Chapter 4 is entitled Understanding by Faith but in many respects a better example of how faith enables understanding is found in Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City, in the story of the 16 sons of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha who each became bodhisattva-­śramaṇeras.

The sons, realizing there was more to learn than what the Śrāvakas had been taught, asked their father to expound the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi – unexcelled perfect enlightenment. Twenty thousand kalpas later, the Buddha finally expounded the “Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.”

“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 Bodhisattva­-śramaṇeras 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.”

In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano explains the significance of the Bodhisattva-­śramaṇeras’ sequence of instruction.

“These words indicate the order of preaching the Law. First, one must show the general meaning of the teaching to people. Then, when one knows that they have generated the desire to enter the teaching, one must teach its profound meaning. Next, seeing that they appear to understand it, one must lead them to practice it and to obtain the benefit of the teaching. Lastly, one must so act toward them as to gladden them in keeping the teaching.”

That “desire to enter the teaching” is the essence of faith. The 16 sons received the sutra by faith and, in expounding the teachings, inspired faith.

“These sixteen Bodhisattvas willingly expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Each of them taught six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings were always accompanied by the Bodhisattva, by whom they were taught, in their consecutive existences. In each of their consecutive existences, they heard the Dharma from him, and understood it by faith.”

All we need now is to remember.

As Nichiren says in his Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sutra:

“Since time immemorial all the people on the earth have been the Buddha Śākyamuni’s beloved children. We had not realized the relationship because we had been undutiful children. It is a unique relationship. As the moon reflects on calm water, the Buddha appears in our calm mind.”

I suppose I have a special affection for Chapter 7 since the Parable of the Magic City inspired so much of my effort here to document my journey to the place of treasures.

Consider the faith demonstrated by the 16 sons of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha:

“When the sons heard that their father had attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, they gave up the playthings, left home, and came to that Buddha.”

Contrast that with the children playing in the burning house who couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to their father and his warnings.

These 16 princes of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha demonstrate a deep understanding of the perils faced in the triple world.

“All living beings are suffering.
Being blind, they have no leader.
They do not know how to stop suffering,
Or that they should seek emancipation.
In the long night fewer people go to heaven,
And more people go to the evil regions.
They go from darkness to darkness, and do not hear
Of the names of the Buddhas.”

I’ve always been struck by the line: “In the long night fewer people go to heaven and more people go to the evil regions.” These are the consequences of ignorance of the Dharma.

The great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith reinforce this message after traveling in search of the source of an unusual light illumining the universe:

“The All-Knower, the Most Honorable One of Gods and Men,
Opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar,
And saves all living beings
Out of his compassion towards them.

“There has been no Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.
Before you appeared,
The worlds of the ten quarters were dark.

“The living beings in the three evil regions
And asuras are increasing.
The living beings in heaven are decreasing.
Many fall into the evil regions after their death.

“They do not hear the Dharma from a Buddha
Because they did evils,
Their appearances are getting worse;
And their power and wisdom, decreasing.
Because they did sinful karmas,
They lose pleasures and the memory of pleasures.
They are attached to wrong views.
They do not know how to do good.
They are not taught by a Buddha;
Therefore, they fall into the evil regions.”

The Buddha “opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar.” We are asked to have faith and step through the gate.

Nichiren reminds us of just how rare it is to find this treasure:

“The chances of our being born in the three evil realms are more numerous than particles of dust on earth, while chances of our being born in the human realm are as scarce as the specks of dirt on a fingernail. (…) The chances of our encountering expedient sūtras preached in the forty-odd years before the Lotus Sūtra are more numerous than the particles of dust on earth, while encountering the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras is as scarce as specks of dirt on a fingernail.

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 66

Before getting into what I consider the meat of Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City, I want first to explore the idea of faith and its role in overcoming obstacles. Consider Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha’s trouble attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi – unexcelled perfect enlightenment.

“The duration of the life of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha was five hundred and forty billion nayuta kalpas. [Before he attained Buddhahood,] he sat at the place of enlightenment and defeated the army of Mara. He wished to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, but could not because the Dharma of the Buddhas had not yet come into his mind. He sat cross-legged without moving his mind and body for one to ten small kalpas. During all that time the Dharma of the Buddhas did not come into his mind.”

Now, 10 small kalpas is a tiny fraction of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha’s lifespan of five hundred and forty billion nayuta kalpas, but it still represents a long time to remain “cross-legged without moving his mind.” Why was so much time required?

Consider the tale published in 2007 by Paulo Coelho that he adapted from a story sent to him by Sonaira D’Avila.

“A man spent hours watching a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. It managed to make a small hole, but its body was too large to get through it. After a long struggle, it appeared to be exhausted and remained absolutely still.

“The man decided to help the butterfly and, with a pair of scissors, he cut open the cocoon, thus releasing the butterfly. However, the butterfly’s body was very small and wrinkled and its wings were all crumpled.

“The man continued to watch, hoping that, at any moment, the butterfly would open its wings and fly away. Nothing happened; in fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its brief life dragging around its shrunken body and shriveled wings, incapable of flight.

“What the man – out of kindness and his eagerness to help – had failed to understand was that the tight cocoon and the efforts that the butterfly had to make in order to squeeze out of that tiny hole were Nature’s way of training the butterfly and of strengthening its wings.

“Sometimes, a little extra effort is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle to be faced. Anyone who refuses to make that effort, or gets the wrong sort of help, is left unprepared to fight the next battle and never manages to fly off to their destiny.”

In the Parable of the Burning House in Chapter 3, the Buddha explains:

“Śāriputra! The rich man did not save his children by his muscular power although he was strong enough. He saved them from the burning house with a skillful expedient and later gave them each a large cart of treasures.

“In the same manner, I save all living beings from the burning house of the triple world, not by my powers or fearlessness, but with a skillful expedient.”

Faith sets us on the path. With our struggles we grow stronger.