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.

Last month, I dealt with the Buddha’s explanation after (the month before’s discussion of) Maitreya’s puzzlement over the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from Underground.

So we get to remaining issue: Doubt.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva-mahasattva and the innumerable Bodhisattvas in the congregation doubted the Buddha’s words which they had never heard before. They thought:

‘How did the World-Honored One teach these great, innumerable, asarp.khya Bodhisattvas, and qualify them to attain Anuttara-samyak-sarpbodhi in such a short time?’

[Maitreya Bodhisattva] said to the Buddha:

World-Honored One! When you, the Tathagata, were a crown prince, you left the palace of the Sakyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gaya, and attained Anuttara­samyak-sambodhi. It is only forty and odd years since then.

World-Honored One! How did you do these great deeds of the Buddha in such a short time? Did you teach these great, innumerable Bodhisattvas, and qualify them to attain Anuttara­samyak-sambodhi by your powers or by your merits?
World-Honored One! No one can count the number of these great Bodhisattvas even if he goes on counting them for thousands of billions of kalpas. They have already planted roots of good, practiced the way, and performed brahma practices under innumerable Buddhas from the remotest past.

World-Honored One! It is difficult for anyone in the world to believe this. It is as difficult as to believe a handsome, black-haired man twenty-five years old who points to men a hundred years old and says, ‘They are my sons,’ or as to believe men a hundred years old who point to a young man and say, ‘This is our father. He brought us up.’ You are like the young man. It is not long since you attained enlightenment. But it is many thousands of billions of kalpas since the great multitude of these Bodhisattvas began to practice the Way strenuously in order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha. During that time they entered into, stayed in, and came out of many hundreds of thousands of billions of samadhis, and obtained great supernatural powers. They performed brahma practices for a long time. They learned good teachings one by one, and obtained the ability to answer questions skillfully. They are regarded as the treasures of the world of men by all the people of the world because they are rare. Today you say that, after you attained the enlightenment of the Buddha, you caused them to aspire for enlightenment, taught them, and led them into the Way to Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

World-Honored One! You did these deeds of great merit although it is not long since you attained Buddhahood. We believe that your words given according to the capacities of all living beings are infallible, and that we understand all that you know. But the beginners in Bodhisattvahood after your extinction, if they hear these words of yours, will not receive them by faith but commit the sin of violating the Dharma. Therefore, World-Honored One! Explain all this so that we may be able to remove our doubts and that the good men in the future may have no doubts when they hear these words of yours!

Before we get tomorrow’s answer to these doubts, it is a good idea to consider the question. Back in the first chapter we are promised:

The Buddha will remove
Any doubt of those who seek
The teaching of the Three Vehicles.
No question will be left unresolved.

The Daily Dharma for July 2, 2016, explains these verses:

Mañjuśrī declares these verses at the end of Chapter One of the Lotus Sūtra. They remind us how important questions are to what the Buddha teaches. Questions come up throughout the book, and they lead to many important aspects of this Wonderful Dharma. It is important for us to ask questions respectfully whenever we hear a teaching, knowing that we will find an answer.

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

Questions and answers and faith, the three-legged stool upon which I seat my faith.

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

Last month, I imagined dreaming ‘Surrounded by bhiksus, The Tathagatas are sitting On the lion-like seats, And expounding the Dharma.’

I’ll hold off on discussing the fourth set of peaceful practices until I get to the third set next month on the 18th day.

That leaves the start of Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground.

Those Bodhisattvas who appeared from underground, came to Many-Treasures Tathagata and Sakyamuni Buddha both of whom were in the wonderful stupa of the seven treasures hanging in the sky. They [joined their hands together] towards the two World-Honored Ones, and worshipped their feet with their heads. Then they [descended onto the ground and] came to the Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees, bowed to them, walked around them from left to right three times, joined their hands together respectfully, and praised them by the various ways by which Bodhisattvas should praise Buddhas. Then they [returned to the sky,] stood to one side, and looked up at the two World-Honored ones with joy. A period of fifty small kalpas elapsed from the Bodhisattva-mahasattvas’ springing up from underground till the finishing of the praising of the Buddhas by the various ways by which Bodhisattvas should praise Buddhas. All this while Sakyamuni Buddha sat in silence. The four kinds of devotees also kept silence for the fifty small kalpas. By his supernatural powers, however, the Buddha caused the great multitude to think that they kept silence for only half a day. Also by the supernatural powers of the Buddha, the four kinds of devotees were able to see that the skies of many hundreds of thousands of billions of worlds were filled with those Bodhisattvas.

Those Bodhisattvas had four leade,rs: 1. Superior-Practice, 2. Limitless-Practice, 3. Pure-Practice, and 4. Steadily-Established-­Practice. These four [great] Bodhisattvas were the highest leaders [of those Bodhisattvas]. In the presence of the great multitude, they joined their hands together towards Sakyamuni Buddha, looked up at him, and inquired after him saying:

World-Honored One! Are you in good health? Are you peaceful or not? Are the living beings, whom you are to save, ready to receive your teachings or not? Do they not fatigue you?

Thereupon the four great Bodhisattvas sang in gathas:

World-Honored One, are you peaceful?
Are you in good health?
Are you not tired
With teaching the living beings?
Are they ready
To receive your teaching,
Or are they not?
Do they not fatigue you?

A couple of things to point out using quotes I’ve set aside:

The Bodhisattvas who arose in Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, did not go to the Buddha and say, “What will you give us?” They went to the Buddha and asked him how he was, if he was in good health, and if he was well enough to teach. They did not sit and wait for things to come to them. They vowed to spread the Lotus Sutra in this Saha world. They promised the Buddha that they would work tirelessly to teach others no matter the difficulty they faced.
Physician's Good Medicine

And from the Daily Dharma of May 8, 2016:

All this while Śākyamuni Buddha sat in silence. The four kinds of devotees also kept silence for the fifty small kalpas. By his supernatural powers, however, the Buddha caused the great multitude to think that they kept silence for only half a day.

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

Last month, I discussed the things to be approached by a bodhisattva. And, as promised last month, this time through it’s time for the proper things a Bodhisattva should know.

The Bodhisattva-mahasattva also should know the following truth. All things are insubstantial. They are as they are. Things are not perverted. They do not move. They do not go. They do not turn. They have nothing substantial just as the sky has not. They are inexplicable. They are not born. They do not appear. They do not rise. They are nameless. They are formless. They have no property. They are immeasurable and limitless. They have no obstacle or hindrance. He should see all this. Things can exist only by dependent origination. Only perverted people say, ‘Things are permanent and pleasant.’ This truth is the second thing he should approach.”

And in gathas:

He should disregard the differences
Between the superior, mean, and inferior vehicles,
Between the things free from causality and those subject to it,
And between the real and the unreal.

He should not say:
“This is a man,” or “This is a woman.”
He should not obtain anything
Or know anything or see anything.
All these are the proper practices
That the Bodhisattva should perform.

Things are insubstantial.
They have no property.
They are not permanent.
They do not rise or perish.
This is the Dharma to be approached
By a man of wisdom.

Only perverted people say:
“All things exist,” or “Nothing exists,”
Or “All things are real,” or “Nothing is real,”
Or “All things are born,” or “Nothing is born.”

Next month, the third set of peaceful practices.

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

Chapter 12, Devadatta, has some problems. As Senchu Murano explains in the Introduction:

Chapter [12], which is an insertion, betrays discrepancies from Chapter [11] in the following points.

1. Sakyamuni Buddha and Many-Treasures Buddha are on Mt. Sacred Eagle, not in the stupa handing in the sky.
2. Many-Treasures buddha came from the nadir, not from the east.
3. Many-Treasures buddha is accompanied by a Bodhisattva.
4. At the beginning of this chapter, Manjusri Bodhisattva is at the palace of Dragon-King Sagara in the sea.
5. There is no response to the wish of the Buddha to transmit this sutra to someone.

And yet . . .

[Sakyamuni] said to the bhiksus:

Good men or women in the future who hear this chapter of Devadatta of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma with faithful respect caused by their pure minds, and have no doubts [about this chapter], will not fall into hell or the region of hungry spirits or the region of animals. They will be reborn before the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters. They will always hear this sutra at the places of their rebirth. Even when they are reborn among men or gods, they will be given wonderful pleasures. When they are reborn before the Buddhas, they will appear in lotus-flowers.

No doubts here despite the discrepancies.

Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Last month, I went over the requirement that all of the billions and billions of Sakyamuni’s replicas preaching the Dharma in the universe had to be called home before Stupa of Treasures could be opened in order for the congregation to see Many Treasures Buddha.

This time through I want to focus on the shift that takes place at this point in the Lotus Sutra when Sakyamuni asks:

Who will expound the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma in this Saha-World? Now is the time to do this. I shall enter into Nirvana before long. I wish to transmit this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to someone so that this sutra may be preserved.

Then again in gathas:

My sons!
Who will protect the Dharma?
Make a great vow
To preserve the Dharma forever!

And again:

This sutra is
The most excellent.
To keep this sutra
Is to keep me.

Good men!
Who will receive and keep this sutra, And read and recite it
After my extinction?
Make a vow before me
[To do all this]!

Rev. Ryusho Jeffus explains what is going on in his Lecture

In case there was any doubt remaining that the Buddha intended Buddhism to be taught and not be kept to oneself, there comes his request in Chapter 11 where he asks who will teach the Lotus Sutra in this world in which we live, the Saha World. Chapter 11 is where the Buddha begins to shift the focus of his teaching to thinking about the time in this world when he will no longer be alive. He is not thinking or planning for the spread of Buddhism in other parts of the universe. That is already being handled by his emanations and by the future lives of his contemporary disciples. Everything is taken care of except this world of ours. It is the Buddha Shakyamuni who is responsible for ensuring that the fundamental truth of the Lotus Sutra is secure for future generations.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures.

Having covered the arrival of the Stupa of Treasures last month, it is time to cycle back to the start of Day 15 and the significance of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Thereupon the Buddha said again to Medicine-King Bodhisattva-­mahasattva:

I have expounded many sutras. I am now expounding this sutra. I also will expound many sutras in the future. The total number of the sutras will amount to many thousands of billions. This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.

Medicine-King! This sutra is the store of the hidden core of all the Buddhas. Do not give it to others carelessly! It is protected by the Buddhas, by the World-Honored Ones. It has not been expounded explicitly. Many people hate it with jealousy even in my lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after my extinction.

Medicine-King, know this! Anyone who copies, keeps, reads and recites this sutra, makes offerings to it, and expounds it to others after my extinction, will be covered by my robe. He also will be protected by the present Buddhas of the other worlds. He will have the great power of faith, the power of vows, and the power of roots of good. Know this! He will live with me. I will pat him on the head.

Enjoying the great power of faith, vows and roots of good. Never alone.

Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma.

Last month, I focused on Rahula and the month before on Ananda. This leaves the remaining Sravakas.

Thereupon the World-Honored One saw the two thousand Sravakas, of whom some had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn. They were gentle, quiet and pure. They looked up at the Buddha with all their hearts.

The Buddha said to Ananda, Do you see these two thousand Sravakas, of whom some have something more to learn while others have nothing more to learn?

Yes, I do.

Ananda! These people will make offerings to as many Buddhas, as many Tathagatas, as the particles of dust of fifty worlds. They will respect those Buddhas, honor them, and protect the store of their teachings. They will finally go to the worlds of the ten quarters and become Buddhas at the same time. They will be equally called Treasure-Form, the Tathagata, 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. They will live for a kalpa. They will be the same in regard to the adornments of their worlds, the number of the Sravakas and Bodhisattvas of their worlds, the duration of the preservation of their right teachings, and the duration of the preservation of the counterfeit of their right teachings.”

These two thousand Sravakas, of whom some had something more to learn while others had nothing more to learn, were quite happy at this news:

You, the World-Honored One, are the light of wisdom. Hearing from you
That we are assured of our future Buddhahood,
We are as joyful as if we were sprinkled with nectar.

Next month I’ll move into the other part of today’s reading, Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and the universal promise made to those rejoice at hearing even a gatha of phrase of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples.

Purna, foremost in expounding the Dharma, is joyous at the news he’s heard:

Thereupon Purna, the son of Maitrayani having heard from the Buddha the Dharma expounded with expedients by the wisdom [of the Buddha] according to the capacities of all living beings, and having heard that [the Buddha] had assured the great disciples of their future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and also having heard of the previous life of the Buddha, and also having heard of the great, unhindered, supernatural powers of the Buddhas, had the greatest joy that he had ever had, became pure in heart, and felt like dancing [with joy]. He rose from his seat, came to the Buddha, and worshipped him at his feet with his head. Then he retired to one side of the place, looked up at the honorable face with unblenching eyes, and thought:

The World-Honored One is extraordinary. What he does is exceptional. He expounds the Dharma with expedients by his insight according to the various natures of all living beings of the world, and saves them from various attachments. The merits of the Buddha are beyond the expression of our words. Only the Buddha, only the World-Honored One, knows the wishes we have deep in our minds.

The April 6, 2016, Daily Dharma discusses Purna’s observation and what it means in our daily lives:

In Chapter Eight of the Lotus Sutra, Pūrṇa has these words in mind while looking at the face of the Buddha. The thoughts we have are mostly words, and the words are about the things we want. Words can help us make sense of the world around us, especially the words the Buddha uses to teach us. But words can also confuse us when we mistake our expectations for the reality of the world. When the Buddha calls us to become Bodhisattvas, to realize that our happiness is linked to that of all beings, his words open a part of our mind with which we are not familiar. He asks us to set aside the habits we have learned from this world of conflict and see his world in a new way.

Day 12 concludes Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City, and completes the Third Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma.

After two days of preparatory work, we finally get to the Parable of the Magic City. By the end of this parable we understand:

The Buddhas expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles
Only as an expedient.
There is only the One Buddha-Vehicle.
The two [vehicles] were taught only as resting places.

Now I will tell you the truth.
What you attained is not [true] extinction.
Make great efforts in order to obtain
The Buddha’s knowledge of all things.
When you obtain the knowledge of all things
And the ten powers of the Buddha,
And the thirty-two physical marks,
You will be able to say that you attained true extinction.
The Buddhas, the Leaders, expound the teaching of Nirvana
In order to give a rest [to all living beings].
When they see them having already had a rest,
They lead them to the wisdom of the Buddha.

On the road to a place of treasures.

Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City

My self-imposed single-topic limit works well some days and not so well others. Day 11 is all about the reaction of the Brahman-Heavenly-Kings of the 500 billion worlds in each of the 10 directions, all of whom fill up plates of flowers and tow along their palaces as they search out the source of the light that has suddenly illumined their palaces more brightly than ever before.

Finding a single point to stress beyond that general theme leaves me pointing out, as I did last month, how one Brahman-Heavenly-King addressed Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha as “Saintly Master, God of Gods!” instead of the more traditional “Most Honorable of Gods and Men.”

But in the nine previous times through this section of the Lotus Sutra I’ve never focused directly on what the great Brahman-heavenly-king called Sikhin said when he offered his palaces to the Buddha:

Our palaces are beautifully adorned
With your light.
We offer them to you.
Receive them out of your compassion towards us!

May the merits we have accumulated by this offering
Be distributed among all living beings,
And may we and all other living beings
Attain the enlightenment of the Buddha!

This concept of distributing merits to others is an essential Bodhisattva practice. The book Awakening to the Lotus offers this:

This Buddha had sixteen sons, who upon hearing of their father’s enlightenment, renounced their positions and joined him as disciples. They along with all of the heavenly kings asked that Buddha to expound the Dharma and bring peace to all suffering beings. They said, “May the merits we have accumulated by this offering be distributed among all living beings, may we and all living beings together attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.” This teaches the core of the Great Vehicle, that enlightenment is not individual but universal salvation.
Awakening to the Lotus