Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month heard Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva greet Śākyamuni, we consider Flower Virtue Bodhisattva’s questions about Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva.

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha said to Many-Treasure Buddha, “This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva wishes to see you.”

Thereupon Many-Treasures Buddha said to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva:

Excellent, excellent! You have come here to make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha, hear the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, and see Mañjuśrī and others.”

Thereupon Flower-Virtue Bodhisattva said to Śākyamuni Buddha:

“World-Honored One! What root of good did this Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva plant and what kind of meritorious deeds did he do in order to obtain this supernatural power?”

Śākyamuni Buddha said to Flower-Virtue Bodhisattva:

“There was once a Buddha called Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyak-sambuddha. His world was called Appearance-Of-All-Worlds; and the kalpa in which he lived, Gladly-Seen. [There lived] a Bodhisattva called Wonderful-Voice [under that Buddha. The Bodhisattva] offered hundreds of thousands of kinds of music and eighty-four thousand patras of the seven treasures to Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King Buddha for twelve thousand years. Because of this, he was able to appear in the world of Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha, and obtain supernatural power such as this.

“Flower-Virtue! What do you think of this? Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva who had offered the music and the jeweled bowls to Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King Buddha [at that time] was no one but this Wonderful-Virtue Bodhisattva-mahāsattva [whom you see here now].

It takes about a year before I stop at the same place in my cycle through the Lotus Sūtra. So, back on Sept. 1, 2018, I commented:

This is the 34th time I’ve posted a portion of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva. As far as I can tell this is only the second time I’ve paused at this point in the chapter. That strikes me as unlikely. Perhaps I unintentionally skipped over this portion on a previous occasion.

I’m only having this discussion because I went looking to see if I had commented in the past on the large typo in this portion.

“Flower-Virtue! What do you think of this? Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva who had offered the music and the jeweled bowls to Cloud-Thunder-Sound-King Buddha [at that time] was no one but this Wonderful-Virtue Bodhisattva-mahāsattva [whom you see here now].

“Flower-Virtue! This Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva already made offerings to innumerable Buddhas, attended on them, and planted the roots of virtue a long time ago. …

Once an editor, always an editor.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered today, in my 44th cycle through the Lotus Sūtra, that I had not corrected my copy of the sūtra to change Wonderful-Virtue Bodhisattva-mahāsattva to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva.

Now I’m wondering what I’ll write on my 54th cycle.