Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Having last month concluded Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, we consider Chapter 22, Transmission.

Thereupon Śākyamuni Buddha rose from the seat of the Dharma, and by his great supernatural powers, put his right hand on the heads[1] of the innumerable Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and said:

“For many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma difficult to obtain, and [finally attained] Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Now I will transmit the Dharma to you. Propagate it with all your hearts, and make it known far and wide!”

He put his [right] hand on their heads twice more, and said:

“For many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma difficult to obtain, and [finally attained] Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Now I will transmit [the Dharma] to you. Keep, read, recite and expound [this sūtra in which the Dharma is given], and cause all living beings to hear it and know it![1, 2, 3] Why is that? It is because I have great compassion. I do not begrudge anything. I am fearless. I wish to give the wisdom of the Buddha, the wisdom of the Tathāgata, the wisdom of the Self-Existing One, to all living beings. I am the great almsgiver to all living beings. Follow me, and study my teachings without begrudging efforts!

The Daily Dharma offers this:

For many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma difficult to obtain, and [finally attained] Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Now I will transmit the Dharma to you. Propagate it with all your hearts, and make it known far and wide!

The Buddha entrusts his highest teaching to all those gathered to see him in Chapter Twenty-Two of the Lotus Sūtra. He had already explained how difficult it is to believe and practice this highest teaching, and all the trouble it took for him to reach it. He also realizes that this teaching is not something he can keep for himself, and is meaningful only when it was shared with others. This is yet another example of the Buddha showing us how to live with the beings we want to benefit. We realize that our treasure is not what we keep for ourselves, but what we have in common with others. We are diminished not by what we lose, but by attempting to hold on to our delusions.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Having last month considered the reaction of the arrogant bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās who had abused him and caused him to be called Never-Despising, we consider Never-Despising Bodhisattva’s relationship to Śākyamuni.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! This Never-Despising Bodhisattva-mahāsattva made offerings to those Buddhas, respected them, honored them, praised them, and planted the roots of good. After that, he was able to meet thousands of billions of Buddhas. He also expounded this sūtra under those Buddhas. By the merits he had accumulated in this way, he was able to become a Buddha.

“Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. The practice of Never-Despising Bodhisattva was to approach all beings and tell them, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why? Because you will be able to practice as a Bodhisattva and become a Buddha.” When the Buddha explains that Never-Despising Bodhisattva was one of his previous lives, he equates this respect for all beings with the practice of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month considered in gāthās the twelve hundred merits of the mind, we conclude Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

They will expound the Dharma
Already taught by the past Buddhas.
Therefore, they will be fearless
Before the multitude.

Anyone who keeps the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will have his mind purified as previously stated.
Although he has not yet obtained the [wisdom-]without-āsravas,
He will be able to obtain [these merits of the mind].

When he keeps this sūtra,
He will be able to reach a rare stage.
He will be joyfully loved and respected
By all living beings.

He will be able to expound the Dharma
With tens of millions of skillful words
Because he keeps
The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

[Here ends] the Sixth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

When he keeps this sūtra, He will be able to reach a rare stage. He will be joyfully loved and respected By all living beings.

The Buddha sings these verses in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra. He describes those who put this sūtra in their lives, and dedicate their existence to liberating all beings from ignorance and delusion. When the Buddha became enlightened, he realized all beings can become enlightened. When we work for the benefit of all beings, we find the Buddha’s mind and bring harmony into our lives and the world.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma.

Having last month considered the 800 merits of the eye, we consider the twelve hundred merits of the ear.

“Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sūtra, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the ear. With their pure ears, they will be able to recognize all the various sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, [each of which is composed of the six regions] down to the Avici Hell and up to the Highest Heaven. They will be able to recognize the voices of elephants, horses and cows; the sounds of carts; cryings and sighings; the sounds of conch-shell horns, drums, gongs and bells; laughter and speech; the voices of men, women, boy and girls; meaningful voices, meaningless voices; painful voices, delightful voices; the voices of the unenlightened ones, the voices of the enlightened ones; joyful voices, joyless voices; the voices of gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas; the sounds of fire, water and wind; the voices of hellish denizens, animals and hungry spirits; and the voices of bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. In a word, with their pure and natural ears given by their parents, they will be able to recognize all the sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, although they have not yet obtained heavenly ears. Even when they recognize all these various sounds and voices, their organ of hearing will not be destroyed.”

The Daily Dharma offers this:

They will be able to recognize all the sounds and voices inside and outside the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds, although they have not yet obtained heavenly ears. Even when they recognize all these various sounds and voices, their organ of hearing will not be destroyed.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Constant-Endeavor Bodhisattva in Chapter Nineteen of the Lotus Sūtra, describing those who keep the Lotus Sūtra. As we shed our delusions and see the world more for what it is, we begin to see and understand things not visible or comprehensible to those still mired in their suffering and attachment. Knowing the suffering we have left behind, we may be lured into abandoning this world and those in it. In this chapter, the Buddha shows that all of the sense organs we have in this life, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and thought, all of these can be used either to increase our delusion or bring us towards awakening. The Buddha reached enlightenment in this world, and so do we.

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Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits.

Having last month considered Maitreya’s reaction to the news of the Buddha’s longevity, we consider the reaction of the gods to to the news of the Buddha’s longevity.

[The gods] rained down mandārava-flower ,
And mahā-mandārava-flowers of heaven.
Sakras and Brahmans came from the [other] Buddha-worlds
As many as there are sands in the River Ganges.

[The gods] rained down candana and aloes [powder],
And offered it to the Buddhas.
The powder came down fluttering
Just as birds fly down from the sky.

Heavenly drums automatically sounded
Wonderful in the sky.
Thousands of billions of heavenly garments
Whirled down.

[The gods] burned priceless incense which was put
In wonderful incense-burners of many treasures.
The incense-burners automatically went around,
And the odor was offered to the World-Honored Ones.

The great Bodhisattvas lined up vertically one upon another
To the Heaven of Brahman, holding
Billions of lofty and wonderful canopies and streamers
Made of the seven treasures.

[The great Bodhisattvas] hoisted before the Buddha
Jeweled banner adorned with excellent streamers.
They also praised the Tathāgatas
With tens of millions of gāthās.

I have never seen these things before.
All living beings
Rejoice at hearing
That the duration of your life is immeasurable.

Your fame is extended over the worlds of the ten quarters.
You benefit all living beings.
The root of good which they have planted
Will help them aspire for unsurpassed [enlightenment].

See One Chapter and Two Halves

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

Having last month considered the Buddha’s pure land, we consider the Buddha’s admonition that we have no doubts.

To those who have accumulated merits,
And who are gentle and upright,
And who see me living here,
Expounding the Dharma,
I say:
“The duration of my life is immeasurable.”
To those who see me after a long time,
I say, “It is difficult to see a Buddha.”

I can do all this by the power of my wisdom.
The light of my wisdom knows no bound.
The duration of my life is innumerable kalpas.
I obtained this longevity by ages of practices.

All of you, wise men!
Have no doubts about this!
Remove your doubts, have no more!
My words are true, not false.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

To those who have accumulated merits,
And who are gentle and upright,
And who see me living here,
Expounding the Dharma,
I say:
“The duration of my life is immeasurable.”

The Buddha declares these verses in Chapter Sixteen of the Lotus Sūtra. This chapter is where the Buddha reveals for the first time his ever-present nature. He became enlightened in the remotest past, and will continue teaching all beings far into the future. There is a view that to see a Buddha in our time requires a supernatural way of seeing, even a personal vision or a revelation not available to ordinary people. What the Buddha teaches here is that he is always visible to anyone, anywhere. It is when we look for him to teach us and are compassionate and disciplined in our desires that he appears to us.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Having last month considered in gāthās Maitreya’s plea for an explanation, we conclude Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Suppose a man twenty-five years old
Points to grey-haired and wrinkle-faced men
A hundred years old,
And says, “They are my sons.”
Suppose old men point to a young man
And say, “He is our father.”
No one in the world will believe
That a father is younger than his sons.

You are like the father.
You attained enlightenment quite recently.
These Bodhisattvas are resolute in mind.
They are not timid.
They have practiced the Way of Bodhisattva
For the past innumerable kalpas.

They are good at answering difficult questions.
They are fearless and patient.
They are handsome, powerful and virtuous.
They are praised by the Buddhas
Of the worlds of the ten quarter .
They expound [the Dharma] clearly.

They did not wish to live among men.
They preferred dwelling in dhyana-concentration.
They lived in the sky below
In order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

We do not doubt your words
Because we heard them direct from you.
Explain all this so that the living beings in the future
May be able to understand your words, Buddha!

Those who doubt this sūtra
And do not believe it
Will fall into the evil regions.
Explain all this to us now!

How did you teach these innumerable Bodhisattvas
In such a short time,
And cause them to aspire for enlightenment
And not falter in seeking enlightenment?

[Here ends] the Fifth Volume of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Daily Dharma offers this:

How did you teach these innumerable Bodhisattvas
In such a short time,
And cause them to aspire for enlightenment
And not falter in seeking enlightenment?

Maitreya Bodhisattva sings these verses to the Buddha in Chapter Fifteen of the Lotus Sūtra. Despite the Buddha’s explanation that he personally taught all of the Bodhisattvas who appear in Chapter Fifteen, Maitreya and others are still confused by what the Buddha has told them. Since they have faith that whatever the Buddha teaches is for their benefit, they persist with their sincere questioning, assured that the Buddha is leading them to enlightenment. While faith is an important part of our practice, recognizing our own confusion, and using questions to resolve that confusion are equally important. The Buddha does not ask for blind obedience. He knows we cannot find peace until we bring our whole being to his practice.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Having last month considered the Bodhisattva’s dream, we conclude Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

He also will dream:
‘I am now in the forest of a mountain.
[ studied and practiced good teachings.
[ attained the truth of the reality of all things.
I am now in deep dhyāna-concentration.
I see the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.’

He also will have a good dream:
‘The bodies of the Buddhas are golden-colored.
They are adorned with a hundred marks of merits.
Having heard the Dharma from them,
I am now expounding it to others.’

He also will dream:
‘Although I was a king,
I gave up the five desires
And the most wonderful pleasures.
I left my palace and attendants,
And reached the place of enlightenment.
I sat on the lion-like seat under the Bodhi-tree,
And sought enlightenment.
After seven days, I obtained the wisdom of the Buddhas
And attained unsurpassed enlightenment.
I emerged [from dhyāna] and turned the wheel of the Dharma.
I expounded the Dharma to the four kinds of devotees
For a thousand billion kalpas.
I expounded the Wonderful Dharma-without-āsravas
And saved innumerable living beings.
Then I entered into Nirvana
Just as a flame dies when smoke is gone.’

Anyone who expounds
This supreme teaching
In the evil world after [my extinction]
Will obtain great benefits as previously stated.

See The Reward for Practicing Buddhism

Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices.

Having last month considered the merits of the expounder of the Lotus Sutra, we consider how a Bodhisattva should see others who study Buddhism.

“Again, Mañjuśrī! A Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who wishes to keep, read and recite this sūtra in the latter days after [my extinction] when the teachings are about to be destroyed, should not nurse jealousy against others, or flatter or deceive them. He should not despise those who study the Way to Buddhahood in any way. He should not speak ill of them or try to point out their faults. Some bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās or upāsikās will seek Śrāvakahood or Pratyekabuddhahood or the Way of Bodhisattvas. He should not disturb or perplex them by saying to them, ‘You are far from enlightenment. You cannot obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things because you are licentious and lazy in seeking enlightenment.’ He should not have fruitless disputes or quarrels about the teachings with others. He should have great compassion towards all living beings. He should look upon all the Tathāgatas as his loving fathers, and upon all the Bodhisattvas as his great teachers. He should bow to all the great Bodhisattvas of the worlds of the ten quarters respectfully and from the bottom of his heart. He should expound the Dharma to all living beings without partiality. He should be obedient to the Dharma. He should not add anything to the Dharma or take away anything from the Dharma. He should not expound more teachings to those who love the Dharma more [than others do].

The Daily Dharma offers this:

He should not have fruitless disputes or quarrels about the teachings with others. He should have great compassion towards all living beings. He should look upon all the Tathāgatas as his loving fathers, and upon all the Bodhisattvas as his great teachers. He should bow to all the great Bodhisattvas of the worlds of the ten quarters respectfully and from the bottom of his heart. He should expound the Dharma to all living beings without partiality. He should be obedient to the Dharma. He should not add anything to the Dharma or take away anything from the Dharma.

The Buddha declares this passage in Chapter Fourteen of the Lotus Sūtra. In an earlier teaching, the Buddha proclaimed, “I do not quarrel with the world. The world quarrels with me.” The Buddha does not need to prove anything to anyone. He realized the truth and teaches it out of his compassion for all beings. He understood that when people reacted poorly to his teaching and began to argue with him or chastise him, it was due to the illusions they had not yet eliminated. This chapter of the sūtra instructs us to keep the same mind when we spread the Dharma. We teach from our compassion and respect.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra.

Having last month considered Medicine-King Bodhisattva-mahāsattva and Great-Eloquence Bodhisattva-mahāsattva’s offer to keep, read, recite and expound the Lotus Sūtra, we consider Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī question.

There were Maha-Prajapati Bhikṣunī, the sister of the mother of the Buddha, and six thousand bhikṣunīs, some of whom had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. They rose from their seats, joined their hands together with all their hearts, and looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes.

Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Gautamī:

“Why do you look at me so anxiously? You do not think that I assured you of your future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi because I did not mention you by name, do you? Gautamī! I have already said that I assured all the Śrāvakas of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. Now you wish to know my assurance of your future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. You will become a great teacher of the Dharma under six billion and eight hundred thousand million Buddhas in the future. The six thousand bhikṣunīs, some of whom have something more to learn while others have nothing more to learn, also will become teachers of the Dharma. [By becoming a great teacher of the Dharma,] you will complete the Way of Bodhisattvas in the course of time, and become a Buddha called Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings, the Tathāgata, the Deserver of Offerings, the Perfectly Enlightened One, the Man of Wisdom and Practice, the Well-Gone, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed Man, the Controller of Men, the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Buddha, the World-Honored One. Gautamī! That Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Buddha will assure the six thousand [bhikṣunīs, that is,] Bodhisattvas of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi one after another.”

The Daily Dharma offers this:

Why do you look at me so anxiously? You do not think that I assured you of your future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi because I did not mention you by name, do you? Gautamī! I have already said that I assured all the Śrāvakas of their future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]. Now you wish to know my assurance of your future attainment [of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].

The Buddha has this discussion with his aunt, Mahā-Prajāpatī, also called Gautamī, in Chapter Thirteen of the Lotus Sutra. She raised the young Siddhartha after his mother Queen Māyā died when he was only six weeks old. Gautamī was also the first woman to be ordained into the Sangha. Since women then were thought by some to be not as capable as men, the Buddha specifically assures Gautamī, and thus all women, of the certainty of her enlightenment.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com