Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Today’s quote from Lecture on the Lotus Sutra says in part:

As we begin to wander into the Lotus Sutra, I think the most important thing is to understand those things that in this moment enhance your practice, encourage you, and deepen your relationship with the Lotus Sutra. In all things I believe that joy should be at the root.

Joy equals merit:

Thereupon the Buddha said to Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahasattva:

Ajita! Suppose a bhiksus, a bhiksuni, an upasaka, an upasika, or some other wise person, whether young or old, rejoices at hearing this sutra in a congregation after my extinction. After leaving the congregation, he or she goes to some other place, for instance, to a monastery, a retired place, a city, a street, a town, or a village. There he or she expounds this sutra, as he or she has heard it, to his or her father, mother, relative, friend or acquaintance as far as he or she can. Another person who has heard [this sutra from him or her], rejoices, goes [to some other place] and expounds it to a third person. The third person also rejoices at hearing it and expounds it to a fourth person. In this way this sutra is heard by a fiftieth person. Ajita! Now I will tell you the merits of the fiftieth good man or woman who rejoices at hearing [this sutra]. Listen attentively!

How much merit:

Ajita! The merits of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma are immeasurable, limitless, asamkhya. Needless to say, so are the merits of the first person who rejoices at hearing [this sutra] in the congregation. His merits are immeasurable, limitless, asamkhya and incomparable.

And in gathas:

The superiority of the merits of the fiftieth person
Who rejoices at hearing even a gatha [of this sutra]
To the merits of this [great almsgiver]
Cannot be explained by any parable or simile.

The merits of the [fiftieth] person
[Who hears this sutra] are immeasurable.
Needless to say, so are the merits of the first person
Who rejoices at hearing it in the congregation.

And with this quote, picture a guy with one of those signs alerting passersby to a nearby sale:

Ajita! Anyone who[, while he is staying outside the place of the expounding of the Dharma,] says to another person, ‘Let us go and hear the sutra called the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma which is being expounded [in that place],’ and causes him to hear it even for a moment, in his next life by his merits, will be able to live with the Bodhisattvas who obtain dharanis.

Then we get to the merits of the teacher of the Dharma:

The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, will be able to obtain eight hundred merits of the eye, twelve hundred merits of the ear, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind. They will be able to adorn and purify their six sense-organs with these merits.

In both the merits of the eyes and ears, we learn:

Although they have not yet obtained heavenly eyes,
They will be able to see all this
With their natural eyes.

And …

Anyone who keeps
This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will be able to obtain these merits with his natural ears
Although he has not yet obtained heavenly ears.