Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month finished the prose section of this chapter, we begin the gathas.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gathas:

The Saintly Master, the World-Honored One,
Who had passed away a long time ago,
Came riding in the stupa of treasures
To hear the Dharma [directly from me].
Could anyone who sees him
Not make efforts to hear the Dharma?

It is innumerable kalpas
Since he passed away.
He wished to hear the Dharma at any place
Because the Dharma is difficult to meet.

His original vow was this:
“After I pass away,
I will go to any place
To hear the Dharma.”

The Buddhas of my replicas
As innumerable
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Also came here
From their wonderful worlds,
Parting from their disciples,
And giving up the offerings made to them
By gods, men and dragons,
ln order to hear the Dharma,
See Many-Treasures Tathagata,
Who passed away [a long time ago],
And have the Dharma preserved forever.

I removed innumerable living beings from many worlds,
And purified those worlds
By my supernatural powers
In order to seat those Buddhas.

Those Buddhas came under the jeweled trees.
The trees are adorned with those Buddhas
Just as a pond of pure water is adorned
With lotus flowers.

There are lion-like seats
Under the jeweled trees.
Those Buddhas sat on the seats.
The worlds are adorned
With the light of those Buddhas as bright
As a great torch in the darkness of night.

Wonderful fragrance is sent forth
From the bodies of those Buddhas
To the worlds of the ten quarters.
The living beings of those worlds
Smell the fragrance joyfully,
Just as the branches of a tree bend before a strong wind.
Those Buddhas employ these expedients
In order to have the Dharma preserved forever.

From Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon:

The jeweled stupa arising from the earth represents the emergence of Buddhahood (the stupa) from the ground of Buddha-nature in people’s ordinary lives (the earth). The transformation of this world is a graphic reminder that this world is the real pure land where enlightenment actually occurs. The recall of the emanated Buddhas from the pure lands reveals that these idealized Buddhas are personifications of the enlightened qualities and inner life of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha. The image of Many Treasures Tathagata and Shakyamuni Buddha seated together symbolizes the unity of the true reality of life and the wisdom of the person who awakens to reality.
Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon