In chapter 11, a jeweled Stupa rises up out of the ground and hangs in the air. Shakyamuni Buddha shifts his seat from Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa to the jeweled Stupa in the air. Thus the scene changes from the meeting place on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa to the meeting place in the air. After chapter 22, the setting returns to Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa. This has been called the “three meetings in two settings.”

The especially notable things in chapter 11 include the rising up out of the ground of a jeweled stupa, the two buddhas sitting side-by-side, the gathering together of Shakyamuni Buddha’s embodiment or representative buddhas, and the one universal buddha-land. … This chapter also teaches and explains the so-called “six difficult and nine easy practices” concerning the proclamation of the Lotus Sutra. Further, the verses at the end of the chapter, from “This sutra is so difficult to embrace . . .” up to the last phrase, . . . should receive offerings from all human and heavenly beings,” are known as “the phrases of difficulty in embracing the sutra,” or the “jeweled Stupa verses.” Even now people continue to recite them frequently.

In chapter 11, “The Sight of the Treasure Stupa,” a jeweled Stupa in which Abundant Treasures (Prabhūtaratna) Tathagata sits floats in midair. Shakyamuni Buddha goes from the ground to the Stupa in the air and sits beside Abundant Treasures Buddha. With that, the buddhas who are embodiments or representatives of Shakyamuni Buddha come from various directions to be united with him, while at the same time, various worlds are united into a single buddha-land. Abundant Treasures is a buddha who appeared prior to Shakyamuni. One can understand that the two of them sitting side-by-side symbolizes that Shakyamuni has been a buddha from the very remote past—that is, it suggests the universality of Shakyamuni Buddha. The gathering together of the buddhas embodying Shakyamuni from throughout the universe and the common buddha-land express the idea that Shakyamuni Buddha is a unifying buddha.

In this sense, chapter 11 should be taken as a kind of prelude to chapter 16, “Ihe Lifetime of the Tathagata.” As in chapter 16, this chapter also emphasizes bodhisattva practice, advocates actual bodhisattva practice in the heart of this Sahā world during the last days, and teaches entrusting the Dharma to bodhisattvas. Thus, we ought to reexamine ideas such as the jeweled Stupa rising up, the gathering together of buddha embodiments, and a common buddha-land from the perspective of promoting bodhisattva practice.

Nichiren was especially attracted to the term “apostle” or “emissary” of the Tathagata, which appears [in chapter 10]. Influenced by this term, Nichiren used the phrase “follower of the Lotus Sutra.” The Lotus Sutra says, in connection to the phrase “emissaries of the Tathagata,” that those who devote themselves to embodying the truth in this world even a little are people who have been sent from the pure world of the Buddha to be born in this world because they have compassion for people. This suggests a meaning or purpose for being born in this world. Nichiren was able to gain courage and meaning for living from this kind of phrase, despite having to bear much suffering.

Chapter 10 teaches the unifying and ultimate cosmic truth, i.e., the Wonderful Dharma of One Vehicle. What had previously been revealed should now be put into practice in this actual world, and thus made concrete. This idea emphasizes the bodhisattva way. Bodhisattvas, who have thus far played only modest roles in the sutra, now come to the fore as the main actors. …

The so-called “three principles for spreading the sutra” and the parable of the thirsty man have traditionally been highly valued and given prominence in the tenth chapter. The three principles are three tracks for practicing the truth in the real world: compassion, patience, and the ability to see the emptiness of all things. These three are represented in chapter 10 by the room, the robe, and the seat of the Tathagata. Lotus Sutra says:

To enter the room of the Tathagata is to have great compassion for all living beings. To wear the robe of the Tathagata is to be gentle and patient. To sit on the seat of the Tathagata is to contemplate the emptiness of all things.

In the parable of the thirsty man, a man goes to a high flat area to dig for water to quench his thirst. When he finds the soil dry, he knows that the water is still far away, so he continues to dig. When he strikes damp soil, he knows that water is near. In the same way, when a bodhisattva makes an effort to practice, he can be sure that he is approaching truth. In this way, the sutra unflaggingly promotes bodhisattva practice.

First of all, when we look at chapter 10, “Teachers of the Dharma,” the emphasis on bodhisattvas as apostles of the Buddha or Tathagata is remarkable. That is, those who receive and disseminate even a single phrase of Dharma after the death of the Buddha are regarded as apostles of the Buddha, commissioned by the Buddha to save all living beings in this world, and extolled as “apostles of the Tathagata.”

The latter part of the chapter promotes entering the Tathagata’s room, wearing the Tathagata’s robe, sitting on the Tathagata’s seat, and preaching Dharma without hesitation. The Tathagata’s room, robe, and seat are said to be compassion, patience, and realization of the emptiness of things. Compassion involves treating others with affection and kindness. Patience means enduring without holding things against others. And realization of the emptiness of things means being freed from attachments and placing oneself within the vast and infinite world. These concisely express the attitude a follower of the bodhisattva way holds toward life. Later these came to be valued as the three ways of propagating the sutra.

For some Small Vehicle Buddhists, compassion is an act of being engaged with this world, while the realization of emptiness is a state that goes beyond it, and so compassion should be discarded in order to realize emptiness. But chapter 10 of the Lotus Sutra teaches the unity of compassion and emptiness.

We can understand from this that realization of emptiness is taken positively as a norm for practice in this world. Here too we can see an example of the positive understanding of emptiness found in Mahayana Buddhism.