Having mostly read books on the Japanese perspective on the Lotus Sutra, I find it fascinating to read Master Hsuan Hua’s Chinese tales about the benefits of the Lotus Sutra. This example comes from Chapter 4 and the Parable of the Rich Man and his Poor Son

“Wages” refers to the value contained in the Dharma Flower Sūtra. How much value is there? The value of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra is indeed inconceivable, subtle, and wonderful.

This reminds me of a story about a person who lived during the Jin dynasty in China and recited the Dharma Flower Sūtra. There was a Dharma master at the time named Tanyi, who was not a person but actually a pheasant. Where did he come from? Previously, in a place called Yuhang, there was a Dharma master named Fazhi who lectured exclusively on the Dharma Flower Sutra. Once, a pheasant came to listen to his lectures. The pheasant came to every one of his lectures for seven years. Then it died.

Someone thought, “Listening to sūtra lectures must not be beneficial at all. The pheasant died listening to them. Let’s stop listening!”

Well, the pheasant may have died, but that very night, Dharma Master Fazhi dreamt of a young boy who spoke to him, saying, “I am the pheasant who used to come to your sūtra lectures. I have died, but because of the power of listening to the Dharma Flower Sutra, I will not be born again as a pheasant; instead, I will be born as a human. I will be born in the household of Layman Wang at the foot of the mountain tomorrow, and in the future I plan to renounce the home life under you.”

About three or four years later, Mr. Wang invited Dharma Master Fazhi to lunch, and as soon as he walked in the son said, “My Dharma Master has come!” Because of his dream, Dharma Master Fazhi knew that the boy was a reincarnation of the pheasant. He said to the son’s father, “Your son used to be a pheasant.” Then he took off the boy’s shirt, and sure enough, there were three feathers on his back. That was proof that he was telling the truth. Mr. Wang said, “Oh, so he was a pheasant. Now [that he has been reborn as a human], he can cultivate.” Therefore, when the boy was seven years old, he allowed his son to leave home.

After the boy left the home life, he concentrated on reciting the Dharma Flower Sutra. He built a hut for cultivation called the Dharma Flower Vihāra, in which he recited the Dharma Flower Sutra for more than ten years. One day a woman came carrying a basket with a white piglet and two garlic bulbs in it. She was wearing eye-catching clothes and appeared to be a promiscuous woman. She wanted to stay overnight at the vihāra, explaining that she had been searching for medicinal herbs in the mountains all day but had not found any. She was afraid of wolves, insects, tigers, and other wild beasts that roamed about those mountains, so she was persistent in wanting to stay. Dharma Master Tanyi refused. “I cannot allow a woman to stay here. Go find some other place.” There was no other place nearby, however, so she was determined to stay with him.

There was no way for him to convince her to leave, so he had no choice but to let her spend the night on a heap of hay. That night, something very strange happened. In the middle of the night, the woman started crying and complaining that her stomach hurt. She insisted that he come help her massage her stomach. What do you think he did in the face of such a demonic obstacle? He wrapped his staff in a cloth and rubbed her stomach with the staff from a distance. That way he did not have to touch her. In a while she felt better.

The next day at dawn, the woman rose up into space, her brightly colored clothes turned into five-colored auspicious clouds, her white piglet turned into an elephant, and the two cloves of garlic turned into two lotuses; the elephant sat on one, and her feet rested on the other. She spoke to him from space, saying, “You have cultivated well. I am Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. In a few days, you are due to join my Dharma assembly, so I decided to test you in advance. Your Bodhi resolve is really firm. You have passed my test, and in the future you will be one of my retinue.” Then auspicious light radiated throughout empty space. The emperor saw it, too, and later built the Dharma Flower Monastery there.

Think about it: A pheasant heard the Dharma Flower Sūtra and invoked such a great response. If we people hear the Dharma Flower Sūtra, we should invoke an even greater response.

Let me tell you another story. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty in China, there was a bhikṣuṇī by the name of Daoji [Aiding the Way]. Her other name was Zongchi [Total Retention]. She was a disciple of Patriarch Bodhidharma, and she lived alone in a hut for her entire life reciting the Dharma Flower Sūtra. When she died, they buried her next to the little hut. After seven or eight years, a blue lotus grew out of her grave. When the emperor found out about this, he came to see it and ordered the grave opened so that he could see where the blue lotus had grown from. They found it growing from her mouth. This is inconceivable! Why did the blue lotus grow out of her mouth? It was because she recited the Dharma Flower Sutra when she was alive. This is an example of the inconceivable consequences of reciting the Dharma Flower Sūtra.

There was another bhikṣuṇī named Huashou [Flower Hands]. She staunchly upheld the precepts, never breaking any of them. She also recited the Dharma Flower Sutra. Every time she finished reciting one roll of the Dharma Flower Sutra, a lotus would appear on the lines of her hand. As she recited the sūtra all her life, there were blue lotuses all over her hands. The emperor asked her to visit him, and when he saw all the lotuses on her hands, he gave her the name Flower Hands.

These are some of the inconceivable events that have occurred in China as a result of people reciting the Dharma Flower Sutra. To say nothing of hearing me explain the entire sūtra, just hearing the name of the Dharma Flower Sūtra means that one has great good roots.

You ask, “Well then, do all of us who are listening now have good roots?”

Of course! If you did not have good roots, you would not even be able to walk in the door. Or you might walk in but immediately want to run off. You would not be able to stay very long. It is not that simple. The value of the Dharma Flower Sūtra is inconceivable. This current lecture series on the Dharma Flower Sūtra is also inconceivable.

There was also a Dharma master named Fayun who specialized in lecturing on the Dharma Flower Sūtra. He was wonderfully eloquent and intelligent. He lectured extremely well. Another monk made a vow to make offerings to this Dharma master. He also vowed that in every life he would be just like Dharma Master Fayun, including having the same appearance, same eloquence, and making the same vow. That night he had a dream in which a voice said, “Do not think it is easy to be like him. He has been lecturing on the Dharma Flower Sūtra since the time of Buddha Lamp Shining with the Brightness of Sun and Moon. This is not something he has just picked up. That is why he is so incredibly good at it. If you want to be like him, it will take much time and work.” The lecturing of this sūtra is also a wonderful practice that is difficult to encounter.