Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra begins at this point.

At that time the Buddha said to the bodhisattvas and all the great assembly, “Believe and discern, all you good sons, the veracious word of the Tathāgata.” Again he said to the great assembly, “Believe and discern the veracious word of the Tathāgata.” And a third time he said to all the great assembly, “Believe and discern the veracious word of the Tathāgata.”

The Buddha’s saying “Believe and discern it” instead of commanding “Believe it” has an important meaning. Sakyamuni Buddha never forced his ideas upon his disciples or other people. He preached the truth as it was and exhorted his listeners, saying, “You, too, behold it.” He led them on the way of the truth and coaxed them, saying, “You, too, come to me.” His exhortation to “behold the truth” instead of saying only “Believe it” is a very important point. This short phrase of the Buddha speaks for the character of his teachings. His words “Behold it” are equivalent to the “scientific spirit” in today’s parlance. The Buddha shows in these few words that if anyone thoroughly views the truth, studies it, and discerns it, he will surely be able to accept it to his satisfaction.

His words “You, too, come to me” include the same important idea. They mean: “Come to me and practice the Law as much as I do. Then you are sure to understand the value of the Law.” The Buddha could never have uttered these words unless he had absolute confidence in the Law and the Way.

Because Sakyamuni Buddha was a reasonable person, he did not say even to his leading disciples, “Believe the truth,” but said, “Believe and discern it,” that is, “Believe it after understanding it.” In this emphasis on belief based on understanding, Buddhism differs fundamentally from many other religions.

The Buddha then addressed all the bhikshus, saying: “These sixteen bodhisattvas take delight in preaching this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law. Numberless living beings whom each of these bodhisattvas converted, reborn generation after generation, all following these bodhisattvas, heard the Law from them, and all believed and discerned it. For this cause they succeeded in meeting four myriad koṭis of buddhas, world-honored ones, and at the present time have not ceased so to do.”

Some people consider that because this chapter is only the seventh sermon of the Buddha in the Lotus Sutra, and Sakyamuni Buddha has not yet finished preaching the sutra, it is odd that he should have said that the Buddha Universal Surpassing Wisdom and the sixteen bodhisattvas had preached the Lotus Sutra in the past. This mistaken idea comes from their thinking that the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law is just the title of this specific sutra, like the title of a book.

“The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law” actually indicates the following idea: the supremely sacred truth that dwells in the minds of ordinary men living in this corrupt world but untainted by their evils, just as the lotus is untainted by the mud in which it grows, and which leads them to buddhahood. Such a truth is always one; it cannot be divided into two or three. Therefore it is quite natural that Sakyamuni Buddha should have said that the Buddha Universal Surpassing Wisdom and the sixteen bodhisattvas had once preached the Lotus Sutra. The truth has obviously existed from the infinite past, before Sakyamuni Buddha appeared in this world, and the enlightenment realized by a truly enlightened person cannot exist except as the one truth. For this reason, it is no wonder that the Buddha said that some hundred thousand people preached the truth in their previous lives. From such words of the Buddha, we can clearly gather his intention to cause people to understand thoroughly the fact that the truth is one.

When understanding develops into service to society and to other people, we can call it faith or religion. A true religion has this kind of power. Where does inspiration, the foundation of this power, come from? Inspiration comes not from theories but from the contact of one’s spirit with other spirits. When we meet a person of great character and listen to his words, our hearts are touched with joy. We ardently determine to emulate him even at the risk of our lives. The ability to give us such determination is the greatness of Sakyamuni as the appearing Buddha. When we take as the universal truth the words of Sakyamuni Buddha, whom we revere as the ideal human being, we receive a great power, which is beyond mere understanding and which gives us strength and uplifts us.

This is why the Buddha’s disciples were eager to hear the Buddha’s words, “You will become buddhas,” directly from his lips. Such words were a stronger encouragement to them than the support of ten million people. “Be pleased to say a word to us! If you should say something to us, we would sacrifice ourselves for your teachings and would follow them to the end. We would never turn away or be neglectful in our practice. So be pleased to say a word to us!” Thus were the disciples asking Sakyamuni.

This innocent and trusting attitude shows true faith. The disciples’ manner of asking is a good example for our religious lives, so we should bear it well in mind. The understanding of the Buddha’s teachings gained by reading books and listening to preaching is still shallow. If we do not have a sense of being inspired or the feeling of flying straight to Sakyamuni’s arms of great compassion, our understanding will not produce the power to save others as well as ourselves. Worshiping the Buddha’s image and repeating the title of the Lotus Sutra are not mere idol worship and magical incantations. The purpose of these actions is nothing other than the merging of ourselves with the mind of Sakyamuni, whom we revere as our teacher and our parent, and through him with the great salvation of the Eternal Original Buddha.

The World-honored One was silent and did not stop [the 5,000 who left]. This was because he thought that even if he forced them to remain, they could not understand his teaching and it would tend instead to produce an adverse result. He also considered that they would wish to seek a true teaching sometime in the future and would in time develop the capacity to understand it. His preaching to them at that time would be the quickest way to save them.

At first glance this attitude of the Buddha seems to indicate indifference to others, but his mind in its profundity was filled with the great wisdom and benevolence of the Buddha. This is clear from the incident recounted in chapter 8, “The Five Hundred Disciples Receive the Prediction of Their Destiny.” When he gave a great many arhats the prediction that they would become buddhas in accordance with their practice, he said to Kāśyapa, “The other band of śrāvakas will also be like them. To those who are not in this assembly, do you proclaim my words.” The Buddha’s words “those who are not in this assembly” refer to the five thousand monks who had risen from their seats and left the assembly earlier. The fact that he purposely did not stop them at that time demonstrates his great power in tactful means.

“Whoever resists our spell
And troubles a preacher,
May his head be split in seven
Like an arjaka sprout;
May his doom be that of a parricide,
His retribution that of an oil-expresser
Or a deceiver with false measures and weights,
Or of Devadatta who brought schism into the Sarpgha;
He who offends these teachers of the Law,
Such shall be his retribution.”

This is a famous verse. It is said that if one touches an arjaka flower its petals will open and fall into seven pieces. The lines “May his head be split in seven / Like an arjaka sprout” mean, “May that man’s doom be that of a parricide.” The words “His retribution that of an oil-expresser” refer to an Indian custom. When one grinds sesame, he puts a weight on the grinder to press down the sesame. If this weight presses only moderately on the sesame, the worms in it are not squeezed. If he puts too heavy a weight on the grinder in order to press the sesame faster, they are squeezed and the sesame will lose its flavor. Therefore, in ancient India, this was regarded as symbolizing the crime by which one takes another’s life for the sake of his own self.

The same thing can be said of the crime of one who deceives with false measures and weights. Although such a crime cannot be compared with that of homicide in today’s legal system, it is a heinous deed from a spiritual point of view. Therefore, such a deed was considered a great crime in ancient India.

To attain arhatship, that is, to reach the mental stage of having avoided all defilements, is the pinnacle of the Hinayāna teaching. But if such a person isolates himself in the mountains, the merits attained by him stop at that stage. The Buddha’s teachings are very valuable, but their value cannot be displayed fully unless the person preaches them, elevating his hearers and giving them power and courage, and thus improving the whole world. So long as Buddhist monks are confined to their temples after their own enlightenment and devote themselves to performing funeral and memorial services, they do not put the Buddha’s true spirit to practical use.

[T]here is a great misunderstanding of the status of bodhisattvas. True salvation is realized only through the Buddha. … Salvation comes from our realization of the existence of the truth, and there is only one truth. A bodhisattva is one who has a great will to save others, and he can certainly save all living beings suffering from illusion and suffering on specific occasions. Fundamental salvation, however, is not brought about except by our realization of the existence of the Buddha. How does a bodhisattva manifest his salvation to living beings? This is, of course, a salvation revealed by him to save them from their illusions and suffering on specific occasions. A much more important working of his salvation, however, is to transmit the Buddha’s teachings as his messenger and to provide us with a good example of religious life. The true salvation of the bodhisattva lies in leading us to salvation through his good example.

The great bodhisattvas have perfected their virtues, and each is possessed of special virtues peculiar to him. For example, the Bodhisattva Never Despise is characterized by his practice of paying respect to others and disclosing their buddha-nature. The Bodhisattva Medicine King displays his distinctive character in his practice of repaying the Buddha’s grace through his personal practice of the teachings. The Bodhisattva Wonder Sound is characterized by his practice of having a great regard for the realization of an ideal. We can model ourselves after the special virtues of one or another of the various bodhisattvas.

The Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World is not a buddha but a bodhisattva. He is one whom we regard as a model, but he should not be the object of our prayers for salvation. In this chapter, the Buddha declares the supernatural power of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World as a model in order to cause us to wish to be as splendid as this bodhisattva and to try all the harder to practice the teachings of the
Lotus Sutra.

The contemplation of revelation of all forms is the contemplation by which a bodhisattva freely appears in a suitable body or form and gives suitable instruction to lead people to the teaching. If they are people who can be led gently, the bodhisattva assumes a gentle expression and uses soft words. If they are people who need to be instructed strictly, he adopts a threatening expression like Fudō Myō-ō and utters harsh words. The bodhisattva can make such changes with perfect freedom and without fail. A person who has not yet attained the mental state of this contemplation is prone to misjudge others’ capacity to understand the teaching and therefore to fail in leading them to it. This is a very important warning to us believers in the Lotus Sutra who practice it in the age of degeneration.