Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.
Having last month considered the length of time it took to expound the Lotus Sūtra and what happened afterward, we consider what became of the 16 princes.
“These sixteen Bodhisattvas willingly expounded the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Each of them taught six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings were always accompanied by the Bodhisattva[, by whom they were taught,] in their consecutive existences. [In each of their consecutive existences,] they heard the Dharma from him, and understood it by faith. By the merits [they had thus accumulated], they were given a privilege to see four billion Buddhas, that is, four billion WorldHonored Ones. They have not yet seen all of them.
“Bhikṣus! Now I will tell you. The sixteen śramaṇeras, who were the disciples of that Buddha, have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They now expound the Dharma in the worlds of the ten quarters. They have many hundreds of thousands of billions of attendants consisting of Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas. Two of the śramaṇeras are now Buddhas in the east. One of them is called Akṣobha. He is in the World of Joy. The other is called Sumeru-Peak. Another couple of the śramaṇeras are now Buddhas in the southeast, called Lion-Voice and Lion-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the south, called Sky-Dwelling and Eternal-Extinction. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the southwest, called Emperor-Form and Brahma-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the west, called Amitayus and Saving-All-Worlds-From-Suffering. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the northwest, called TamalapattracandanaFragrance-Supernatural-Power and Sumeru-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the north, called Cloud-Freedom and Cloud-Freedom-King. One of the remaining two is now a Buddha in the northeast called Eliminating-Fear-Of-All-Worlds. The other one, that is, the sixteenth śramaṇera is I, Śākyamuni Buddha. I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi in this Saha-World.
Nichiren discusses the seeds planted by Śākyamuni under Great Universal Wisdom Buddha:
As stated in the seventh chapter, “The Parable of a Magic City,” when the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha was a king, Śākyamuni Buddha, his sixteenth prince, sowed the seed of Buddhahood in the people. With the help of the pre-Lotus sūtras, such as the Flower Garland Sūtra, some were able to attain enlightenment afterwards by germinating the seed planted at the time of the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha, cultivating it to maturity to bear fruit. This, however, is not the true intent of the Buddha. Just as a poison might show its effect on some people without their knowledge, only in certain people does the seed of Buddhahood have a chance to germinate and grow to maturity without the help of the Lotus Sūtra. The aim of Śākyamuni Buddha to be born in this world was to gradually lead the two kinds of Hinayāna sages called Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) and ordinary people to the Lotus Sūtra, by the way of the pre-Lotus sūtras, whereby the seed may germinate and grow to bear the fruit of Buddhahood.
Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 151