:

Universal-Sage! Anyone who keeps, reads and recites this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, memorizes it correctly, studies it, practices it, and copies it, should be considered to see me, and hear this sutra from my mouth. He should be considered to be making offerings to me. He should be considered to be praised by me with the word ‘Excellent!’ He should be considered to be caressed by me on the head. He should be considered to be covered with my robe. He will not be attached to worldly pleasures. He will not like to read heretical scriptures or any other writings of heretics. He will not be intimate with heretics, slaughterers, boar-breeders, sheep-breeders, fowl-breeders, dogbreeders, hunters, prostitutes, or any other evil people. He will be upright. He will have correct memory and the powers of merits and virtues. He will not be troubled by the three poisons. He will not be troubled by jealousy, arrogance from selfishness, arrogance from self-assumed attainment of enlightenment, or arrogance from self-assumed acquisition of virtues. He will want little, know contentment, and practice just as you do.

I enjoy the Buddha’s offering of his caress and his robe. May I not be troubled by “arrogance from self-assumed attainment of enlightenment, or arrogance from self-assumed acquisition of virtues”

Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

This is one of my favorite chapters. I enjoy the story of the sons doing the work of the Buddha to make it possible for their father to “understand the Dharma by faith” and the lesson that “The good men or women who plant the roots of good will obtain teachers in their successive lives.”

Today, though, I was struck by the realization that the Buddha speaks to everyone, not just to one segment of the gathering or a specific individual. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha addresses everyone only in Chapters 12, Devadatta; 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata; and 27, King Wonderful Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

1. Introductory – “Thus have I heard.”
2. Expedients – addresses Sariputra
3. A Parable – Sariputra speaks
4. Understanding by Faith – “men living the life of wisdom…” speak
5. The Simile of Herbs – addresses Maha-Kasyapa
6. Assurance of Future Buddhahood – addresses bhiksus
7. The Parable of a Magic City – addresses bhiksus
8. The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples – Purna speaks
9. The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Sravakas Who Have Something More to Learns and the Sravakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn – Ananda and Rahula speak
10. The Teacher of the Dharma – addresses Medicine-King Bodhisattva
11. Beholding the Stupa of Treasures – event
12. Devadatta – addresses “Bodhisattvas, gods, men and the four kinds of devotees”
13. Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra – Medicine-King and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva-mahasattvas speak
14. Peaceful Practices – Manjusri Bodhisattva-mahasattva speaks
15. The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground – Bodhisattva-mahasattvas speak
16. The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata – addresses “the great multitude including Bodhisattvas and others”
17. The Variety of Merits – addresses Maitreya
18. The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra – Maitreya speaks
19. The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma – addresses Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva-mahasattva
20. Never-Despising Bodhisattva – addresses Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva-mahasattva
21. The Supernatural Powers of the Tathagata – Bodhisattvas from underground speak
22. Transmission – addresses bodhisattvas
23. The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva – Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva speaks
24. Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva – event (emitted rays of light)
25. The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva – Endless-Intent Bodhisattva speaks
26. Dharanis – Medicine-King Bodhisattva speaks
27. King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a  Bodhisattva – addresses “the great multitude”
28. The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva – Universal-Sage Bodhisattva speaks

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs.

Before we get to the spells offered to the protection of the teachers of the Lotus Sutra we get reaffirmation of the merits to be given to “the good men or women who keep, read, recite, understand or copy the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma?”

The Buddha said to Medicine-King Bodhisattva:

“Suppose some good men or women make offerings to eight hundred billion nayuta Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. What do you think of this? Are the merits given to them many or not?”

“Very many, World-Honored One!”

The Buddha said: “More merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read or recite even a single gatha of four lines of this sutra, understand the meanings of it or act according to it.”

Medicine King Bodhisattva offers spells to protect the expounder of the Lotus Sutra and Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva utter dharanis to protect “the person who reads, recites and keeps the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.”

I enjoy the concept of protecting “weak points,” as in:

If he keeps these dharanis, this teacher of the Dharma will not have his weak points taken advantage of by any yaksa, raksasa, putana, krtya, kumbhanda or hungry spirit.

We each have our weak points, the things we are hesitant to do or likely to neglect.

Following the Bodhisattvas, we have the Heavenly Kings offering their protection. This involvement of the gods in protecting those who expound or read the Lotus Sutra is reinforced every time we took at the Great Mandala Gohonzon. Vaisravana, the Heavenly King of the North, is in the upper left corner and World-Holding Heavenly-King is in the upper right corner.

Also appearing in the Mandala Gohonzon and in this chapter of the Lotus Sutra are the 10 raksasis daughters and their mother, the Mother-Of-Devils, Hariti. Of the ten daughters, my favorite is “Plunderer of Energy of All Beings.” Having suffered depression for many years, I feel I’ve known her for a lifetime.

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

World-Voice Perceiver is presented as a superhero who saves the day, and I’m fine with that. But I prefer the way he is first introduced:

Good man! If many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings hear [the name of] World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and call his name with all their hearts when they are under various sufferings, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva will immediately perceive their voices, and cause them to emancipate themselves [from the sufferings].

World-Voice Perceiver causes people to emancipate themselves.

OK. So the rest of the chapter paints a very different picture:

If anyone, guilty or not, calls the name of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva when he is bound up in manacles, fetters, pillories or chains, those things [in which he is bound up] will break asunder, and he will be saved.

One can imagine something more along the line of “emancipate themselves” with this:

Those who have much lust will be saved from lust if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much anger will be saved from anger if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Those who have much stupidity will be saved from stupidity if they constantly think of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and respect him. Endless-Intent! World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva has these great supernatural powers. He gives many benefits to all living beings. Therefore, they should constantly think of him.

As with Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva (yesterday), World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva takes the shape needed in order to expound the Dharma in the most efficacious way to all living beings.

Endless-Intent! This World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva does these meritorious deeds. He takes various shapes, walks about many worlds, and saves the living beings [of those worlds]. Make offerings to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva with all your hearts! This World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva-mahasattva gives fearlessness [to those who are] in fearful emergencies. Therefore, he is called the ‘Giver of Fearlessness’ in this Saha-World.

Given the Buddha’s suggestion to “make offerings to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva,” I’m looking for an explanation for what happens next:

The Endless-Intent Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! Now I will make an offering to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.” From around his neck, he took a necklace of many gems worth hundreds of thousands of ryo of gold, and offered it [to the Bodhisattva], saying, “Man of Virtue! Receive this necklace of wonderful treasures! I offer this to you according to the Dharma!

World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva did not consent to receive it. Endless-Intent said to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva again, “Man of Virtue! Receive this necklace out of your compassion towards us!”

Thereupon the Buddha said to World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva:

Receive it out of your compassion towards this Endless-Intent Bodhisattva, towards the four kinds of devotees, and towards the other living beings including gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, men and non-human beings!

Thereupon World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva received the necklace out of his compassion towards the four kinds of devotees, and towards the other living beings including gods, dragons, men and nonhuman beings. He divided [the necklace] into two parts, and offered one part of it to Sakyamuni Buddha and the other to the stupa of Many-Treasures Buddha.

From the gathas:

On many hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhas
He attended and made a great and pure vow.
I will tell you about his vow in brief.
If you hear his name, and see him,
And think of him constantly,
You will be able to eliminate all sufferings.

And:

World-Voice-Perceiver will save
All living beings from misfortunes
And from innumerable sufferings of the world
By the wonderful power of his wisdom.

And finally:

He see the truth of all things and their purity.
He sees all things with his great wisdom.
He sees all things with loving-kindness and compassion.
Think of him constantly! Look up at him constantly!

All darkness is dispelled by the light of his wisdom
As spotless and as pure as the light of the sun.
The light destroys the dangers of wind and fire,
And illumines the whole world brightly.

His precepts out of his loving-kindness brace us up as thunderbolts.
His wishes out of his compassion are as wonderful as large clouds.
He pours the rain of the Dharma as sweet as nectar,
And extinguishes the fire of illusions.

Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

A light from Sakyamuni shines on a world on the other side of “one hundred and eight billion nayuta Buddha-worlds” from this Saha world. Why there? And why does everyone just know stuff?

When [Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva] was illumined by the light of Sakyamuni Buddha, he said to the Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha:

“World-Honored One! I wish to visit the Saha-World, bow to Sakyamuni Buddha, attend on him, and make offerings to him. I also wish to see Manjusri Bodhisattva, who is the Son of the King of the Dharma. [I also wish to see] Medicine-King Bodhisattva, Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva, Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva, Superior-Practice-Intent Bodhisattva, Adornment-King Bodhisattva, and Medicine-Superior Bodhisattva.”

The fun in the Lotus Sutra is the wonder I feel when I read it. I ought to be doubtful or critical in the same way that I was critical as a child when I heard stories of the Christian Bible. But I’m not. I love the stories of the Lotus Sutra unconditionally.

Picture this conversation between the Buddha in the All-Pure-Light-Adornment World and Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:

Thereupon Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:

“Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Saha-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains’ and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature! So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million an eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”

The Daily Dharma for March 29, 2015, discussed the meaning of this warning:

The instruction [Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva] receives from his Buddha reminds us that no matter what advantages we have gained from our practice of the Buddha Dharma, these do not make us any better or worse than those we are determined to benefit.

When Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva causes “82,000 lotus flowers of treasures” to appear near where Sakyamuni was preaching the Lotus Sutra, Manjusri asks what the omen means and when the Buddha explains, Manjusri asks:

“World-Honored One! What root of good did he plant and what kind of meritorious deed did he do in order to obtain this great supernatural power? What samadhi did he practice? Tell us the name of the samadhi! We also wish to practice it strenuously so that we may be able to see how tall he is and how he behaves himself. World-Honored One! Cause me to see him by your supernatural powers when he comes!”

Tonight it struck me that Manjusri, the Buddha in waiting, needs help “to see how tall he is and how he behaves himself.”

As a child I would often enjoy sitting quietly and listening in on conversations between adults. These were mostly about political campaigns and strategies. It is with the same childish wonder that I imagine listening in to the message from Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha for Sakyamuni:

World-Honored One! I bring you a message from Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha. [He wishes to say this.] Are you in good health? Are you happy and peaceful or not? Are the four elements of your body working in harmony or not? Are the worldly affairs bearable or not? Are the living beings easy to save or not? Do they not have much greed, anger, ignorance, jealousy, stinginess and arrogance, or do they? Are they not undutiful to their parents, or are they? Are they not disrespectful to sramanas, or are they? Do they not have wrong views, or do they? Are they not evil, or are they? Do they not fail to control their five desires, or do they? World-Honored One! Did they defeat the Maras, who are their enemies, or not. Is Many-Treasures Tathagata, who passed away a long time ago and has now come here riding in the stupa of the seven treasures, hearing the Dharma or not? [Pure-Flower-Star-King·Wisdom Buddha] also wishes to know whether Many-Treasures Tathagata is peaceful and healthy, and able to stay long or not.

One of the lessons of the Lotus Sutra that I have taken to heart is the Bodhisattva practice, the practice for others. Describing Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, Sakyamuni says:

Flower-Virtue! Now you see Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva here and nowhere else. But formerly he transformed himself into various living beings and expounded this sutra to other in various places. He became King Brahman, King Sakra, Freedom God, Great-Freedom God, a great general in heaven, Vaisravana Heavenly-King, a wheel-turning-holy-king, the king of a small country, a rich man, a householder, a prime minister, a brahmana, a bhiksu, a bhiksuni, an upasaka, an upasika, the wife of a rich man, that of a householder, that of a prime minister, that of a brahmana, a boy, a girl, a god, a dragon, a yaksa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuda, a kimara, a mahoraga, a human being or a nonhuman being. [After he transformed himself into one or another of these living beings,] he expounded this sutra, and saved the hellish denizens, hungry spirits, animals, and all the other living beings in the places of difficulties. When he entered an imperial harem, he became a woman and expounded this sutra.

Flower-Virtue! This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva protects all living beings in this Saha-World. He transforms himself into one or another of these various living beings in this Saha-World and expounds this sutra to all living beings without reducing his supernatural powers, [his power of] transformation, and his wisdom. He illumines this Saha World with the many [rays of light] of his wisdom, and causes all living beings to know what they should know.

Yes! To know what I should know. What a wonderful ambition.

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

I suppose one could argue that Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva isn’t the best example of how to make offerings. After all, he’s burning himself again in today’s lesson from the Lotus Sutra. But as an example of someone who doesn’t settle for ordinary, who seeks that expression of his faith that makes extraordinary seem lacking, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva illumines what it means to be grateful for the merits of the Lotus Sutra.

The Buddha said to Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva:

What do you think of this? Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva was no one but Medicine-King Bodhisattva of today. He gave up hjs body in this way, offered it [to the Buddha], and repeated this offering many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of times [in his previous existence]. [He knows that he can practice any austerity in this Saha-World. Therefore, he does not mind walking about this world.]

Comparing the greatness of the Lotus Sutra:

Star-King-Flower! Just as the sea is larger than the rivers, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is more profound than any of the other sutras expounded by the Tathagatas. Just as Mt. Sumeru is the largest of all the mountains including earth mountains, black mountains, the Small Surrounding Iron Mountains, the Great Surrounding Iron Mountains, and the Ten Treasure Mountains, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is above all the other sutras. Just as the Moon God is brighter than the stars, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma gives us more light than any of the other sutras numbering thousands of billions. Just as the Sun God dispels all darkness, this sutra drives away all the darkness of evils. … The person who keeps this sutra is superior to any other living being. Just as Bodhisattvas are superior to Sravakas or to Pratyekabuddhas, this sutra is superior to any other sotra. Just as the Buddha is the king of the Dharma, this sutra is the king of all the sutras.

Just-in-time salvation:

Star-King-Flower! This sutra saves all living beings. This sutra saves them from all sufferings, and gives them great benefits. All living beings will be able to fulfill their wishes by this sutra just as a man who reaches a pond of fresh water when he is thirsty, just as a man who gets fire when he suffers from cold, just as a man who is given a garment when he is naked, just as a party of merchants who find a leader, just as a child who meets its mother, just as a man who gets a ship when he wants to cross [a river], just as a patient who finds a physician, just as a man who is given a light in the darkness, just as a poor man who gets a treasure, just as the people of a nation who see a new king enthroned, just as a trader who reaches the seacoast. Just as a torch dispels darkness, this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma saves all living beings from all sufferings, from all diseases, and from all the bonds of birth and death. The merits to be given to the person who, after hearing this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, copies it, or causes others to copy it, cannot be measured even by the wisdom of the Buddha.