Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Having covered the transmission of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the Bodhisattvas who had sprung up from underground and discussed the benefits of keeping this sutra and the merits of this sutra to those to whom this sutra is to be transmitted from Chapter 21, it is time to explore “The Previous Life of Medicine King Bodhisattva.”

This chapter is problematic for me because I want to take the stories as literal lessons. Who wouldn’t want to be able to “know by smell whether an unborn child is a boy or a girl, or a child of ambiguous sex, or the embryo of a nonhuman being”? But Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva’s fiery all-consuming passion troubles.

Having made these offerings [to the Buddha], he emerged from the samādhi, and thought, ‘I have now made offerings to the Buddha by my supernatural powers. But these offerings are less valuable than the offering of my own body.’

The Daily Dharma from June 16, 2016, offers this perspective:

In Chapter Twenty-Three of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha tells the story of Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, the previous life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva practiced under an ancient Buddha, and made exorbitant offerings to that Buddha through his supernatural powers. He then realized that all the riches of the universe that he could conjure up paled in comparison to the treasure of his own body and his own life. He then made an offering of his body to the Buddha, which illuminated innumerable worlds. Nichiren wrote often of the hardships he faced in his life and those of his followers. He wrote of “reading the Lotus Sūtra with our bodies,” meaning bringing the Buddha’s wisdom to life in our lives. When we act according to the Wonderful Dharma, no matter what hardships we face, then we too are living the Lotus Sūtra, and making a perfect offering from our gratitude to the Buddha.

I’ll continue this discussion tomorrow.