I suppose I have a special affection for Chapter 7 since the Parable of the Magic City inspired so much of my effort here to document my journey to the place of treasures.

Consider the faith demonstrated by the 16 sons of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha:

“When the sons heard that their father had attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, they gave up the playthings, left home, and came to that Buddha.”

Contrast that with the children playing in the burning house who couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to their father and his warnings.

These 16 princes of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha demonstrate a deep understanding of the perils faced in the triple world.

“All living beings are suffering.
Being blind, they have no leader.
They do not know how to stop suffering,
Or that they should seek emancipation.
In the long night fewer people go to heaven,
And more people go to the evil regions.
They go from darkness to darkness, and do not hear
Of the names of the Buddhas.”

I’ve always been struck by the line: “In the long night fewer people go to heaven and more people go to the evil regions.” These are the consequences of ignorance of the Dharma.

The great Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in the zenith reinforce this message after traveling in search of the source of an unusual light illumining the universe:

“The All-Knower, the Most Honorable One of Gods and Men,
Opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar,
And saves all living beings
Out of his compassion towards them.

“There has been no Buddha
For the past innumerable kalpas.
Before you appeared,
The worlds of the ten quarters were dark.

“The living beings in the three evil regions
And asuras are increasing.
The living beings in heaven are decreasing.
Many fall into the evil regions after their death.

“They do not hear the Dharma from a Buddha
Because they did evils,
Their appearances are getting worse;
And their power and wisdom, decreasing.
Because they did sinful karmas,
They lose pleasures and the memory of pleasures.
They are attached to wrong views.
They do not know how to do good.
They are not taught by a Buddha;
Therefore, they fall into the evil regions.”

The Buddha “opens the gate of the teachings as sweet as nectar.” We are asked to have faith and step through the gate.

Nichiren reminds us of just how rare it is to find this treasure:

“The chances of our being born in the three evil realms are more numerous than particles of dust on earth, while chances of our being born in the human realm are as scarce as the specks of dirt on a fingernail. (…) The chances of our encountering expedient sūtras preached in the forty-odd years before the Lotus Sūtra are more numerous than the particles of dust on earth, while encountering the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras is as scarce as specks of dirt on a fingernail.

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 66

Before getting into what I consider the meat of Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City, I want first to explore the idea of faith and its role in overcoming obstacles. Consider Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha’s trouble attaining Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi – unexcelled perfect enlightenment.

“The duration of the life of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha was five hundred and forty billion nayuta kalpas. [Before he attained Buddhahood,] he sat at the place of enlightenment and defeated the army of Mara. He wished to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, but could not because the Dharma of the Buddhas had not yet come into his mind. He sat cross-legged without moving his mind and body for one to ten small kalpas. During all that time the Dharma of the Buddhas did not come into his mind.”

Now, 10 small kalpas is a tiny fraction of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha’s lifespan of five hundred and forty billion nayuta kalpas, but it still represents a long time to remain “cross-legged without moving his mind.” Why was so much time required?

Consider the tale published in 2007 by Paulo Coelho that he adapted from a story sent to him by Sonaira D’Avila.

“A man spent hours watching a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. It managed to make a small hole, but its body was too large to get through it. After a long struggle, it appeared to be exhausted and remained absolutely still.

“The man decided to help the butterfly and, with a pair of scissors, he cut open the cocoon, thus releasing the butterfly. However, the butterfly’s body was very small and wrinkled and its wings were all crumpled.

“The man continued to watch, hoping that, at any moment, the butterfly would open its wings and fly away. Nothing happened; in fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its brief life dragging around its shrunken body and shriveled wings, incapable of flight.

“What the man – out of kindness and his eagerness to help – had failed to understand was that the tight cocoon and the efforts that the butterfly had to make in order to squeeze out of that tiny hole were Nature’s way of training the butterfly and of strengthening its wings.

“Sometimes, a little extra effort is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle to be faced. Anyone who refuses to make that effort, or gets the wrong sort of help, is left unprepared to fight the next battle and never manages to fly off to their destiny.”

In the Parable of the Burning House in Chapter 3, the Buddha explains:

“Śāriputra! The rich man did not save his children by his muscular power although he was strong enough. He saved them from the burning house with a skillful expedient and later gave them each a large cart of treasures.

“In the same manner, I save all living beings from the burning house of the triple world, not by my powers or fearlessness, but with a skillful expedient.”

Faith sets us on the path. With our struggles we grow stronger.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha does not say, “You are a Buddha.” Instead, we are invited to open a gate and enter a wonderous path. Faith is the requisite of the Assurance of Future Buddhahood in Chapter 6 and elsewhere in the Lotus Sutra. Faith is the minimum qualification to unlock the gate.

In Buddhism for Today, Nikkyō Niwano explains it this way:

“ ‘Prediction’ means that the Buddha gives us the assurance, “You will surely become buddhas.” The term ‘prediction’ (juki) includes three meanings of great importance and subtlety, which it is essential that we understand. The first important point is that Sakyamuni Buddha says not ‘You are buddhas’ but ‘You will become buddhas.’ In the sight of the Buddha, all living beings have the buddha-nature, and any one of them can definitely become a buddha. But if the Buddha says merely, “You are buddhas,” this statement will be greatly misunderstood by ordinary people. They will be liable to take these words to mean that they are already perfected as buddhas while in a state of illusion and will have the idea that they can become buddhas without any effort, like riding an escalator.

“The prediction given by the Buddha is often compared to an admission permit to a school, and this comparison is quite just. It is not a diploma but only an admission permit. This assurance signifies, ‘You have passed the entrance examination of the highest university, which leads to the degree of buddhahood. If you study here for some years, you will surely graduate and will become buddhas.’ Having this assurance, ordinary people must hereafter practice all the more, and must make ever greater efforts to realize this goal.

“What a joyful thing it is for ordinary people to have obtained admission to the Buddha’s university — to have received the Buddha’s prediction, ‘You will become buddhas.’ ”

Just as we are certain to face obstacles to graduating from a university, as we practice and study the path to buddhahood we face many obstacles. In Misawa-shō, A Letter to Lord Misawa of Suruga, Nichiren warns of the three hindrances and four devils, the last of which is the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven.

“Upon the sight of one within the reach of Buddhahood, the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven would be stirred to say: ‘If one is an entity of this world, he (one) not only strives to depart from the illusion of life and death and become Buddha but also tries to lead as many as possible into Buddhism, controls this world, and transforms this defiled world into a paradise. What ought to be done?’”

Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 239-240

We are fortunate to be attending the great university of the Lotus Sutra in this Latter Age for we have Namu-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō to drive back the henchmen of the King of Devils. With the Daimoku we can overcome their efforts to distract us from our goal.