Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Having last month considered the request of Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī, we consider the request of Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī and conclude today’s portion of Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Thereupon Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī, the mother of Rāhula, thought, “I am not among the persons whom the World-Honored One mentioned by name and assured of their future attainment of [Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].”

The Buddha said to Yaśodharā:

“You will perform the Bodhisattva practices under hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas in the future. You will become a great teacher of the Dharma under those Buddhas. You will walk the Way to Buddhahood step by step, and finally become a Buddha in a good world. The name of that Buddha will be Emitting-Ten-Million-Rays-Of-Light, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be many asaṃkhyas of kalpas.”

Thereupon Mahā-Prajāpatī Bhikṣunī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣunī, and their attendants had the greatest joy that they had ever had. They sang in a gāthā before the Buddha:

You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.

Having sung this gāthā, the bhikṣunīs said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! We also will expound this sūtra in other worlds.”

The Daily Dharma from Sept. 18, 2023, offers this:

You, the World-Honored One, are our leader.
You give peace to gods and men.
Hearing that you assured us of our future Buddhahood,
We are relieved and satisfied.

These verses are sung by Maha-Prajāpatī Bhikṣuṇī, Yaśodharā Bhikṣuṇī, and their attendants in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In our lives we have many desires, some of which we may not recognize. We believe that when these desires are met, only then can we be happy and peaceful. At the foundation of these desires is the desire for liberation. These women recognize that with this desire, just knowing that it will be fulfilled is enough to bring joy.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com