Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory.

Having last month explored the background for what Manjusri saw in a previous life a long, long time ago, it’s time to discuss what happened next.

Maitreya, know this! There were two thousand million Bodhisattvas in that congregation. They wished to hear the Dharma. They were astonished at seeing the Buddha-worlds illumined by this ray of light. They wished to know why the Buddha was emitting this ray of light.

At that time there was a Bodhisattva called Wonderful-Light. He had eight hundred disciples. Sun-Moon-Light Buddha emerged from his samadhi, and expounded the sutra of the Great Vehicle to Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva and others without rising from his seat for sixty small kalpas. It was called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ The hearers in the congregation also sat in the same place for sixty small kalpas, and their bodies and minds were motionless. They thought that they had heard the Buddha expounding the Dharma for only a mealtime. None of them felt tired in body or mind. Having completed the expounding of this sutra at the end of the period of sixty small kalpas, Sun-Moon-Light Buddha said to the Brahmans, Maras, sramanas, brahmanas, gods, men, and asuras, ‘I shall enter into the Nirva!)a-without-remainder at midnight tonight.’

At that time there was a Bodhisattva called Virtue-Store. Sun-­Moon-Light Buddha assured him of his future Buddhahood. The Buddha said to the bhiksus, ‘This Virtue-Store Bodhisattva will become a Buddha immediately after me. He will be called Pure-Body, the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Samyak-sambuddha.’

Having assured him of his future Buddhahood, the Buddha then entered into the Nirvana-without-remainder at midnight. After his extinction, Wonderful-Light Bodhisattva kept the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and expounded it to men for eighty small kalpas. The eight sons of Sun-Moon-Light Buddha became his disciples. He taught them and caused them to resolve to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. They made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, and then attained the enlightenment of the Buddha [one after another]. The son who became a Buddha last was called Burning-Light.

Among the many things described in the Lotus Sutra that I would love to experience is to hear a Buddha expound the ‘Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas’ without rising from his seat for sixty small kalpas, and to be one of the hearers in the congregation who also sat in the same place for sixty small kalpas, body and mind motionless; to think that I had heard the Buddha expounding the Dharma for only a mealtime; and not to feel tired in body or mind. That would be nice.