Having read this far, readers will notice that [Chapter 20, The Bodhisattva Never Despise] is very different from the previous chapters of the Lotus Sutra. The chapters so far have presented us with scenes of many lands as that are beautiful and dreamlike but quite unlike this world, as well as dreadful scenes of hell. Most personages, including the buddhas, have been introduced as superhuman and ideal beings. But this chapter is strongly characterized by the human touch. The setting of the Bodhisattva Never Despise makes us think of an ordinary town today, although no description of any particular place is given. The characters appearing in the story are ordinary people such as may be met with anywhere. The words “bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, and upāsikās” do not necessarily mean Buddhist monks, nuns, and lay devotees, but include people of all kinds and classes: foppish minor officials, raffish young men, middle-aged merchants posing as seasoned men of mature judgment, good-natured but strong-willed women; mingling with such people, we also imagine learned priests who boast of having a complete knowledge of Buddhism, middle-aged monks who are proud of keeping the precepts, and old priests who come to town to beg for alms but do not preach any sermons, only standing silently on a street corner with an aloof and superior air. The Bodhisattva Never Despise conjures up the image of a young monk who has the air of an earnest, serious-minded man with something unusual and refined about him.

All the chapters of the Lotus Sutra can be said to be literary in style; but chapter 20 comes closest to the feeling of modern literature. It gives us a strong sense of humanity and of things familiar to us. This is quite natural because it states vividly how, by practicing only the virtue of paying respect to others, an ordinary man realizes his faith and finally attains the perfection of his character.

[Chapter 18] states that even a person who is so unenlightened that when he comes in contact with the teaching he is not deeply moved by it will obtain very great merits. This teaches us how important it is to have the opportunity to encounter the teaching. We all surely have the buddha-nature, but we cannot attain salvation unless we awaken to the existence of our buddha-nature through such an opportunity. To come in contact with the teaching is a prior condition for salvation, and the opportunity to encounter it must be said to be very sacred indeed. Accordingly, our giving such an opportunity to others is also a very sacred deed.

Since ancient times, the essential points of [Chapter 17] have been considered to be the “four faiths” (shishin) and “five categories” (go-hon). This division was first made in China by Chih-i in order to make the chapter more easily understood. The concept of the four faiths to be followed during the Buddha’s lifetime came from the idea that the ideal way of faith while the Buddha lived was to be divided into the following four stages: (1) receiving but one thought of faith and discernment concerning the eternity of the Buddha’s life, (2) apprehending its meaning, (3) devotion to preaching the Lotus Sutra abroad to others, and (4) beholding and perfecting profound faith and discernment.

The five categories of faith to be pursued after the Buddha’s extinction are derived from the idea that the ideal way of faith in the age of degeneration is divided into the following five categories: (1) first rejoicing over the Lotus Sutra, (2) reading and reciting it, (3) preaching it to others, (4) concurrently practicing the six pāramitās, and (5) intensively practicing the six pāramitās.

The first of the four faiths is to receive but one thought of faith and discernment concerning the eternity of the Buddha’s life. This is the first stage of faith, but the merits obtained by this practice are beyond limit or measure.

“My Pure Land will never be destroyed,
Yet all view it as being burned up, And grief and horror and distress Fill them all like this.
All those sinful creatures,
By reason of their evil karma,
Throughout asaṃkhyeya kalpas
Hear not the name of the Precious Three.”

… As long as we accumulate either negative or positive sins, that is, evil karma, we cannot obtain good results because we do not produce good causes. However much time may pass, we cannot meet the Buddha, nor hear his teachings, nor join the ranks of his disciples. This situation is expressed in the words “hear not the name of the Precious Three.”

The Precious Three are the three basic elements that Sakyamuni Buddha taught his disciples as the spiritual foundation of Buddhism soon after he began his missionary work: the Buddha, the Law, and the Saṃgha. Because of their supreme value, they are also called the Three Treasures.

Mention of this spiritual foundation immediately reminds us of the teaching “Make the self your light, make the Law your light.” These are most reassuring words and a great encouragement to us. But here the Buddha does not refer to the self that is filled with illusions but the self that lives in the Law. We must burn with the fire of the Law and cast its light over society. Though we must live through our own efforts, our way of life should always be in accordance with the Law.

In the verses spoken by the Bodhisattva Maitreya occur the following words:

“They have ably learned the bodhisattva-way,
And are as untainted with worldly things
As the lotus flower in the water.”

These words represent the ideal way of life that the Buddha teaches us in the Lotus Sutra. We should not withdraw from society but should lead beautiful and pure lives within society. The ideal of the Lotus Sutra consists in making all society pure and beautiful. The title Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law expresses this ideal.

It may seem strange that the Buddha in his predictions had left [Maha-Prajapati and Yaśodharā] until last and that before mentioning them he had given his prediction to the dragon king’s daughter, who was, so to speak, an indirect disciple instructed by Mañjuśrī, and only an eight-year-old girl. This priority has the following meanings. First, as already mentioned in the explanation of the Buddha’s prediction to Ānanda and Rāhula, for those closest to the Buddha, like the Bhikṣunī Mahā-Prajāpatī, who had brought up Sakyamuni from babyhood, and the Bhikṣunī Yaśodharā, who had been his wife and had given birth to his son, such intimacy could have become a hindrance rather than a help to their practice. The Buddha teaches us that someone like the dragon king’s daughter, who is a perfect stranger to the Buddha, can receive the Law with ease, while we may find great difficulty in instructing those closest to us, such as our parents and spouses. The delay of the Buddha’s prediction to the Bhikṣunī Mahā-Prajāpatī and the Bhikṣunī Yaśodharā does not mean that they were considered inferior to the dragon king’s daughter.

We can understand the Lotus Sutra in theory, but this kind of understanding is liable to be shaken by any adverse change in our circumstances. The person who can truly understand and believe the sutra from the bottom of his heart is one who is spiritually sensitive to the teaching and who is ripe to bear the fruit of the accumulated karma of his former lives. For that reason, we must continually strive to grasp the teaching of the Lotus Sutra more deeply and must patiently receive and keep it regardless of whatever doubts we may have in our minds or whatever persecution and slander we may suffer from outsiders.

The last portion of the verse section has a very important meaning:

“Kāśyapa! You now know
Of these five hundred self-reliant ones. The other band of śrāvakas
Will also be like them.
To these, who are not in this assembly,
Do you proclaim my words.”

In other words: “These five hundred self-reliant arhats will become buddhas in the future, as will the many other śrāvakas. Kāśyapa! Do you proclaim what I have now said to those who are not in this assembly, and do you lead them to the way of attaining buddhahood.”

“Those who are not in this assembly” indicates the five thousand arrogant monks who left the assembly saying that since they had already attained enlightenment it was not necessary for them to listen to the Lotus Sutra. As already mentioned, because of his great wisdom and compassion, the World-honored One was silent and purposely did not stop them. Here he gives his prediction that even they will surely become buddhas according to their practice.

The Buddha then declared: “The Law preached by the Tathāgata is of one form and flavor, that is to say, deliverance, abandonment, extinction, and finally the attainment of perfect knowledge.” This means that though his teachings are all the same essentially, they can be analyzed into three parts: deliverance (gedatsu-sō), abandonment (ri-sō), and extinction (metsu-sō).

“Deliverance” is the mental state of being no longer influenced by changes in circumstances or things. If one reaches this state, one can consider all things equally, unmoved by whatever happens. On the other hand, those who are convinced that they cannot look at things equally wish to rise above the world ofphenomena, and so they lose the feeling of kinship with people who are suffering and distressed. We should abandon such self-righteousness and strive instead to save people from their sufferings. This attitude is called “abandonment.”

“Extinction” means to extinguish false discrimination between oneself and others, that is, to feel the unity of oneself and all creatures in the universe. We cannot reach this state of mind as long as we think only that we must save people who are suffering and distressed. We must wish to stretch out our hands to others spontaneously and embrace them. This feeling is the mental state of the unification of oneself and others.