Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Having last month concluded Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs, we begin again with Medicine-King Bodhisattva’s question.

Thereupon Medicine-King Bodhisattva rose front his seat, bared his right shoulder, joined his hands together towards the Buddha, and said to him:

“World-Honored One! How many merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read, recite, understand or copy the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma?”

The Buddha said to him:

“Suppose some good men or women make offerings to eight hundred billion nayuta Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. What do you think of this? Are the merits given to them many or not?”

“Very many, World-Honored One!”

The Buddha said: “More merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read or recite· even a single gāthā of four lines of this sūtra, understand the meanings of it or act according to it.”

Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this observation:

We learn of the many protections that come to us naturally by merely upholding this sutra in the Dharanis Chapter. Dharanis are special incantations that were given by various beings solely for the protection of those who practice the Dharma. These protections and merits do not come to us merely because we read of them but are in a sense activated because our practice calls forth the changes in our lives that otherwise would remain dormant.