“Great-Eloquence! Now Many-Treasures Tathāgata caused his stūpa to spring up from underground in order to hear Myōhō Renge Kyō [directly from me].
Category Archives: Promises
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 9, 2025
The Buddha said to the rākṣasas:
“Excellent, excellent! Your merits will be immeasurable even when you protect the person who keeps only the name of Myōhō Renge Kyō. Needless to say, so will be your merits when you protect the person who keeps Myōhō Renge Kyō itself, and makes to a copy of Myōhō Renge Kyō hundreds of thousands of offerings such as flowers, incense, necklaces, powdered incense, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, streamers, canopies, music, and various lamps like lamps of butter oil, oil lamps, lamps of perfumed oil, lamps of sumanas-flower oil, lamps of campaka flower oil, lamps of vārṣika-flower oil, and lamps of utpala-flower oil. Kunti! You [rākṣasas] and your attendants should protect this teacher of the Dharma.”
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 8, 2025
The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound Myōhō Renge Kyō only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.Therefore, anyone who hears Myōhō Renge Kyō
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about Myōhō Renge Kyō.He should expound Myōhō Renge Kyō with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 7, 2025
I expounded this expedient teaching in order to cause them
To enter the Way to the wisdom of the Buddha.
I never said to them:
“You will be able to attain the enlightenment of the
Buddha.” I never said this
Because time was not yet ripe for it.
Now is the time to say it.
I will expound Myōhō Renge Kyō definitely.
I expounded various sūtras of the nine elements
According to the capacities of all living beings.
I expounded various sūtras
Because those sūtras were a basis for Myōhō Renge Kyō.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 6, 2025
Therefore, the man of wisdom
Who hears the benefits of these merits
And who keeps Myōhō Renge Kyō after my extinction,
Will be able to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha
Definitely and doubtlessly.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 5, 2025
“Furthermore, Ajita! Those who hear of my longevity of which I told you, and understand the meaning of my words, will be able to obtain innumerable merits, which will help them attain the unsurpassed wisdom of the Tathāgata. Needless to say, those who hear Myōhō Renge Kyō, cause others to hear Myōhō Renge Kyō, keep Myōhō Renge Kyō, cause others to keep Myōhō Renge Kyō, copy Myōhō Renge Kyō, cause others to copy Myōhō Renge Kyō, or offer flowers, incense, necklaces, banners, streamers, canopies, perfumed oil, and lamps of butter oil to a copy of Myōhō Renge Kyō, will be able to obtain immeasurable merits. These merits will help them obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 4, 2025
Just as the sea is larger than the rivers, Myōhō Renge Kyō is more profound than any of the other sūtras expounded by the Tathāgatas.
The ‘Cloudy and Obscure’ Tale of a Past Life
Note: This is another in the monthly excerpts from “Tales of the Lotus Sutra.”
Buddhism in Practice, p437-438There was a certain monk–his name has been forgotten–who lived in a monastery in the eastern section of Qin commandery. [In residence at the monastery] was a young novice who could recite the Lotus Sūtra with extraordinary fluency, except for the fact that whenever he reached the two words, “cloudy and obscure” (ai-dai), in the “Medicinal Herbs” chapter, he would forget them no sooner than he was taught them. This must have happened well over a thousand times. Finally his master scolded him bitterly, saying, “You are able to learn to recite the entire sutra perfectly [from memory]. How is it that you can’t muster the concentration to memorize these two words?!”
That night the master dreamt of a Buddhist monk, who told him: “You should not blame this novice. In his previous life he lived in a village on the east side of this monastery, where he had the form of a laywoman. Basically she devoted herself to reciting the single scripture of the Lotus Sūtra. But at that time, silverfish had eaten away the two characters “cloudy and obscure” in the “Medicinal Herbs” chapter of the household copy of the Lotus. Thus the two characters were originally missing from the sūtra. [As a result], when in this present life the novice monk tries to learn the words anew, he cannot do it. The surname [of the family] is such and such, and this copy of the sūtra may still be found there. If you don’t believe my tale, you can go and verify it for yourself.”
The very next day the master went to the village and sought out the household. After introducing himself he said to the head of the family, “Do you have a special place for making offerings?” The man replied, “We do.” “What scriptures do you keep there?” he asked. To which the man replied, “We have a single copy of the Lotus Sūtra.” The master sent him to fetch it so that he might have a look. Sure enough, the two characters were missing from the “Medicinal Herbs” chapter. [The head of the house] went on to relate, “This is the scripture that the deceased spouse of our elder son kept devotedly while she was alive. Since she passed away it has been seventeen years now.”
As it turned out, the dates corresponded perfectly with the month and year of the novice’s gestation. No one knows where and when he died.
For comparison, see Priest Ezō of the Daigoji Temple
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 3, 2025
If anyone keeps, reads, recites, expounds and copies even a gāthā of Myōhō Renge Kyō, and respects a copy of Myōhō Renge Kyō just as he respects me, and offers flowers, incense, necklaces, incense powder, incense applicable to the skin, incense to burn, canopies, banners, streamers, garments and music to it, or just joins his hands together respectfully towards it, Medicine-King, know this, he should be considered to have appeared in the world of men out of his compassion towards all living beings, although he already made offerings to ten billion Buddhas and fulfilled his great vow under those Buddhas in a previous existence.
Myōhō Renge Kyō Promise for Feb. 2, 2025
Expound Myōhō Renge Kyō to those
Who are not angry
But upright, gentle,
Compassionate
Towards all others,
And respectful to the Buddhas!