Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva.

Having last month discussed the role of the sons of King Wonderful-Adornment in spreading the Lotus Sutra, it is time to review the wonders they displayed and the impact of those wonders.

Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes joined their ten fingers and palms together, and said to their mother, ‘We were born in this family attached to wrong views although we are sons of the King of the Dharma.’

The mother said to them, ‘Show some wonders to your father out of your compassion towards him! If he sees [the wonders], he will have his mind purified and allow us to go to that Buddha.’

Thereupon the two sons went up to the sky seven times as high as the tala-tree, and displayed various wonders because they were thinking of their father. They walked, stood, sat, and reclined in the sky. Then they issued water from the upper parts of their bodies, and fire from the lower parts. Then they issued water from the lower parts of their bodies, and fire from the upper parts. Then they became giants large enough to fill the sky, became dwarfs, and became giant again. Then they disappeared from the sky and suddenly appeared on the earth. Then they dived into the earth just as into water, and stepped on the surface of water just as on the earth. [Then they went up to the sky and stayed there.] By displaying these various wonders, they purified the mind of their father, that is, of the king, and caused him to understand the Dharma by faith.

I agree strongly with Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ observation on this in his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

I like this story of the two boys, Pure-Store and Pure-Eyes, who end up converting their parents to the Lotus Sutra not so much because of the phenomena the two sons performed but for the example that our actions speak more powerfully than our words. We can convince more people of the truth of the Lotus Sutra through the way we act in society than by merely talking theoretically about Buddhism. Getting through life and the day-to-day concerns we all face may seem ordinary, even hum-drum. However, the manner in which we face and ultimately overcome our problems can look supernatural to others around us who struggle and suffer so much. We don’t need to spout water or fire from our bodies; we merely need to show the joy of our practice in the face of life as human.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs

Having last month finished the chapter with the rakshasis and their mother, Hariti, it is time to circle back to the beginning.

Thereupon Medicine-King Bodhisattva rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, joined his hands together towards the Buddha, and said to him:

World-Honored One! How many merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read, recite, understand or copy the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma?

The Buddha said to him:

Suppose some good men or women make offerings to eight hundred billion nayuta Buddhas, that is, as many Buddhas as there are sands in the River Ganges. What do you think of this? Are the merits given to them many or not?

Very many, World-Honored One!

The Buddha said: More merits will be given to the good men or women who keep, read or recite even a single gatha of four lines of this sutra, understand the meanings of it or act according to it.

Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this observation:

We learn of the many protections that come to us naturally by merely upholding this sutra in the Dharanis Chapter. Dharanis are special incantations that were given by various beings solely for the protection of those who practice the Dharma. These protections and merits do not come to us merely because we read of them but are in a sense activated because our practice calls forth the changes in our lives that otherwise would remain dormant.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva.

Having last month concluded the chapter, it’s time to start again.

Thereupon Endless-Intent Bodhisattva rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, joined his hands together towards the Buddha, and said, “World-Honored One! Why is World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva called World-Voice-Perceiver?”

The Buddha said to Endless-Intent Bodhisattva:

Good man! If many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings hear [the name of] World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and call his name with all their hearts when they are under various sufferings, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva will immediately perceive their voices, and cause them to emancipate themselves [from the sufferings].

My pursuit of literal meaning in the Lotus Sutra always stumbles when I get to this chapter. Rev. Ryusho Jeffus’ Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this observation:

The real value I think we as modern practitioners can find in Chapter 25, the Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva, is as a model for our own behavior. Through our practice we naturally develop empathy and an ability to listen to and respond to the suffering of others. We each have our unique talents to lend to others but through our practice we can develop greater skill in using those talents in the most effective way to benefit and bring joy to those around us who are suffering.Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Last month covered the road traveled by Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva. This month, we get to a special skill of Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva.

Flower-Virtue! Now you see Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva here and nowhere else. But formerly he transformed himself into various living beings and expounded this sutra to other in various places. He became King Brahman, King Sakra, Freedon God, Great-Freedom God, a great general in heaven, Vaisravana Heavenly-King, a wheel-turning-holy-king, the king of a small country, a rich man, a householder, a prime minister, a brahmana, a bhiksu, a bhiksuni, an upasaka, an upasika, the wife of a rich man, that of a householder, that of a prime minister, that of a brahmana, a boy, a girl, a god, a dragon, a yaksa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuDa, a kimnara, a mahoraga, a human being or a nonhuman being. [After he transformed himself into one or another of these living beings,] he expounded this sutra, and saved the hellish denizens, hungry spirits, animals, and all the other living beings in the places of difficulties. When he entered an imperial harem, he became a woman and expounded this sutra.

Rev. Ryusho Jeffus‘ Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this observation:

Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva is able to change his shape and transform himself into any being he wishes. We, too, as we develop our Buddha potential are better able to communicate with various people taking on their lives and understanding the nature of their problems. Just as the Buddha was able to communicate with people of all the different Ten Worlds so too we can transcend the differences that frequently cause divisions and reach out to the many various people in our environment.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva.

Last month covered the “innumerable merits” of those who hear The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. Now we reach the end of the chapter.

“Therefore, Star-King-Flower! I will transmit this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva to you. Propagate this chapter throughout the Jambudvipa in the later five hundred years after my extinction lest it should be lost, and lest Mara the Evil One, the followers of Mara, gods, dragons, yaksas, and kumbhandas should take advantage [of the weak points of the people of the Jambudvipa].

“Star-King-Flower! Protect this sutra by your supernatural powers! Why is that? It is because this sutra is a good medicine for the diseases of the people of the Jambudvipa. The patient who hears this sutra will be cured of his disease at once. He will not grow old or die.

Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flower and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keep this sutra when you see him! After strewing these things [to him], you should think, ‘Before long he will collect grass [for his seat], sit at the place of enlightenment, and defeat the army of Mara. He will blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, beat the drum of the great Dharma, and save all living beings from the ocean of old age, disease and death.’

In this way, those who seek the enlightenment of the Buddha should respect the keeper of this sutra whenever they see him.

When the Buddha expounded this chapter of the Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva, eighty-four thousand Bodhisattvas obtained the dharanis by which they could understand the words of all living beings. Many-Treasures Tathagata in the stupa of treasures praised Star-King-Flower Bodhisattva, saying:

Excellent, excellent, Star-King-Flower! You obtained inconceivable merits. You asked this question to Sakyamuni Buddha, and benefited innumerable living beings.

The Daily Dhara from Nov. 21, 2016, offered this about our daily war with Mara:

Star-King-Flower! Strew blue lotus flowers and a bowlful of powdered incense to the person who keeps this sūtra when you see him! After strewing these things [to him], you should think, ‘Before long he will collect grass [for his seat], sit at the place of enlightenment, and defeat the army of Māra. He will blow the conch-shell horn of the Dharma, beat the drum of the great Dharma, and save all living beings from the ocean of old age, disease and death.’

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 completed the Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, it is time for the Transmission.

Thereupon Sakyamuni Buddha rose from the seat of the Dharma, and by his great supernatural powers, put his right hand on the heads of the innumerable Bodhisattva-mahasattvas, and said:

For many hundreds of thousands of billions of asamkhyas of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma diffcult to obtain, and [finally attained] Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. 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 asamkhyas of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma difficult to obtain, and [finally attained] Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Now I will transmit [the Dharma] to you. Keep, read, recite and expound [this sutra in which the Dharma is given], and cause all living beings to hear it and know it! 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 Tathagata, 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 of Aug. 24, 2016, 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!

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

Having last month covered the demonstration of the Buddhas’ supernatural powers, it is time to finish up with the response from the gods outside the gathering on the Saha World:

At that time the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters] said loudly:

There is a world called Saha beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asamkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Sakyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahasattvas a sutra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Sakyamuni Buddha!

Having heard their voice from the skies, the living beings of those worlds joined their hands together toward the Saha­World, and said, “Namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya, namah Sakyamunaye Buddhaya.” Then they strewed various flowers, various kinds of incense, various necklaces, streamers, canopies, personal ornaments, treasures, and other wonderful things to the Saha-World from afar.

The strewn things came from the worlds of the ten quarters like gathering clouds and changed into a jeweled awning over the Saha-World. The awning extended over the Buddhas staying in this world. At that time the worlds of the ten quarters became passable through each other without hindrance as if they had been a single Buddha-world.

When I read that the offerings gathered like clouds and changed into a jeweled awning, I’m reminded on the decorations that frame the altar at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church.

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.

Last month dealt with the merits of the nose and now we review the merits of the tongue:

Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra, will be able to obtain twelve hundred merits of the tongue. Anything which tastes good, bad, delicious, distasteful, bitter or astringent, will become as delicious as the nectar of heaven and not distasteful when it is put on their tongues. When they expound the Dharma to the great multitude with their tongues, they will be able to raise deep and wonderful voices, to cause their voices to reach the hearts of the great multitude so that the great multitude may be joyful and cheerful. Hearing their speeches given in good order by their deep and wonderful voices, Sakra, Brahman, and the other gods and goddesses will come and listen to them. In order to hear the Dharma, dragons, dragons’ daughters, yaksas, yaksas’ daughters, gandharvas, gandharvas’ daughters, asuras, asuras’ daughters, garudas, garudas’ daughters, kimnaras, kimnaras’ daughters, mahoragas, and mahoragas’ daughters also will come to them, respect them, and make offerings to them. Bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, and upasikas; and kings, princes, ministers, and their attendants [also will come and hear the Dharma]. The wheel-turning­[holy-] kings of small [countries], and the wheel-turning-[holy-] kings of great [countries, each of whom has the] seven treasures and one thousand children, also will come with their [treasures, children and] internal and external retinues, riding in their [movable] palaces, and hear the Dharma. These [good men or women, that is,] Bodhisattvas will expound the Dharma so well that the brahmanas, householders, and people of their country will, throughout their lives, attend on them, and make offering to them. The Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas also will wish to see them. [These good men or women] will expound the Dharma in the places which the Buddhas will face. They will keep all the teaching of the Buddha and raise deep and wonderful voices of the Dharma.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gathas:

Their tongues will be purified.
Their tongues will not receive anythjng bad.
Anything they at will become
As delicious as nectar.

When they expound the Dharma to the great multitude
And lead them
By telling them the stories of previous lives, parables, and similes
With their deep, pure and wonderful voices,
The hearers will rejoice
And make excellent offerings to them.

All gods, dragons,
Yaksas and asuras
Will come together
And hear the Dharma respectfully.

Anyone who expounds the Dharma, if he wishes,
Will be able to cause the living beings
Of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds
To hear his wonderful voice.

The wheel-turning-kings of great and small [countries],
Who have each one thousand children,
Will come with their children and attendants,
And join their hands together respectfully to hear the Dharma.
Gods, dragons, yaksas,
Raksasas and pisacakas
Also will come joyfully,
And make offerings to him.

The Brahman-Heavenly-King,
King Mara, Freedom [God],
Great-Freedom [God],
And the other gods also will come to him.

The Buddhas and their disciples who hear
The voice of the expounder of the Dharma,
Will think of him, protect him,
And sometimes appear before him.

The Daily Dharma from Feb. 8, 2016, offers this tasty advice:

Their tongues will be purified.
Their tongues will not receive anything bad.
Anything they eat will become
As delicious as nectar.

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.

Last month I started making my way through the Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma. Now I move from eyes to the ears.

Furthermore, Constant-Endeavor! The good men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra, 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, boys 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, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras and mahoragas; the sounds of fire, water and wind; the voices of hellish denizens, animals and hungry spirits; and the voices of bhiksus, bhisunis, Sravakas, 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.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gathas:

Their ears given by their parents will be purified, not defiled.
With their natural ears,
They will be able to recognize the sounds of voices
Of the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds.

They will be able to recognize
The voices of elephants, horses and cows;
Th ounds of carts, gongs, bells, conch-shell horns,
And of drums, lyres, harps, reed-pipes and flutes.
Although they recognize pure and sweet songs,
They will not be attached to them.
They also will be able to recognize
The countless kinds of voices of men.

They will be able to recognize
The voices of gods,
The wonderful songs [of gods],
And the voices of men, women, boys and girls.
They will be able to recognize
The songs of kalavitikas, of jivakajivakas,
And of the other birds in mountains,
And on rivers and ravines.

The expounder of the Dharma
Will be able to recognize from afar,
While he is staying in the world [of men],
The cryings and shriekings
Of the denizens in hell,
The shoutings of hungry and thirsty spirits
Who are seeking food and drink,
And the voices of asuras
Bellowing to each other
[As they pound] on the seacoasts.
Even when he recognizes all this by hearing,
His organ of hearing will not be destroyed.

The expounder of the Dharma will be able to recognize,
While he is staying [in this world],
The voices of birds and animals calling each other
In the worlds of the ten quarters.

The teacher of the Dharma will be able to recognize,
While he is staying [in the world of men],
The voices of the gods of the heavens
Above the Heaven of Brahman,
[That is,] of the Light-Sound Heaven,
Of the Universal-Pure Heaven, and of the Highest Heaven.

The teacher of the Dharma
Will be able to recognize,
Without moving about,
The voices of the bhiksus and bhiksunis
Who read or recite sutras
Or expound them to others.

He will be able to recognize
The voices of the Bodhisattvas
Who read or recite sutras
Or expound the meanings
Of quotations from them
To others.

Anyone who keeps this Sutra
Of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will be able to recognize the voices of the Buddhas,
That is, the voices of the Great Honorable Saints
Who teach all living beings,
And who expound the Wonderful Dharma in great congregations.

He will be able to recognize
All the sounds and voices
Inside and outside the one thousand million Surneru-worlds,
[Each being composed of the six regions]
Down to the Avici Hell and up to the Highest Heaven.
And yet his organ of hearing will not be destroyed.
He will be able to recognize everything by hearing
Because his ears are sharp.

Anyone who keeps
This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Will be able to obtain these merits with his natural ears Although he has not yet obtained heavenly ears.

The Daily Dharma of Aug. 12, 2015, offers this explanation:

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.

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

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

Last month I discussed the Buddha’s Pure Land. This time through I’m not speaking ill of this sutra, but rejoicing.

Furthermore, the good men or women who do not speak ill of this sutra but rejoice at hearing it after my extinction, should be considered, know this, to have already understood my longevity by firm faith. It is needless to say this of those who [not only rejoice at hearing this sutra but also] read recite and keep it. They also should be considered to be, carrying me on their heads. Ajita! They need not build a stupa or a monastery in my honor, or make the four kinds of offerings to the Samgha because those who keep, read and recite this sutra should be considered to have already built a stupa or a monastery or made offerings to the Samgha. They should be considered to have already erected a stupa of the seven treasures tall enough to reach the Heaven of Brahman, the upper part of the stupa being the smaller. They should be considered to have already equipped the stupa with streamers, canopies and jeweled bells, and enshrined my sariras therein. They also should be considered to have already offered flowers, incense, necklaces, incense powder, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, drums, music, reed pipes, flutes, harps, various kinds of dances, and songs of praise sung with wonderful voices [to the stupa] continuously for many thousands of billions of kalpas.

Daily Dharma from Sept. 13, 2016, adds this:

The Buddha makes this declaration to his disciple Maitreya in Chapter Seventeen of the Lotus Sūtra. After learning the merits of understanding the ever-present nature of the Buddha, Maitreya hears that this understanding is present in anyone who finds joy in this sūtra. From the parables told earlier in the sūtra, we know that this joy is not the same as the joy that comes from ending suffering. It is the joy in our awakening Buddha nature.

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