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.

Having last month considered the appeal of the sixteen princes, we consider how the sixteen śramaṇeras kept and expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

“The Buddha assented to the appeal of the śramaṇeras, but it was twenty thousand kalpas afterwards that he expounded to the four kinds of devotees the sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

“When the Buddha completed the expounding of this sūtra, the sixteen śramaṇeras kept, recited and understood this sūtra in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. The sixteen śramaṇeras, [ who were] Bodhisattvas, received this sūtra by faith. Some Śrāvakas understood it by faith, but the other Śrāvakas and other living beings, thousands of billions in number, doubted it.

“It took the Buddha eight thousand kalpas to complete the expounding of this sūtra. During that time he did not take a rest. Having completed the expounding of this sūtra, the Buddha entered a quiet room and practiced dhyāna-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Seeing him practicing dhyāna-concentration quietly in the room, the sixteen Bodhisattva­sramaneras each sat on a seat of the Dharma, expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees for eighty-four thousand kalpas, and saved six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. They showed them the Way, taught them, benefited them, caused them to rejoice and to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

See Even A Buddha Needs Help

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

Having last month concluded today’s portion of Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, we return to the top and consider what happened when Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

“When Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, five hundred billion Buddha-worlds in each of the ten quarters quaked in the six ways, and all those worlds, including those intercepted from the brilliant rays of light of the sun and the moon by the neighboring worlds, were illumined [by great rays of light], and the living beings of those worlds were able to see each other for the first time. They said to each other, ‘How did you appear so suddenly?’ The palaces of the gods of those worlds, including the palace of Brahmans, also quaked in the six ways. The great rays of light which illumined all those worlds were brighter than the rays of light emitted by those gods.

See The Realm of Origin

Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City.

Having last month considered the prediction for Great Maudgalyāyana, we conclude Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

After he gives up his present existence,
This Great Maudgalyāyana, a disciple of mine,
Will see many Buddhas,
Many World-Honored Ones.
He will see eight thousand of them,
And then two hundred billions of them.

In order to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
He will make offerings to them, and respect them.
He will perform brahma practices under those Buddhas,
And keep the teachings of those Buddhas
For innumerable kalpas.

After the extinction of each of those Buddhas,
He will erect a stūpa of the seven treasures.
There will be a long golden yasti
On the top of the stūpa.
He will offer flowers, incense and music
To the stūpa-mausoleum of the Buddha.

He will finally complete
The Way of Bodhisattvas,
And become a Buddha
Called Tamala [pattral-candana-Fragrance
In a world called
Mind-Happiness.

The duration of the life of that Buddha
Will be twenty-four [small] kalpas.
He will expound to gods and men
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

As many Śrāvakas as there are sands in the River Ganges
Will have the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers.
They will be exceedingly powerful and virtuous.

Innumerable Bodhisattvas also will live there.
They will be resolute in mind, and strenuous.
They will never falter
In seeking the wisdom of the Buddha.

After the extinction of that Buddha,
His right teachings
Will be preserved for forty small kalpas.
So will the counterfeit of them.

The five hundred disciples of mine
Are powerful and virtuous.
They also shall be assured
Of their future Buddhahood.
They will become Buddhas
In their future lives.

Now I will tell you About my previous existence And also about yours. All of you, listen attentively!

See Teaching Śrāvakas the Taste of Ghee

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month considered the various teachings of the same content, we consider why the Buddha refrained from expounding the equality and differences of all things.

My teachings are of the same content, of the same taste. Those who emancipate themselves [from the bonds of existence,] from illusions, and from birth and death, will finally attain Nirvana, that is, eternal tranquility or extinction. They will be able to return to the state of the Void.

“Although I knew the equality and differences of all things, I refrained from expounding it to them in order to protect them because I saw their [various] desires.

“Kāśyapa, and all of you present here! It is an extraordinarily rare thing to see that you have understood, believed and received the Dharma which I expounded variously according to the capacities of all living beings because it is difficult to understand the Dharma which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound according to the capacities of all living beings.”

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Kāśyapa, and all of you present here! It is an extraordinarily rare thing to see that you have understood, believed and received the Dharma which I expounded variously according to the capacities of all living beings because it is difficult to understand the Dharma which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, expound according to the capacities of all living beings.

The Buddha makes this declaration to his disciple Kāśyapa and all those gathered to hear him teach in Chapter Five of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha knows how hard it is to set aside our delusions and understand what he is teaching us. When the Buddha teaches with expedients, he lets us stay in the comfort of our own minds. With the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra, he takes us into the unfamiliar areas of his own mind. Only when we gain confidence in the Buddha as our guide can we stay with this teaching and not regress to the contentment of our attachments.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the second volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month considered how the Buddha is like the rich man, we repeat in gāthās the story of the rich man and his poor son.

Thereupon Mahā-Kāśyapa, wishing to repeat what they had said, sang in gāthās:

Hearing your teaching of today,
We are dancing with joy.
We have never had
Such joy before.

You say:
“The Śrāvakas will be able to become Buddhas.”
We have obtained unsurpassed treasures
Although we did not seek them.

Suppose there lived a boy.
He was young and ignorant.
He ran away from his father
And went to a remote country.
He wandered from country to country
For more than fifty years.

The father anxiously sought him
In all directions.
Finally tiring of looking for him,
He settled in a certain city.

He built a house,
And enjoyed satisfaction
Of the five desires.
He was very rich.
He had a great deal of gold, silver,
Shell, agate, pearl and lapis lazuli;
And many elephants, horses,
Cows, sheep,
Palanquins, carts,
Farmers and attendants.
He invested his money in all the other countries,
And earned interest.
Merchants and customers
Were seen everywhere [around him].

Thousands of billions of people
Surrounded him respectfully.
He was favored by the king,
And respected
By the ministers,
And by the powerful families.

Many people came to see him
For various purposes. Because he was rich,
He was very powerful.
As he became older,
He thought more of his son.
He thought from morning till night:
“I shall die before long.
It is more than fifty years
Since my ignorant son left me
What shall I do
With the things in the store-houses?”

See Enabling the Buddha to Continue to Live