Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month begun the gāthās, we continue with the Buddha’s request.
(The Buddha said to the great multitude.)
Who will protect
And keep this sūtra,
And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me to do this!Many-Treasures Buddha,
Who had passed away a long time ago,
Made a loud voice like the roar of a lion
According to his great vow.Many-Treasures Tathāgata and I
And the Buddhas of my replicas,
Who have assembled here,
Wish to know who will do [all this].My sons!
Who will protect the Dharma?
Make a great vow
To preserve the Dharma forever!Anyone who protects this sūtra
Should be considered
To have already made offerings
To Many-Treasures and to me.
Rev. Ryusho Shonin’s Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this:
Following the arrival of the Stupa comes a very important point in this grand drama, one we can easily overlook as we are in awe and amazement of the events that have just happened. The Buddha inquires of the assembly who will teach the Lotus Sutra in this world, the Saha world after the he has died. The Buddha in these requests shows his shift from the present to the future. We have already seen that all of those who received predictions of future enlightenment will perform their practices in some other realm but not this world. None of the contemporaries of the Buddha will attain enlightenment by doing their activities in our world. The Buddha wants to know, however, who will ensure that the Lotus Sutra is taught to future practitioners.
The Buddha makes a promise and this is significant to those of us who practice and teach the Lotus Sutra in the world in this age some several thousand years after the Buddha. A promise is made that whoever protects the Lotus Sutra in the Saha world, our world, will be able to be in the presence of not just the Buddha Shakyamuni but also all of his replica Buddhas as well as Many Treasures Buddha.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra