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.
Many Treasures, the Buddha who arrives in the Stupa of Treasures, made two Great Vows:
When he was yet practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas, he made a great vow: ‘If anyone expounds a sutra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in any of the worlds of the ten quarters after I become a Buddha and pass away, I will cause my stupa-mausoleum to spring up before him so that I may be able to prove the truthfulness of the sutra and say ‘excellent’ in praise of him because I wish to hear that sutra [directly from him].’
And…
Many-Treasures Buddha made another great vow: ‘If a Buddha wishes to show me to the four kinds of devotees when my stupa of treasures appears before him in order that I may be able to hear the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma [directly from him], he must call back all the Buddhas of his replicas who will be expounding the Dharma in the worlds of the ten quarters at that time. Then I will show myself [to the four kinds of devotees].’
Which brings us to the big reveal:
Thereupon Sakyamuni Buddha, having seen that all the Buddhas of his replicas had already arrived and sat on the lion-like seats, and also having heard that they had told their attendants of their wish to see the stupa of treasures opened, rose from his seat, and went up to the sky. All the four kinds of devotees stood up, joined their hands together towards him, and looked up at him with all their hearts. Now he opened the door of the stupa of the seven treasures with the fingers of his right hand. The opening of the door made a sound as large as that of the removal of the bolt and lock of the gate of a great city. At that instant all the congregation saw Many-Treasures Tathagata sitting with his perfect and undestroyed body on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures as if he had been sitting in dhyana-concentration. They also heard him say:
“Excellent, excellent! You, Sakyamuni Buddha, have joyfully expounded the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. I have come to hear this sutra [directly from you].”
After Sakyamuni takes a seat beside Many-Treasures and Sakyamuni raises everyone up to see him beside Many Treasures, he asks:
Who will expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in this Saha-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvana before long. I wish to transmit this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sutra may be preserved.
And in gathas:
(The Buddha said to the great multitude.)
Who will protect
And keep this sutra,
And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me to do this!Many-Treasures Buddha,
Who had passed away a long time ago,
Made a loud voice like the roar of a lion
According to his great vow.Many-Treasures Tathagata and I
And the Buddhas of my replicas,
Who have assembled here,
Wish to know who will do [all this].My sons!
Who will protect the Dharma?
Make a great vow
To preserve the Dharma forever!
The payoff for this job:
Anyone who expounds this sutra
Will be able to see me,
To see Many-Treasures Tathagata,
And to see the Buddhas of my replicas.
But, as Sakyamuni explains, it won’t be easy:
It is not difficult
To expound all the other sutras
As many as there are sands
in the River Ganges.It is not difficult
To grasp Mt. Sumeru And hurl it to a distance
Of countless Buddha-worlds.It is not difficult to move [a world]
[Composed of] one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
With the tip of a toe
And hurl it to another world.It is not difficult
To stand in the Highest Heaven
And expound innumerable other sutras
To all living beings.It is difficult
To expound this sutra
In the evil world
After my extinction.
And after outlining the rigors to be faced by the expounder of the Lotus Sutra, Sakyamuni says:
Since I attained
The enlightenment of the Buddha,
I have expounded many sutras
In innumerable worlds.This sutra is
The most excellent.
To keep this sutra
Is to keep me.Good men!
Who will receive and keep this sutra,
And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me
[To do all this]!
The Hotoge verses follow which reminds me of the scene described in Lotus in a Sea of Flames.