Today is the sixth day of Higan week, the three days before the equinox and the three days after. As explained in a Nichiren Shu brochure:

For Buddhists, this period is not just one characterized by days with almost equal portions of light and dark. Rather, it is a period in which we strive to consciously reflect upon ourselves and our deeds.

The today we consider the Perfection of Meditation.  For this Spring Higan week I’m using Hsuan Hua‘s commentary on the Lotus Sutra in which he discusses Maitreya’s questions about what he sees in Chapter 1 after the Buddha illuminates 18,000 worlds in the east. (See this explanation.)

The Pāramitā of Samādhi

I see those renouncing desire
Dwelling in solitude,
Immersing themselves in profound samādhi,
And attaining the five spiritual powers.
I also see Bodhisattvas
Settled in dhyāna, with palms joined,
Praising the Dharma Kings
In thousands upon thousands of verses.

Maitreya Bodhisattva saw them absorbed in profound samadhi and developing the five spiritual powers. The five spiritual powers are the heavenly eye, the heavenly ear, the knowledge of others’ thoughts, the knowledge of past lives, and the ability to travel anywhere at will. They had not attained the spiritual power of freedom from all outflows because only [fourth-stage] Arhats and Bodhisattvas of equivalent awakening and wondrous awakening can attain freedom from all outflows. Because these were Bodhisattvas of new resolve, they had attained only five of the six spiritual powers.

Where do these five spiritual powers come from? They come from the cultivation of samādhi, from the recitation of sūtras, and from upholding mantras. If you can meditate single-mindedly every day, you can attain them. You can also attain them by reciting sūtras. For example, Great Master Zhiyi continuously recited the Dharma Flower Sūtra until he awakened. When he reached the line “This is true vigor. This is called a true Dharma offering” in the chapter “The Account of Bodhisattva Medicine King’s Past Lives,” he entered the Dharma Flower samādhi and experienced a supreme state. He saw that the Dharma assembly at Vulture Peak had not yet dispersed and that Śākyamuni Buddha was still there teaching the Dharma. So you can also become awakened by reciting sūtras. However, you must recite with a sincere mind. Don’t recite on the one hand but have deluded thoughts on the other hand, thinking, “So-and-so has a lot of money. I’ve got to think of a way to get some money out of him for my own use.” You will not become awakened by reciting sūtras this way, because you are not being mindful of the sūtras if you are thinking about money. In addition, you can also single-mindedly recite mantras to become awakened.