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

The story of Never-Despising Bodhistattva begins with some details about the Buddha of that time, Powerful-Voice-King, and his expedient teachings:

Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

One point that stood out in today’s reading is the fact that Never-Despising Bodhisattva “took the form of a bhiksu” and it was as a bhiksu that he was treated so poorly by those he bowed to the four kinds of devotees and said:

I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.

It was while Never-Despising Bodhisattva was on his deathbed that he heard the Lotus Sutra from a voice in the sky. And just as was explained in the Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified.

Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years. He expounded this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to many people [in his prolonged life]. The arrogant bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas, that is, the four kinds of devotees who had abused him and caused him to be called Never-Despising, saw that he had obtained great supernatural powers, the power of eloquence, and the great power of good tranquility. Having seen all this, and having heard the Dharma from him, they took faith in him, and followed him.

Of course the punch line of this tale is that Never-Despising Bodhisattva was Sakyamuni in that previous life and the four types of believers then are in the crowd hearing the Lotus Sutra today.

One final point:

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 satra
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.

In the next chapter, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathagatas, we get a vivid demonstration of that power:

Thereupon the World-Honored One displayed his great supernatural powers in the presence of the multitude, which included not only the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas who had already lived in this Saha-World [before the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from underground], headed by Manjusri, but also bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. He stretched out his broad and long tongue upwards until the tip of it reached the World of Brahman. Then he emitted rays of light with an immeasurable variety of colors from his pores. The light illumined all the worlds of the ten quarters. The Buddhas who were sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees also stretched out their broad and long tongues and emitted innumerable rays of light. Sakyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas under the jeweled trees displayed these supernatural powers of theirs for one hundred thousand years. Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers. These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways. By the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, the living beings of those worlds, including gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, saw the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Saha-World. They also saw Sakyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathagata on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundred of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas and the four kinds of devotees were surrounding Sakyamuni Buddha respectfully. Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.

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

The teachings of Powerful-Voice-King Buddha “innumerable, limitless, inconceivable, asamkhya kalpas ago”:

Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

In the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathagata there lived a Bodhisattva called Never Despising who took the form of a bhiksu.

He did not read or recite sutras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’

I want to print up business cards to hand out. Perhaps something like this:

When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gathas of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gathas, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years.

Putting those years to good use:

This Never-Despising Bodhisattva-mahasattva made offerings to those Buddhas, respected them, honored them, praised them, and planted the roots of good. After that, he was able to meet thousands of billions of Buddhas. He also expounded this sutra under those Buddhas. By the merits he had accumulated in this way, he was able to become a Buddha.

Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sutra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sutra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi quickly.

And in gathas:

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] at that time
Was myself.
The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.

This is a one-time opportunity:

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 enlightemnent of the Buddha.

In the following chapter, the Bodhisattvas who sprung up from underground vow to expound the Lotus Sutra after the Buddha’s extinction, which prompts the Buddha and all of his replicas to put on a display of supernatural powers involving tongues and lights for 100,000 years.

Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers. These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways. By the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, the living beings of those worlds, including gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, saw the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Saha-World. They also saw Sakyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathagata on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundred of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas and the four kinds of devotees were surrounding Sakyamuni Buddha respectfully. Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.

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

The two previous days covered how “Anyone [who keeps this sūtra] will he able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified” and the wonderful feats they will be able to do with those merits. And in Chapter 20 we hear the story of Never Despising Bodhisattva, someone who received those merits as a result of his efforts.

Why was this bhikṣu called Never-Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇis, upāsakas or upāsikās, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

He was rewarded:

Having kept all these gāthās, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years.

Never Despising Bodhisattva was Śākyamuni in a previous life:

If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.

And the arrogant bhikṣus who troubled Never Despising Bodhisattva:

The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.

The rare good fortune to hear the Lotus Sutra:

This Sūtra 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 sūtra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

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

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

In Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, we hear the vow of the Bodhisattvas who had sprung up from underground:

After your extinction, we will expound this sūtra in the worlds of the Buddhas of your replicas and also in the place from which you will pass away. Why is that? It is because we also wish to obtain this true, pure and great Dharma, to keep, read, recite, expound and copy [this sūtra], and to make offerings to it.

And in response Śākyamuni and all of the Buddhas present “stretched out their broad and long tongues and emitted innumerable rays of light” for 100,000 years.

Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers.

Through the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, every living being in the worlds of the 10 quarters were able to see Śākyamuni, Many Treasures, the other Buddhas and the innumerable Bodhisattvas gathered in the Sahā world. The gods of the 10 quarters who witnessed this said:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”

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

The benefits of Never Despising:

“When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gāthās, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years.”

Never Despising Śākyamuni:

The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly.

Past and present:

The four kinds of devotees who always abused [me, who was] that Bodhisattva at that time are now present here in this congregation in the persons of the five hundred Bodhisattvas including Bhadrapāla, the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs including Lion-Moon, and the five hundred upāsakas including Thinking-Of-Buddha. Now they do not falter in seeking Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The bottom line:

Great-Power-Obtainer, know this! This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma benefits Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and causes them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, they should keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sūtra after my extinction.

Just one chance:

This Sūtra 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 sūtra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

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

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

In Chapter 21, the supernatural powers of the Buddha and his replicas allowed the living beings of the Buddha worlds of the 10 quarters to see “the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Sahā-World. They also saw Śākyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathāgata on the lion-like seat in the stūpa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas and the four kinds of devotees were surrounding Śākyamuni Buddha respectfully, Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.”

At that time the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters] said loudly:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”

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

Chapter 20’s concluding gāthās say it all for me:

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] met
Innumerable Buddhas after the end of his life.
He expounded this sūtra,
And obtained innumerable merits,
He quickly attained the enlightenment of the Buddha
By these accumulated merits.

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] at that time
Was myself. The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.

They are the five hundred Bodhisattvas
And the four kinds of devotees
Including men and women of pure faith,
Who are now hearing the Dharma from me.
In my previous existence I encouraged them
To hear this sūtra,
That is, the most excellent Dharma.
In all my previous existences
I taught them the Way to Nirvāṇa.
But really this is the sūtra
I taught them to keep.

This Sūtra 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 sūtra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

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

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

Chapter 21 opens with a demonstration of the supernatural powers of the Tathāgatas’ tongue.

Now I understand that the long, broad tongues raised to the World of Brahman by the Buddhas signify their testament to the truth of the sutra. But what is the significance of:

Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers.

Sure. Everyone, even a Buddha and his countless emanations, can be expected to cough after sticking out their tongue for 100,000 years. But the finger snap?

These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways.

In March 2015, I began my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra Practice. Mornings I use the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England’s Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized, which provides the shindoku version of the Lotus Sutra divided into 32 parts. Each afternoon, I read aloud the same section of the Lotus Sutra in English. (For more on the value of reciting in shindoku, a reading of the Chinese translation of the Sūtra with a Japanese pronunciation, see The Dharma Sound blog post.)

For the first 40 32-day cycles I used the Third Edition of Senchu Murano’s English translation of the Lotus Sutra. Then I started using alternate translations. After 10 cycles through those, I have returned to Murano.

Beginning July 23, 2019, following my self-styled 21-Day Retreat Encouraged by Universal Sage Bodhisattva, I added the recitation of The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva (Reeves) following Day 32 and the recitation of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings before Day 1. Since I don’t have shindoku versions of these sutras, I am reading one half in the morning and the remainder in the evening.

Here I note what I read each day.

Lotus Sutra Text

Current Day

• Sutra of Innumerable Meanings
• Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory [Text]
• Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory. [Text]
• Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients. [Text]
• Day 4 finishes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the First Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable [Text]
• Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable [Text]
• Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith. [Text]
• Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the Second Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood. [Text]
• Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City. [Text]
• Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City [Text]
• Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples. [Text]
• Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma. [Text]
• Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures. [Text]
• Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra. [Text]
• Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices. [Text]
• Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground. [Text]
• 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. [Text]
• Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata. [Text]
• Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits. [Text]
• 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. [Text]
• 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. [Text]
• Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas. [Text]
• 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. [Text]
• Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. [Text]
• 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. [Text]
• Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva. [Text]
• Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs [Text]
• Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva. [Text]
• 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. [Text]
• Contemplation of Universal Sage

(For more on what I’m doing and why, see this blog post.)