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 last month considered in gāthās the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, we consider the merits of the keeper of the Lotus Sutra.

Even if I praise for innumerable kalpas
The keeper of this sūtra,
To whom it is to be transmitted,
I cannot praise him highly enough.

His merits are as limitless,
As infinite, as boundless
As the skies of the worlds
Of the ten quarters.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra
Will be able to see me. He also will be able to see
Many-Treasures Buddha,
[The Buddhas of] my replicas,
And the Bodhisattvas whom I have taught today.

Anyone who keeps this sūtra will be able to cause me to rejoice.
He also will be able to bring joy
To [the Buddhas of] my replicas
And also to Many-Treasures Buddha who once passed away.[1]

He also will be able to see
The present, past and future Buddhas
Of the worlds of the ten quarters,
Make offerings to them, and cause them to rejoice.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Even if I praise for innumerable kalpas
The keeper of this sūtra,
To whom it is to be transmitted,
I cannot praise him highly enough.

The Buddha sings these verses to Superior-Practice Bodhisattva (Jōgyo, Viśiṣṭacārītra) in Chapter Twenty-One of the Lotus Sūtra. When the Buddha praises us for keeping the Lotus Sūtra, he is praising our Buddha-Nature and encouraging us to develop it. When we praise the Buddha and show our gratitude for the practice he has given us, we are praising the Lotus Sūtra. When we praise and value the Lotus Sūtra, we are encouraging the Buddha-Nature in all beings, just as the Buddha has promised to do. Therefore when we keep and practice the Lotus Sūtra, we are fulfilling the Buddha’s promise of our enlightenment.

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