Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory
Having last month discussed the Arhats, Sravakas and Bodhisattvas present in the audience at the start of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower, I need to discuss the others present.
Sakra-Devanam-Indra was also present. Twenty thousand gods were attending on him. There were also Beautiful-Moon God, Universal-Fragrance God, Treasure-Light God, and the four great heavenly-kings. Ten thousand gods were attending on them. Freedom God and Great-Freedom God were also present. Thirty thousand gods were attending on them. Brahman Heavenly-King who was the lord of the Saha-World, Great Brahman Sikhin, and Great Brahman Light were also present. Twelve thousand gods were attending on them.
There were also the eight dragon-kings: Nanda Dragon-King, Upananda Dragon-King, Sagara Dragon-King, Vasuki Dragon.Kng, Taksaka Dragon-King, Anavatapta Dragon-King, Manasvin Dragon-King, and Utpalaka Dragon-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants. There were also the four kimnara-kings: Dharma Kimnara-King, Wonderful-Dharma Kimnara-King, Great-Dharma Kimnara-King, and DharmaKeeping Kimnara-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants.
There were also the four gandharva-kings: Musical GandharvaKing, Musical-Voice Gandharva-King, Beautiful Gandharva-King, and Beautiful-Voice Gandharva-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants.
There were also the four asura-kings: Balin Asura-King, Kharaskandha Asura-King, Vemacitrin Asura-King, and Rahu Asura-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants.
There were also the four garuda-kings: Great-Power-Virtue Garuda-King, Great-Body Garuda-King, Great-Fulfillment GarudaKing, and Free-At-Will Garuda-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants.
In my brief time as a Nichiren Shu practitioner I’ve discovered that the perceived importance of the protective deities varies widely. The Ven. Kenjo Igarashi strongly believes of their existence and their protection powers. Others I’ve talked with seem to want the subject to be one of those matters of historical interpretation and not relevant to modern practice.
To me, Buddhism without the deities is like a photograph without color. Yes, you can understand a picture of shades of gray, but how much more wonderful and beautify is the world in color.
These deities were important to Nichiren. That’s why they are included in the Mandala Gohonzon. I highly recommend “Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon,” by Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick