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

Following the Buddha’s senior disciples’ “meal,” the World-Honored One, “having understood the wishes of the great disciples,” went on to assure Subhūti, Kātyāyana, Maudgalyāyana and “the five hundred disciples of mine” are all assured of their future Buddhahood. None of this will happen soon; none of these disciples will become Buddhas in this saha world.

Using Maudgalyāyana’s example:

This Great Maudgalyāyana will make various offerings to eight thousand Buddhas, respect them, and honor them. After the extinction of each of those Buddhas, he will erect a stūpa-mausoleum a thousand yojanas high, and five hundred yojanas wide and deep. He will make it of the seven treasures: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, shell, agate, pearl and ruby. He will offer flowers, necklaces, incense applicable to the skin, incense powder, incense to burn, canopies, banners and streamers to the stūpa-mausoleum. After that he will make the same offerings to two hundred billions of Buddhas. Then he will become a Buddha called Tamālapattracandana-Fragrance, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The kalpa in which he will become that Buddha will be called Joyfulness; and his world, Mind-Happiness. The ground [of his world] will be even, made of crystal, adorned with jeweled trees, and purified with strewn flowers of pearls. Anyone will rejoice at seeing it.

The chapter concludes with this bit of tease from the Buddha:

Now I will tell you
About my previous existence
And also about yours.
All of you, listen attentively!

Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City, opens with a discussion of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha who lived so long ago that it stretches the definition of finite to some place very close to infinite.

Of particular interest to me today was the role played by the gods in helping Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence gain enlightenment:

[Before he sat at the place of enlightenment,] the Trāyastriṃśa Gods prepared him a lion-like seat a yojana high under the Bodhi-tree so that he might be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi on that seat. When he sat on that seat, the Brahman-heavenly-kings rained heavenly flowers on the area extending a hundred yojanas in all directions from that seat. From time to time withered flowers were blown away by fragrant winds and new flowers were rained down. [The Brahman-heavenly-kings] continued this offering to him for fully ten small kalpas. [After he attained Buddhahood also,] they continued raining flowers until he passed away.

[When he sat on that seat,] the four heavenly-kings beat heavenly drums, and the other gods made heavenly music and offered it to him. They continued these offerings also for fully ten small kalpas. [After he attained Buddhahood also,] they continued these offerings until he passed away.