The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings has three chapters, the last of which is called variously Ten Beneficial Effects, Ten Merits or Ten Blessings. Over the next few days I’m going to focus on these Blessings (Reeves), but before I start I want to underscore the graduated scale and the focus of these blessings.
- Blessing 1 comes with the sutra. It simply leads to certain outcomes. The rest require specific attitudes and actions.
- Blessing 2 and 3: If living beings can hear this sutra even once, even only one verse or phrase …
- Blessing 4 begins the same as 2 and 3 with “living beings” and then adds: If a bodhisattva can hear this sutra, even one phrase or verse, once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand or ten thousand times, a million or ten million times, or an unquantifiable, innumerable number of times, like the number of sands of the Ganges…
- Blessing 5 and 6 continue the focus on Bodhisattva behavior: If good sons or good daughters, either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, receive and embrace, read, recite, and copy this profound and unexcelled Great Vehicle Sutra of Innumerable Meanings …
- Blessing 7 shifts focus beyond the Bodhisattva: If good sons or good daughters are able to hear this sutra either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, and rejoice, have faith, and gain an unprecedented consciousness; if they receive and embrace, read, recite, copy, and explain the sutra, and practice it as it teaches; if they aspire to become awakened; if they cause all good roots to sprout, show great compassion, and want to relieve all living beings of suffering…
- Blessing 8: If good sons or good daughters, either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, find anyone who has received this sutra …
- Blessing 9: If good sons or good daughters, receiving this sutra either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, dance for joy, attain the unprecedented, receive and embrace, read and recite, copy and make offerings to this sutra, and everywhere explain its meaning through analysis for the sake of living beings…
- Blessing 10: If good sons or good daughters, receiving this sutra either during the Buddha’s lifetime or after his extinction, greatly rejoice from experiencing such an unprecedented thing, receive and embrace, read and recite, copy, and make offerings to this sutra on their own accord, practice as it teaches, and also lead many monks and laypeople to receive and embrace, read and recite, copy, and make offerings to this sutra, explain it, and practice it in accord with the Dharma…
I’m inspired by this progression from no effort (1), to effort for oneself (2 and 3), to aspiring to be a Bodhisattva (4,5 and 6), to beginning the Bodhisattva practice (7 and 8), fulfilling the Bodhisattva practice (9) and finally “greatly rejoice from experiencing” practice for oneself and all living beings (10).
This is a road map for the aspirant.