Here it is revealed that the Bodhisattvas who sprang up from beneath the earth are the exemplary Bodhisattvas of the Lotus Sutra. Many other Bodhisattvas have appeared before this chapter, but these are the only ones who fully live up to the Sutra’s teachings. Thus they symbolize the ideal, the models for dynamic activity. Their sphere of action is summarized in the lines,

“They are not defiled by worldliness
Just as the lotus-flower
Is not defiled by water..”

We recall that in Chapter Eleven, “Beholding the Stupa of Treasures,” Sakyamuni had appealed from within the Stupa to the congregation. “Is there anyone here,” he asked, “who is willing to expound the Lotus Sutra in the world after my extinction? I wish to hand it on to someone so that it can be perpetuated.” In Chapter Thirteen, “Encouragement for Keeping the Sutra,” eighty thousand Bodhisattvas of superior quality, such as Medicine-King Bodhisattva, and eighty thousand billion other great Bodhisattvas respond to his appeal and offer to keep and spread the Sutra in our world. But Sakyamuni did not answer them. Instead, he went on to expound Chapter Fourteen, “Peaceful Practices.” As Chapter Fifteen begins, countless Bodhisattvas, “more than eight times the number of sands in the River Ganges,” stand up before the Buddha and reiterate their offer to spread the Sutra. “We are the ones,” they promise, “who will disseminate the Lotus Sutra in this World of Endurance.” But Sakyamuni gives them an unexpected answer:

“No,” he said, “You don’t need to protect or uphold this sutra, because there are (already) Bodhisattvas in this World of Endurance, as many as sixty thousand times the number of sands in the River Ganges, and they are the ones who will assume the responsibility for disseminating the Sutra in this Saha-world.”

No sooner had he spoken these words, when the ground quaked and cracked, and countless Bodhisattvas emerged from beneath the earth like clouds, and sprang up into the air. All of these extraordinary beings were golden colored. They emitted brilliant rays of light, and displayed the “thirty-two marks of Buddhas.”

Bodhisattvas are to choose words carefully and make no mistakes in expounding the Dharma. There are four points:

1. A Bodhisattva should not point out the faults of other sutras or their adherents.
2. He or she should not despise other preachers of the Dharma.
3. He or she should not speak of either the merits or the demerits of other preachers, and should not mention “hearers” by name when criticizing their teachings or even when prais ing them.
4. He or she should not feel hostile toward anybody, and should freely answer any questions put to him. When asked difficult questions, the Bodhisattva should not answer by the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, but always refer to the Great Vehicle, and so lead people to the “knowledge of the equality and differences of all things” (p. 216).

Political scandals have always been with us. But the politicians, themselves, rarely think of themselves as scandalous. They are only “back scratching,” they feel: repaying a favor for a favor. The country may not forgive them for putting selfish interests ahead of national interests, but we cannot say that they were entirely evil for helping their political friends. They put human relationships ahead of duty.

The relationship between Sakyamuni and Devadatta can be considered an example of human relationships. Devadatta was a traitor during Sakyamuni’s lifetime. However, in a previous life he had been an indispensable teacher of Sakyamuni.

Many-Treasures then calls Sakyamuni to join him inside the stupa, offering him half of his seat. Thus Many-Treasures and Sakyamuni sit side by side, sharing the same seat.

Since the seat of the two Buddhas is too high for the congregation to see, Sakyamuni raises them up into the sky by his supernatural powers. Then he says to them, “I shall soon enter into Nirvana. Is there anyone here who is willing to expound the Lotus Sutra in the world after my extinction? I wish to hand it on to someone so that it can be perpetuated” (p. 187).

This statement is followed by verses explaining how difficult it will be to expound the Lotus Sutra after his extinction.

He lists nine examples of unimaginable difficulty, and then stresses in six articles that those hardships are nothing compared to the demanding mission of his followers. The first part of the teaching is as follows:

It is not difficult to expound all the other sutras, as many as there are sands in the River Ganges. It is not difficult to grasp Mount Sumeru and hurl it to a distance of countless Buddha worlds. It is not difficult to move a world composed of one thousand million Sumeru-worlds with the tip of a toe and hurl it to another world. It is difficult to expound this Sutra in the evil world after my extinction (p. 190-1).

[T]he place where the Sutra is delivered will be changed at the beginning of the next chapter. Up to and including this chapter, the Buddha has been speaking on Mount Sacred Eagle, near the city of Rajagriha. After a mysterious phenomenon takes place at the beginning of Chapter Eleven, and continuing until Chapter Twenty-two, his sermon will be delivered around a treasure tower (stupa) which is hanging in space. Since that part of the sutra is delivered from this new location, the section from Chapters Eleven to Twenty-two is referred to as the “Assembly in Space,” or “Assembly in the Sky.” The scenes before and after the assembly in the sky are called respectively, the “First Assembly on Mt. Sacred Eagle” and “Second Assembly on Mt. Sacred Eagle.”

“Hearers” of the Lesser Vehicle usually sought as their goal the fulfillment of their own private training. They expected others to imitate the strict practices which they performed, and had little patience with ordinary people caught up in the problems of everyday life.

Purna was an exception. He looked like a sravaka, but he went about preaching the law to common people, and doing so with such eloquence that he was able to cause many of them to aspire to supreme-perfect-enlightenment. Therefore, in reality he was not a sravaka at all, but a Bodhisattva (one who devotes his life to helping others). Any Bodhisattva must also be a preacher (otherwise he cannot help anyone), and that is why a Bodhisattva is called a “teacher of the law.” From Chapter Ten on, the Lotus Sutra will clarify the mission of Bodhisattvas. (Here it is only suggested.)

Kaundinya was one of Sakyamuni’s original disciples who followed him when he first gave up his princely throne and set forth on the quest for enlightenment. There had been five of them, and together with their master they had performed arduous ascetic practices (practices which Sakyamuni later said were useless). After the Buddha attained enlightenment, these five ascetics became his first disciples.

Others of the five hundred arhats included Uruvilva-Kasyapa, Gaya-Kasyapa, Nadi-Kasyapa, and Aniruddha. The first three arhats were three of the Kasyapa brothers, who had once been leaders of a group of fire-worshippers. It is said that originally these brothers had bitterly opposed Sakyamuni, and had used supernatural powers to discredit him. They were defeated, however, and they together with most of their followers became loyal disciples of the Buddha. Aniruddha, another of the arhats mentioned, was a cousin of Sakyamuni. He was famous for his clairvoyance, the alleged power of seeing beyond the natural range of the senses. It is said that during his early days of severe ascetic practices, he went blind. In place of his natural sight, he developed clairvoyance.

This is the narrative of Great-Universally-Excelling-Wisdom Buddha. After telling this story, Sakyamuni discloses that these sixteen Bodhisattva-disciples have already attained enlightenment and are now Buddhas. …

By listing the names of the Buddhas, Sakyamuni reveals that in a previous existence, he himself had been one of those sixteen princes who had become Bodhisattva-disciples. What is more, he proclaimed that he was the central Buddha, since he was the sixteenth of those princes, and the one who was to conclude the story.

We can come to faith only by encountering the absolute Buddha and believing his words. This is an act beyond the working of our knowledge. In Chapter Two, the Buddha says, “Sariputra, know this! The Buddhas do not speak differently.” The Buddhas speak truth. We can recognize that truth even when it is beyond our full understanding.

On the other hand, this does not mean that we should believe blindly. There is a Japanese saying that “even the head of a sardine seems blessed if you have faith in it.” This is not what we mean by faith. We can maintain a belief that is inspired by the experience of something beyond our ordinary capacities. We can evaluate it by means of our intellect and reason, and form our own mental attitudes. The title of Chapter Four, “Understanding by Faith,” refers to this process of the formation of our own psychological attitudes.