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.

The number of disciples who are assured of becoming buddhas in the future increases from five hundred to twelve hundred in chapter 8, where we also find the parable of the priceless jewel in the lining of a robe. A good friend told a penniless man that he had sewn a priceless jewel into the lining of his robe when he was drunk. This story is thus about recovery. The poor, drunken man is likened to disciples who had fallen into nihilism, the friend is the Buddha, and the jewel in the lining of the robe is their hidden possibility of becoming buddhas through acts of compassion (bodhisattva practice). We are taught that:

Keeping their bodhisattva actions
As inward secrets,
Outwardly
They appear as shravakas.

Thus the disciples who had fallen into a nihilistic way of life, including the solitary practitioners, were all revived by the Buddha’s call. And they received assurance of becoming buddhas in the future. Chapter 9, which follows, is a summary of this.

Within this group of disciples were some who still had room to learn and some who were regarded as having no further need of study. Those who attained the stage of not having anything more to learn were called arhats. An arhat is a saint who deserves people’s respect and reverence. Essentially, it was another term for the Buddha, used with a positive connotation. But after the rise of Mahayana Buddhism it was often used as a pejorative term for Small Vehicle Buddhists who had become nihilistic because they thought there was nothing more they needed to learn in life.

Such Small Vehicle Buddhists can be regarded as being of two kinds: direct disciples of the Buddha and solitary practitioners. Later, in addition to “Small Vehicle,” it came to be called “the two vehicles.” Be that as it may, what we see in chapter 9 is that all the Small Vehicle Buddhists, both shravakas and pratyekabuddhas, are assured of becoming buddhas in the future whether they are in need of further learning or not. With this the chapter ends. As the text says, “Then the two thousand people in training and no longer in training, hearing the Buddha’s assurance, were ecstatic with joy.” The significance of this is that the form of the Lotus Sutra is such that, through this chapter, the Buddha speaks to his direct disciples, the shravakas. “Two thousand” is just a round number and can be taken to mean all followers of the Small Vehicle.

In chapter 6, “Assurance of Becoming a Buddha,” the Buddha reassures the four great disciples (the shravakas of chapter 5) and five hundred other disciples that they will become buddhas in the future. The basis of this assurance is given in chapter 7. Here we find the parable of the treasure and the fantastic (or temporary) castle-city. The way to the truth is steep; people become discouraged along the way. Then the Buddha provides a temporary truth (the three vehicles) according to the ability of people and lets them rest there. When they are rested, the Buddha encourages them to pursue ultimate truth (the one vehicle).

This is the truth taught in the parable of the fantastic castle-city. Temporary truth is likened to a castle-city, and ultimate truth to a great treasure. The four noble truths are taught to shravakas as temporary truths, the law of twelve causes to pratyekabuddhas, and the practice of the six transcendental practices (paramitas) to bodhisattvas. Finally, they are all led to and awakened by the one vehicle—that is, by ultimate truth.

This “opening, showing, becoming enlightened, and entering” is also in chapter 2. Tiantai Zhiyi thought very highly of these words and theorized about them in several ways. Many Buddhist sects very highly respect the following words from chapter 7 as a vow, and chant them in Buddhist services.

May these blessings
Extend to all,
That we with all the living
Together attain the Buddha way.