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.
After yesterday’s arrival of massive Stupa of Treasures containing perfect body of Many Treasures Buddha we learn today of the vows that prompt this appearance.
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].’
Senchu Murano explains the replicas in this way:
“The Buddhas of his replicas” are the Buddhas who are the replicas of Sakyamuni Buddha. It is held that Sakyamuni Buddha can produce Buddhas in his likeness by his supernatural powers, and dispatch them to the worlds of the ten quarters for the purpose of expounding the Dharma. This means that the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters are the replicas of Sakyamuru Buddha. This idea is first introduced here in this sutra. The replicas of Sakyamuni Buddha are subject to Sakyamuni Buddha. They must come to him when they are told to do so.
Sakyamuni must perform a real supernatural world cleaning in order to accommodate the billions of his replicas and their attendants with jeweled trees shading lion-like seats. But all of the replicas can’t be accommodated on the “[Saha-World composed of] one thousand million Sumeru-worlds” and Sakyamuni needs to purify “two hundred billion nayuta worlds of each of the eight quarters [neighboring the Saha-World]” and after that, “Sakyamuni Buddha again purified two hundred billion nayuta more worlds of each of the eight quarters [neighboring the expanded world] to seat all the Buddhas of his replicas.”
[A]ll those worlds were amalgamated into one Buddha-world [that is, into the world of Sakyamuni Buddha]. The jeweled ground of this [expanded] world was even. Jeweled curtains and canopies adorned with streamers were hung over this [expanded] world; the incense of great treasures, burned; and jeweled flowers of heaven, strewn over the ground.
When everyone was seated, the Buddha opened the Stupa of Treasures and Many Treasures Buddha greeted the multitude. Sakyamuni was invited to sit with Many Treasures in the stupa. Since the crowd couldn’t see the two Buddhas once Sakyamuni sat down, he raised everyone up into the sky.
And we finally come to meat of today’s meal:
Thereupon Sakyamuni Buddha raised them up to the sky by his supernatural powers, and said to the four kinds of devotees with a loud voice:
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:
Anyone who protects this sutra
Should be considered
To have already made offerings
To Many-Treasures and to me.Many-Treasures Buddha vowed to go
About the worlds of the ten quarters,
Riding in the stupa of treasures,
In order to hear this sutra [directly from the expounder].Anyone [who protects this sutra] also
Should be considered to have already made offerings
To the Buddhas of my replicas, who have come here
And adorned the worlds with their light.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, of course, there’s a catch:
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
And hurl it to another world.It is not difficult
To stand in the Highest Heaven
And expound inmumerable other sutras
To all living beings.It is difficult
To expound this sutra
In the evil world
After my extinction.
And the cause of this difficulty:
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.