Day 30

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs.

We begin with a matter of merits:

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 Sutra of th 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 sajd: “More merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read or recite even a single gatha of four lines of this sutra, understand the meanings of it or act according to it.”

And with that we get protective dharanis from Medicine-King Bodhisattva and Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva. They are followed by Vaisravana Heavenly-King, the Protector of the World and World-Holding Heavenly-King, both of whom are represented on the corners of the Mandala Gohonzon. (See illustration from Lotus World)

Finally we get my favorite protectors, the 10 raksasis daughters; their mother, Hariti, and her other children and their attendants.

10 Rakshasas Daughters from book Lotus World
10 Rakshasas Daughters from book Lotus World

Hariti, also known as Kishimojin
Hariti, also known as Kishimojin
The daughters are listed in the Lotus Sutra:

  1. Lamba
  2. Vilamba
  3. CrookedTeeth
  4. Flower-Teeth
  5. Black-Teeth
  6. Many-Hairs
  7. Insatiable
  8. Necklace-Holding
  9. Kunti
  10. Plunderer-Of-Energy-Of-All-Beings.

The daughters, their mother and her other children and attendants all vow to protect the teacher of the Dharma:

Anyone who attacks this teacher of the Dharma
Will receive the same retribution
As to be received by the person who kills his parents,
Or who makes [sesame] oil without taking out worms [from the sesame],
Or who deceives others by using wrong measures and scales,
Or by Devadatta who split the Sarngha.

And in response the Buddha praises them:

The Buddha said to the raksasis:

“Excellent, excellent! Your merits will be immeasurable even when you protect the person who keeps only the name of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Needless to say, so will be your merits when you protect the person who keeps the sutra itself, and makes to a copy of this sutra hundreds of thousands of offerings such as flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, streamers, canopies, music, and various lamps like lamps of butter oil, oil lamps, lamps of perfumed oil, lamps of sumanas-flower oil, lamps of campaka flower oil, lamps of varsika-flower oil, and lamps of utpala-flower oil. Kunti! You [raksasis] and your attendants should protect this teacher of the Dharma.”