Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and completes the second volume of the Lotus Sutra.

Chapter 3’s parable of the burning house illuminated the Buddha’s perspective on his need to use expedients. Chapter 4’s parable about the missing son (Śrāvaka) and his rich father (Buddha) reveals the Śrāvaka’s perspective of why expedients were necessary.

It struck me as important this time around to note that “As time passed by, [the child] became poorer.” He wasn’t doing well on his own and it wasn’t like he’d do better in the future left to his own devices.

The father’s desire to just give his treasures to his some doesn’t work because the son can’t imagine that such a treasure could belong to him. Even after the father convinces the some to come work for him:

“The rich man gave him a name and called him son. The poor son was glad to be treated kindly, but still thought that he was a humble employee.”

And so it was with the Śrāvakas and the Buddha:

We made strenuous efforts according to the teachings [of the Lesser Vehicle] and attained Nirvāṇa as a day’s pay. Having attained it, we had great joy, and felt satisfied [with the attainment of it]. We said, ‘We have obtained much because we made efforts according to the teachings of the Buddha.’ But when you saw that we clung to mean desires and wished to hear only the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, you left us alone. You did not tell us that we had the treasure-store, that is, the insight of the Tathāgata. You expounded the wisdom of the Buddha[, that is, the Great Vehicle] with expedients, but we did not aspire for that vehicle because, when we had obtained the day’s pay of Nirvāṇa from the Buddha, we thought that we had already obtained enough.

And in gāthās:

The poor son came to his father,
And took custody
Of the things of his father,
But wished to take none of them.

The same can be said of us.
We did not wish to have the treasure-store
Of the teachings of the Buddhas
Although we expounded it [to the Bodhisattvas].

We were satisfied with the elimination
Of illusions within ourselves.
What we accomplished was that elimination.
We did nothing more.

The work of the expedients:

The rich man knew
That his son was base and mean.
Therefore, he made him nobler
With expedients,
And then gave him
All his treasures.

In the same manner,
You knew that we wished
To hear the Lesser Vehicle.
Therefore, you did a rare thing.
You prepared us with expedients,
And then taught us the great wisdom.

Today we are not what we were then.
We have obtained
What we did not expect
To obtain
Just as the poor son obtained
The innumerable treasures.