Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.
Having last month considered in gāthās the man on a plateau who felt thirsty, we conclude Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.
If anyone speaks ill of you, or threatens you
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones
While you are expounding this sūtra,
Think of me, and be patient!My body is pure and indestructible.
I will appear in any of many thousands of billions of worlds
During many hundreds of millions of kalpas,
And expound the Dharma to the living beings.If a teacher of the Dharma expounds this sūtra
After my extinction,
I will manifest the four kinds of devotees:
Bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, and men and women of pure faith,
And dispatch them to him
So that they may make offerings to him,
And that they may lead many living beings,
Collecting them to hear the Dharma [from him].If he is hated and threatened
With swords, sticks, tile-pieces or stones,
I will manifest men and dispatch them to him
In order to protect him.If an expounder of the Dharma
Reads and recites this sūtra
In a retired and quiet place,
Where no human voice is heard,
I will show my pure and radiant body to him.
If he forgets a sentence or a phrase of this sūtra,
I will tell it to him
For his complete understanding.Anyone who expounds this sūtra to the four kinds of devotees,
Or reads or recites this sūtra in a retired place,
After doing these [three] virtuous things,
Will be able to see me.If he lives in a retired place,
I will dispatch gods, dragon-kings, yakṣas,
Demigods, and others to him,
And have them hear the Dharma [from him].He will expound the Dharma with joy.
He will expound it without hindrance.
He will cause a great multitude to rejoice
Because he is protected by all the Buddhas.Those who come to this teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to complete the Way of Bodhisattvas quickly.
Those who follow him and study will be able to see
As many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges.
The Daily Dharma from Jan. 24, 2023, offers this:
Those who come to this teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to complete the Way of Bodhisattvas quickly.
Those who follow him and study will be able to see
As many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges.
The Buddha sings these verses to Medicine-King Bodhisattva in Chapter Ten of the Lotus Sūtra. By teacher of the Dharma, the Buddha means anyone who keeps, reads, recites, copies and expounds this Sūtra. As we continue on this Way, we learn to recognize the Buddha’s presence in every aspect of our experience. We learn to appreciate everything the Buddha does for us, and to show that gratitude to all those in whom we recognize the Buddha. Then we realize there is no shortage of teachers, no shortage of joy and no shortage of opportunities to benefit others.
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