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 consider the sixteen princes, we consider that the sixteen princes have already attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The Buddha said to the bhikṣus:

“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.

“Bhikṣus! When we were śramaṇeras, we each taught many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings who followed me, heard the Dharma from me in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Some of them are still in Śrāvakahood. I now teach them the Way to Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. They will be able to enter the Way to Buddhahood by my teaching, but not immediately because the wisdom of the Tathāgata is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. Those living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, whom I taught [ when I was a śramaṇera], included you bhikṣus and those who will be reborn as my disciples in Śrāvakahood after my extinction. My disciples who do not hear this sūtra or know the practices of Bodhisattvas, after my extinction will make a conception of extinction by the merits they will have accumulated by themselves, and enter into Nirvāṇa as they conceive it. At that time I shall be a Buddha of another name in another world. Those who will enter into Nirvāṇa as they conceive it will be able [to be reborn] in the world I shall live in, seek the wisdom of the Buddha, and hear this sūtra. They will be able to attain [true] extinction only by the Vehicle of the Buddha in that world because there is no other vehicle except when the Tathāgatas expound the Dharma with expedients.

“Bhikṣus! I will collect Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas and expound this sūtra to them when I realize that the time of my Nirvāṇa is drawing near, that the living beings have become pure in heart, that they can understand the truth of the Void by firm faith, and that they have already entered deep into dhyāna-concentration. No one in the world can attain [true] extinction by the two vehicles. [True] extinction can be attained only by the One Buddha-Vehicle.

The Daily Dharma from May 29, 2023, offers this:

Bhikṣus! I will collect Bodhisattvas and Śrāvakas and expound this sūtra to them when I realize that the time of my Nirvāṇa is drawing near, that the living beings have become pure in heart, that they can understand the truth of the Void by firm faith, and that they have already entered deep into dhyāna-concentration.

The Buddha gives this explanation in Chapter Seven of the Lotus Sūtra. When we encounter even the smallest part of the Lotus Sūtra, it is because of all the wonderful things we have accomplished both in this life and in previous lives. Because we hear and practice this Sūtra, we are the Bodhisattvas who have vowed to benefit all beings and the Śrāvakas who have heard and practiced the teaching for their own benefit and are now awakening to the Bodhisattva path. The Buddha sees into the purity of our hearts, even though we may believe we are clouded by delusion and ignorance. He knows we can understand his teaching no matter how inadequate or unworthy we may think we are. No one besides us can bring the Buddha’s teachings to life and purify this world of suffering. This Wonderful Dharma helps us keep sight of who we are and what we are here to do.

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