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

Having last month covered the importance of Purna and his hidden role, we come now to prediction of Purna’s future Buddhahood and the nature of the world of that Buddha.

Bhiksus! Purna was the most excellent expounder of the Dharma under the seven Buddhas. He is the same under me. He will be the same under the future Buddhas of this Kalpa of Sages. He will protect the teachings of those Buddhas and help them propagate their teachings. After the end of this kalpa also he will protect the teachings of innumerable Buddhas, help them propagate their teachings, teach and benefit innumerable living beings, and cause them to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sarmbodhi He will always make efforts to teach all living beings strenuously so that the worlds of those Buddhas may be purified. He will perform the Way of Bodhisattvas step by step for innumerable, asamkhya kalpas, and then attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in this world. He will be called Dharma-Brightness, the Tathagata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The world of that Buddha will be composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, that is, as many Sumeru-worlds as there are sands in the River Ganges. The ground [of that world] will be made of the seven treasures. It will be as even as the palm of a hand. There will be no mountains nor ravines nor ditches. Tall buildings adorned with the seven treasures will be seen everywhere in that world, and the palaces of gods of that world will hang so low in the sky that gods and men will be able to see each other. There will be no evil regions nor women. The living beings of that world will be born without any medium. They will have no sexual desire. They will have great supernatural powers, emit light from their bodies, and fly about at will. They will be resolute in mind, strenuous, and wise. They will be golden in color, and adorned with the thirty-two marks. They will feed on two things: the delight in the Dharma, and the delight in dhyana. There will be innumerable, asamkhya Bodhisattvas, that is, thousands of billions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas. They will have great supernatural powers and the four kinds of unhindered eloquence. They will teach the living beings of that world. There will also be uncountable Sravakas there. They will have the six supernatural powers including the three major supernatural powers, and the eight emancipations. The world of that Buddha will be adorned with those innumerable merits. The kalpa [in which Purna will become that Buddha] will be called Treasure­Brightness; and his world, Good-Purity. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be innumerable, asamkhya kalpas, and his teachings will be preserved for a long time. After his extinction, stupas of the seven treasures will be erected [in his honor] throughout that world.

I’m fascinated by the descriptions of the worlds to be governed by future Buddhas. Purna’s is especially pleasing with “no evil regions nor women. The living beings of that world will be born without any medium. They will have no sexual desire. They will have great supernatural powers, emit light from their bodies, and fly about at will. They will be resolute in mind, strenuous, and wise.”

The footnote explains that being born without any medium means to be “born not through the medium of a mother or an egg or moisture but by their own karmas. It is held that those who are born without any medium appear in a moment in their adult forms.”

From one world to the next, perhaps not unlike O-Kay.

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

Last month covered the opening of the chapter with Purna expressing his appreciation for what he has just learned. Now we hear from the Buddha the importance of Purna and his hidden role:

Thereupon the Buddha said to the bhiksus:

Do you see this Purna, the son of Maitrayana? I always praise him, saying that he is the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. I also praise him for his various merits. He strenuously protects my teachings, and helps me propagate them. He shows the Way to the four kinds of devotees, teaches them, benefits them and causes them to rejoice. He explains my right teachings perfectly, and gives great benefits to those who are performing brahma practices with him. No one except the Tathagata excels him in eloquence. Do not say that he protects only my teachings and helps me propagate them! In his previous existence he also protected the right teachings of nine thousand million Buddhas and helped them propagate their teachings. Under those Buddhas also he was the most excellent expounder of the Dharma. He clearly understood the truth of the Void expounded by those Buddhas, and obtained the four kinds of unhindered eloquence. He always expounded the Dharma clearly and purely, with no doubtfulness. Although he had the supernatural powers of Bodhisattvas, he performed brahma practices throughout his previous existence. Therefore, the people of the world of the Buddha [under whom he performed brahma practices] thought that he was a Sravaka. He benefited many hundreds of thousands of living beings with this expedient, and also caused innumerable, asamkhya people to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. He did the work of the Buddha, that is, taught all living beings so that the world of the Buddha might be purified.

Underline the people of the world of the Buddha [under whom he performed brahma practices] thought that he was a Sravaka. As Sakyamuni makes clear in the gathas, Purna is really a bodhisattva who only appears to be a Sravaka as an expedient necessary to teach the Dharma.

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

The chapter opens with Purna expressing his appreciation for what he has just learned.

Thereupon Purna, the son of Maitrayani having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [of the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:

The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.

The Daily Dharma from April 6, 2016, has an interesting take on this:

The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.

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

Last month I discussed what a Buddha world would look like and used Good-Purity, where Purna would preside as the Buddha Dharma-Brightness in the kalpa called Treasure-Brightness.

This time through I stumbled over this line, wondering at the meaning of it:

He will perform the Way of Bodhisattvas step by step for innumerable, asamkhya kalpas, and then attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in this world.

This world as in Saha World?

The gathas section doesn’t repeat that detail:

In the future also he will make offerings
To innumerable Buddhas, protect their right teachings,
Help them propagate their teachings,
And purify their worlds.

He will always fearlessly expound the Dharma
With expedients.
He will save countless living beings
And cause them to have the knowledge of all things.

He will make offerings to many Tathagatas
And protect the treasure-store of the Dharma.
After that he will be able to become a Buddha
Called Dharma-Brightness.

But a translation used by Soka Gakkai suggests the same idea:

Little by little he will become fully endowed with the way of the bodhisattva, and when immeasurable asamkhya kalpas have passed, here in the land where he is dwelling he will attain supreme perfect enlightenment.

Does this mean anything?

Purna, like Sariputra, doesn’t ask for some explicit promise he will become a Buddha. But unlike Sariputra, who reveals his feelings of betrayal before he learned of the use of expedients, Purna simply accepts with faith the teachings he has heard:

The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.’

Contrast that with the “the twelve hundred Arhats, who had already obtained freedom of mind”:

We have never been so joyful before. How glad we shall be if we are assured of our future Buddhahood by the World-Honored One just as the other great disciples were!

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

I digress.

In the past 11 months, I have been cycling through the Lotus Sutra every 32 days, posting each day a comment on that day’s reading. So today, while Purna and the “five hundred disciples” are promised their future Buddhahood and we are reminded of the seed of Buddhahood we possess in the Parable of the Pricess Gem, I just feel like it is time to mention what a Buddha world would look like.

After performing “the Way of Bodhisattvas step by step for innumerable, asamkhya kalpas (and we are alerted in the footnotes that this is a finite period), Purna will become a Buddha called Dharma-Brightness in a kalpa called Treasure­Brightness on a world called Good-Purity:

The world of that Buddha will be composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, that is, as many Sumeru-worlds as there are sands in the River Ganges. The ground [of that world] will be made of the seven treasures. It will be as even as the palm of a hand. There will be no mountains nor ravines nor ditches. Tall buildings adorned with the seven treasures will be seen everywhere in that world, and the palaces of gods of that world will hang so low in the sky that gods and men will be able to see each other.

Here’s where it gets interesting:

There will be no evil regions nor women. The living beings of that world will be born without any medium. They will have no sexual desire.

The footnote explains: “It means that they will be born not through the medium of a mother or an egg or moisture but by their own karmas. It is held that those who are born without any medium appear in a moment in their adult forms.

They will have great supernatural powers, emit light from their bodies, and fly about at will. They will be resolute in mind, strenuous, and wise. They will be golden in color, and adorned with the thirty-two marks. They will feed on two things: the delight in the Dharma, and the delight in dhyana. There will be innumerable, asamkhya Bodhisattvas, that is, thousands of billions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas. They will have great supernatural powers and the four kinds of unhindered eloquence. They will teach the living beings of that world. There will also be uncountable Sravakas there. They will have the six supernatural powers including the three major supernatural powers, and the eight emancipations.

The world of that Buddha will be adorned with those innumerable merits.

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

Purna, foremost in expounding the Dharma, is joyous at the news he’s heard:

Thereupon Purna, the son of Maitrayani having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [of the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:

The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.

The April 6, 2016, Daily Dharma discusses Purna’s observation and what it means in our daily lives:

In Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sutra, Pūrṇa has these words in mind while looking at the face of the Buddha. The thoughts we have are mostly words, and the words are about the things we want. Words can help us make sense of the world around us, especially the words the Buddha uses to teach us. But words can also confuse us when we mistake our expectations for the reality of the world. When the Buddha calls us to become Bodhisattvas, to realize that our happiness is linked to that of all beings, his words open a part of our mind with which we are not familiar. He asks us to set aside the habits we have learned from this world of conflict and see his world in a new way.

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.

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

Having focused last month on the The Parable of the Priceless Gem, I get to talk about Purna, the son of Maitrayani and foremost in expounding the Dharma. He is not what he seems, a Sravaka.

Although he had the supernatural powers of Bodhisattvas, he performed brahma practices throughout his previous existence. Therefore, the people of the world of the Buddha [under whom he performed brahma practices] thought that he was a Sravaka. He benefited many hundreds of thousands of living beings with this expedient, and also caused innumerable, asamkhya people to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. He did the work of the Buddha, that is, taught all living beings so that the world of the Buddha might be purified.

And in gathas:

Bhisus, listen to me attentively!
The Way practiced by my sons
Is beyond your comprehension
Because they learned how to employ expedients.

Knowing that people wish to hear
The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle,
And that they are afraid of having the great wisdom,
[My sons, that is,] the Bodhisattvas transform themselves
Into Sravakas or cause-knowers,
And teach the people with innumerable expedients.

Saying to the innumerable living beings, [for instance,]
“We are Sravakas.
We are far from the enlightenment of the Buddha,”
They save them, and cause them to attain [Sravakahoodl
Even the lazy people who wish to hear the
Lesser Vehicle Will become Buddhas with this expedient in the course of time.

My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly
Though they show themselves in the form of Sravakas.
They are purifying my world
Though they pretend to want little
And to shun birth-and-death.
In the presence of the people,
They pretend to have the three poisons and wrong views.
They save them with these expedients.
They change themselves into various forms.
If I speak of all their transformations,
The listeners will doubt me.

The remainder of the arhats who are promised future Buddhahood in this chapter all realize “we are Bodhisattvas in reality.”

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

My self-imposed one-topic limit leaves me choosing between Purna’s expedient role and the Arhats who introduce the Parable of the Priceless Gem. So this first time through under the one-topic limit I’ll go with the obvious.

The Parable of the Priceless Gem, which assures us of a treasure we have had all along, a priceless gem given to us but forgotten.

You, the Buddha, are like his friend. 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 Nirvana 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.

I’ll come back to Purna next month.

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

Today we underline the emerging idea that there is only the Bodhisattva teaching and everyone will in time become a Buddha.

The chapter begins with Purna, who is considered to be foremost in expounding the Dharma among Sakyamuni’s top disciples. He will be foremost in expounding the Dharma many times again in the future. More to today’s point, he is not your ordinary sravaka:

Although he had the supernatural powers of Bodhisattvas, he performed brahma practices throughout his previous existence. Therefore, the people of the world of the Buddha under whom he performed brahma practices] thought that he was a Sravaka. He benefited many hundreds of thousands of living beings with this expedient, and also caused innumerable, asamkhya people to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. He did the work of the Buddha, that is, taught all living beings so that the world of the Buddha might be purified.

To make the point clearer:

He will always make efforts to teach all living beings strenuously so that the worlds of those Buddhas may be purified. He will perform the Way of Bodhisattvas step by step for innumerable, asamkhya kalpas, and then attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in this world.

And in gathas:

Bhiksus, listen to me attentively!
The Way practiced by my sons
Is beyond your comprehension
Because they learned how to employ expedients.

Knowing that people wish to hear
The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle,
And that they are afraid of having the great wisdom,
[My sons, that is,] the Bodhisattvas transform themselves
Into Sravakas or cause-knowers,
And teach the people with innumerable expedients.

Saying to the innumerable living beings, [for instance,]
“We are Sravakas.
We are far from the enlightenment of the Buddha,”
They save them, and cause them to attain [Sravakahood]
Even the lazy people who wish to hear the Lesser Vehicle
Will become Buddhas with this expedient in the course of time.

My disciples are performing
The Bodhisattva practices secretly
Though they show themselves in the form of Sravakas.
They are purifying my world
Though they pretend to want little
And to shun birth-and-death.
In the presence of the people,
They pretend to have the three poisons and wrong views.
They save them with these expedients.
They change themselves into various forms.
If I speak of all their transformations,
The listeners will doubt me.

Underline My sons, that is, the Bodhisattvas transform themselves into Sravakas or cause-knowers, and teach the people with innumerable expedients. We’ll come back to this in later chapters.

But back in this chapter, we have assurances of future Buddhahood for “these 1,200 Arhats” and in particular Kaundinya Bhiksu.

The others of the five hundred Arhats, including Uruvilva-Kasyapa, Gaya-Kasyapa, Nadi-Kasyapa, Kalodayin, Udayin, Aniruddha, Revata, Kapphina, Bakkula, Cunda, and Svagata, also will attain Anuttara-samyak-samodhi, and become Buddhas also called Universal-Brightness.

With everyone dancing for joy with the news, we come to the Parable of the Priceless, in which a rich man sews a priceless gem into a friend’s garment while he sleeps. When he awakens he moves on, struggling to find food and shelter, satisfying himself with what work he can find, because he does not know he has this gem.

The point: These Arhats realize they forgot that in past lives the Buddha had instructed them on attaining Anuttara-samyak-samodhi.

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.

And in gathas:

We are like the poor man.
In the long night you taught us
Out of your compassion towards us,
And caused us to aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].

Because we had no wisdom, we did not notice that.
The Nirvana we attained was only part [of your wisdom].
Satisfying ourselves with it,
We did not wish to attain anything more.

Now you have awakened us, saying:
“What you attained was not true extinction.
When you have the unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha,
You will attain true extinction.”

Hearing from you that we are assured
Of becoming Buddhas one after another,
And that our worlds will be adorned,
We are joyful in body and mind.