Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra

The Devadatta portion of Chapter 12 describes a past life of Sakyamuni during which he was a king who renounced his crown and vigorously sought the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

I beat a drum and sought the Dharma in all directions, saying with a loud voice, ‘Who will expound the Great Vehicle to me? If there is anyone, I will make offerings to him, and run errands for him for the rest of my life.’

When a seer came to him and offered to teach him, Sakyamuni immediately became his servant.

I offered him anything he wanted. I collected fruits, drew water, gathered firewood, and prepared meals for him. I even allowed my body to be his seat. I never felt tired in body and mind. I served him for a thousand years. In order to hear the Dharma from him, I served him so strenuously that I did not cause him to be short of anything.

This is particularly interesting to me given a discussion I’ve been involved in about how to best support those who teach the Dharma today. In particular is this painfully long article by an American Nichiren Shu priest, Myth of Free Dharma: The Lies People Tell Themselves.

But the importance here is that Devadatta, the most evil of people, in a past life was instrumental in helping Sakyamuni attain enlightenment and in a future life would become a Buddha.

Devadatta was my teacher. He caused me to complete the six paramitas. He caused me to have loving-kindness, compassion, joy and impartiality. He caused me to have the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks [of the Buddha]. He caused me to have my body purely gilt. He caused me to have the ten powers and the four kinds of fearlessness. He caused me to know the four ways to attract others. He caused me to have the eighteen properties and supernatural powers [of the Buddha]. He caused me to have the power of giving discourses. I attained perfect enlightenment and now save all living beings because Devadatta was my teacher.

In this English version of the Lotus Sutra, Senchu Murano goes out his way to underline that this chapter was inserted 84 years after Kumarajiva’s version was first published. Still, I will continue to focus on the promise of this chapter:

Good men or women in the future who hear this chapter of Devadatta of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with faithful respect caused by their pure minds, and have no doubts [about this chapter], will not fall into hell or the region of hungry spirits or the region of animals. They will be reborn before the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters. They will always hear this sutra at the places of their rebirth. Even when they are reborn among men or gods, they will be given wonderful pleasures. When they are reborn before the Buddhas, they will appear in lotus-flowers.

And that’s before even hearing about what I consider the most important news: The potential of the daughter of Dragon-King Sagara to become a Buddha in an instant.

First we have to deal with the doubters:

Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva said:

“As far as I know, [when he was a Bodhisattva,] Sakyamuni Buddha sought Bodhi, that is, enlightenment incessantly for innumerable kalpas. He accumulated merits by practicing austerities. Even the smallest part, even the part as large as a poppy-seed of this world-this world being composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds-is not outside the places where the Bodhisattva made efforts to save all living beings at the cost of his life. It was after doing all this that he attained Sodhi, that is, enlightenment. I do not believe that this girl will be able to attain perfect enlightenment[, that is, to become a Buddha] in a moment.”

And:

Thereupon Sariputra said to the daughter of the dragon-king:

“You think that you will be able to attain unsurpassed enlightenment [and become a Buddha] before long. This is difficult to believe because the body of a woman is too defiled to be a recipient of the teachings of the Buddha. How can you attain unsurpassed Bodhi? The enlightenment of the Buddha is far off. It can be attained only by those who perform the [Bodhisattva] practices with strenuous efforts for innumerable kalpas. A woman has five impossibilities. She cannot become 1. the Brahman-Heavenly-King, 2. King Sakra, 3. King Mara, 4. a wheel-turning-holy-king, and 5. a Buddha. How can it be that you, being a woman, will become a Buddha, quickly [or not]?”

After the daughter of the dragon-king proved Accumulated-Wisdom Bodhisattva and Sariputra and the rest of the doubters wrong, it is little wonder that “the congregation received the Dharma faithfully and in silence.” No dancing for joy here.

In the opening of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping This Sutra, we’re offered an example of the differences between Bodhisattvas and Arhats and Sravakas when Medicine-King Bodhisattva-mahasattva and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva-mahasattva vow to teach the sutra in this Saha World, despite the anticipated difficulty, but the various Sravakas can only do so in some other world:

“World-Honored One! We also will expound this sutra in some other worlds because the people of this Saha-World have many evils. They are arrogant. They have few merits. They are angry, defiled, ready to flatter others, and insincere.”

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.

Many-Treasures vow:

The perfect body of a Tathagata is in this stupa of treasures. A long time ago there was a world called Treasure-Purity at the distance of many thousands of billions of asamkhyas of worlds to the east [of this world]. In that world lived a Buddha called Many-Treasures. When he was yet practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas, he made a great vow: ‘If anyone expounds a sutra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in any of the worlds of the ten quarters after I become a Buddha and pass away, I will cause my stupa-mausoleum to spring up before him so that I may be able to prove the truthfulness of the sutra and say ‘excellent’ in praise of him because I wish to hear that sutra [directly from him].

Sakyamuni Buddha, after recalling his replicas and merging and purifying billions of worlds in order to find room for them to sit, opened the Stupa of Treasures and joined Many-Treasures inside. He raised the four kinds of devotees into the air so that they could see him and many-Treasures and asked:

Who will expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in thjs Saha-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvana before long. I wish to transmit this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sutra may be preserved.

Such a task will not be easy:

Good men! Think this over clearly!
It is difficult
[To expound this sutra].
Make a great vow to do this!

It is not difficult
To expound all the other sutras
As many as there are sands
ln the River Ganges.

It is not difficult
To grasp Mt. Sumeru
And hurl it to a distance
Of countless Buddha-worlds.

It is not difficult to move [a world]
[Composed of] one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
With the tip of a toe
And hurl it to another world.

It is not difficult
To stand in the Highest Heaven
And expound irmumerable other sotras
To all living beings.

It is difficult
To expound this sutra
In the evil world
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To grasp the sky,
And wander about with it
From place to place.

It is difficult
To copy and keep this sutra
Or cause others to copy it
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To put the great earth
On the nail of a toe
And go up to the Heaven of Brahman.

It is difficult
To read this sutra
Even for a while in the evil world
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To shoulder a load of hay
And stay unburned in the fire
At the end of the kalpa [of destruction].

It is difficult
To keep this sutra
And expound it to even one person
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To keep the store
Of eighty-four thousand teachings
Expounded in the sutras
Composed of the twelve elements,
And expound it to people,
And cause the hearers to obtain
The six supernatural powers.

It is difficult
To hear and receive this sutra,
And ask the meanings of it
After my extinction.

It is not difficult
To expound the Dharma
To many thousands of billions of living beings
As many as there are sands
In the River Ganges
So that they may be able
To obtain the benefits:
Arhatship and the six supernatural powers.

It is difficult
To keep
This sntra
After my extinction.

Since I attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
I have expounded many sutras
In innumerable worlds.

This sutra is
The most excellent.
To keep this sutra
Is to keep me.

Day 15 closes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures

As the Buddha continues his instruction to the Bodhisattvas, he tells them that the Lotus Sutra is the “store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas.” It is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. It’s not to be bandied about carelessly.

Medicine-King, know this! Anyone who copies, keeps, reads and recites this sotra, makes offerings to it, and expounds it to others after my extinction, will be covered by my robe. He also will be protected by the present Buddhas of the other worlds. He will have the great power of faith, the power of vows, and the power of roots of good. Know this! He will live with me. I will pat him on the head.

The Buddha tells Medicine-King to erect a stupa of treasures in any place where the sutra is taught or where a copy of the sutra exists. But the Buddha tells Medicine-King that he need not enshrine the Buddha’s sariras. In reading this tonight, the power of the sutra and its gift were underlined for me by the Buddha’s explanation of why enshrining his relics in such a stupa would be superfluous:

It is because it will contain my perfect body.

Anyone seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi will be digging in a dry hole if he has not heard and understood by faith the Lotus Sutra.

Medicine-King! The Bodhisattvas who, having been surprised at hearing this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, doubt and fear it, know this, are beginners in Bodhisattvahood. The Sravakas who, having been surprised at hearing this sutra, doubt and fear it, know this, are men of arrogance.

The Buddha’s description of how those living after his extinction should expound this sutra is one of my favorite verses:

They should enter the room of the Tathagata, wear the robe of the Tathagata, sit on the seat of the Tathagata, and then expound this sutra to the four kinds of devotees. To enter the room of the Tathagata means to have great compassion towards all living beings. To wear the robe of the Tathagata means to be gentle and patient. To sit on the seat of the Tathagata means to see the voidness of all things. They should do these [three] things and then without indolence expound this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to Bodhisattvas and the four kinds of devotees.

And in gathas:

If you wish to expound this sutra,
Enter the room of the Tathagata,
Wear the robe of the Tathagata,
Sit on the seat of the Tathagata,
[And after doing these three things,]
Expound it to people without fear!

To enter the room of the Tathagata means
to have great compassion.
To wear his robe means to be gentle and patient.
To sit on his seat means to see the voidness
of all things.
Expound the Dharma only after you do these
[three] things!

Following this, we move into Chapter 11 and the arrival of the Stupa of Treasures. The voice from inside intones:

“Excellent, excellent! You, Sakyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded to this great multitude the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Teaching of Equality, the Great Wisdom, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas. So it is, so it is. What you, Sakyamuni, the World-Honored One, have expounded is all true.”

It is little wonder that those who witnessed this “had delight in the Dharma, but wondered why these unprecedented things had happened.”

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.

In Chapter 9, Ananda and Rahula and bunches of Sravakas are assured of their future as Buddhas. When the Bodhisattvas ask why these Sravakas are being singled out, the Buddha reveals a previous life of Ananda:

Good men! Ananda and I resolved to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi under the Void-King Buddha at the same time [in our previous existence]. At that time Ananda always wished to hear much while I always practiced strenuously. Therefore, I have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saIT1bodhi[, but he has not yet]. Now he protects my teachings. He also will protect the store of the teachings of future Buddhas, teach Bodhisattvas, and cause them to attain [Anuttara-samyak-saIT1bodhi], according to his original vow. Therefore, now he has been assured of his future Buddhahood.

Those can, do; those who can’t, protect the teachings. Couldn’t resist.

As for Rahula:

When I was a crown prince,
Rahula was my eldest son.
When I attained the enlightemnent of the Buddha,
He received the Dharma, and became the son of the Dharma.

In Chapter 10, the Buddha, having finished with the Sravakas, addresses the Bodhisattvas:

The Buddha said to Medicine-King:

If after my extinction anyone rejoices, even on a moment’s thought, at hearing even a gatha or a phrase of the Sotra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, I also will assure him of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. If anyone keeps, reads, recites, expounds and copies even a gatha of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and respects a copy of this sutra just as he respects me, and offers flowers, incense, necklaces, incense powder, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, canopies, banners, streamers, garments and music to it, or just joins his hands together respectfully towards it, Medicine-King, know this, he should be considered to have appeared in the world of men out of his compassion towards all living beings, although he already made offerings to ten billion Buddhas and fulfilled his great vow under those Buddhas in a previous existence.

And if that wasn’t clear enough for the Bodhisattvas:

The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound and copy even a phrase of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and offer flowers, incense, necklaces, incense powder, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, canopies, banners, streamers, garments and music to a copy of this sutra, or just join their hands together respectfully towards it, should be respected by all the people of the world. All the people of the world should make the same offerings to them as they do to me. Know this! These good men or women are great Bodhisattvas. They should be considered to have appeared in this world by their vow to expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma out of their compassion towards all living beings, although they already attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi [in their previous existence].

The Buddha’s messenger service:

The good men or women who expound even a phrase of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma even to one person even in secret after my extinction, know this, are my messengers. They are dispatched by me. They do my work. lt is needless to say this of those who expound this sotra to many people in a great multitude.

And the Buddha’s messenger are protected:

An evil man who speaks ill of me in my presence with evil intent for as long as a kalpa is not as sinful as the person who reproaches laymen or monks with even a single word of abuse for their reading and reciting the Sntra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The benefits of praising the messenger:

Whoever for as long as a kalpa
Joins his hands together towards me
And praises me with innumerable gathas
In order to attain the enlightenment of
the Buddha,
Will obtain innumerable merits
Because he praises me.
Whoever praises the keeper of this sutra
Will obtain even more merits.