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

The first half of today’s reading involves promises of future Buddhahood for “the great disciples.” In the past, when I’ve focused on this section, I’ve puzzled over why it is that Subhuti, Great Katyayana and Great Maudgalyayana must spend billions of lifetimes serving Buddhas before they finally attain enlightenment.

After all, it is common to read encouragement like this:

[T]he Lotus Sutra opens the seed of Buddhahood or potential enlightenment that each and everyone of us possess, and with the continued chanting of the Odaimoku, it gives that seed the nourishment it needs to sprout, grow and mature into a real living Buddha, transforming lives into that of an enlightened being, blessed with all the same wonderful and varied qualities, virtues and merits that Shakyamuni Buddha himself attained.
Odaimoku: The Significance Of Chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Recently, however, I’ve come to look at this from a different perspective. I suppose I could call it the Bodhisattva perspective.

Sakyamuni says to Subhuti:

In his future life, this Subhuti will see three hundred billion nayutas of Buddhas, make offerings to them, respect them, honor them, praise them, perform brahma practices, complete the Way of Bodhisattvas, and become a Buddha on the final stage of his physical existence.

Underline complete the Way of Bodhisattvas and become a Buddha on the final stage of his physical existence.

Again, for Great Katyayana:

On the final stage of his physical existence,
He will obtain the wisdom of the Buddha
And attain perfect enlightenment.

And Great Maudgalyayana:

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

Each day, morning and evening, I recite The Four Great Vows, beginning with the greatest vow:

Sentient begins are innumberable: I vow to save them all.

In the book Lotus Seeds, Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick explains:

A bodhisattva is a person who has reached a high level of spiritual maturity and has realized that his or her awakening depends upon the awakening of others. Seeing the suffering of others, a bodhisattva works to assist them to free themselves from suffering and then attain awakening. This intention is expressed in the “Four Bodhisattva Vows.”
Lotus Seeds

When I first heard the Four Great Vows I immediately saw the Catch-22: I can’t become a Buddha until I’ve saved everyone else.

And yet it was only recently that I saw the billions of lifetimes of service from Subhuti, Great Katyayana and Great Maudgalyayana as fulfillment of that Bodhisattva vow to save all sentient beings.

Let me help you onto the boat before I join you on this trip to the other side of the river.