In discussing Chapter 9 of the Lotus Sutra, Nikkyō Niwano singles out this verse for special attention:
Of the hidden course of Rāhula
Only I am able to know.
At present as my eldest son
He is revealed to all.
Infinite thousand myriad koṭis
Are his merits, beyond calculation.
Peacefully abiding in the Buddha-law,
He seeks the supreme Way.
Niwano says:
This moving verse reveals the Buddha’s affection as a teacher of the Law and as a father. Hearing the Buddha say, “Of the hidden course of Rāhula / Only I am able to know,” how glad Rāhula must have been! The hidden course means that when one has achieved something, one does not reveal it to others by one’s look or manner but joins them as an ordinary person and leads them naturally in a better direction. This is the same as the principle of half a step exemplified by Pūrṇa. Though Rāhula had attained a very high spiritual level, he did not show the slightest sign of it but silently guided people from behind the scenes. Only Śākyamuni Buddha, who was his teacher and his father, knew the truth about Rāhula. For him, the Buddha’s recognition must have been a double joy.
The third edition of Senchu Murano’s translation for Nichiren Shu offers this perspective:
Only I know his secret practices.
He shows himself
To all living beings
In the form of my eldest son.
He has many thousands of billions of merits.
His merits are countless.
He dwells peacefully in the Dharma of the Buddha,
And seeks unsurpassed enlightenment.
In his Lecture on the Lotus Sutra, Rev. Ryusho Jeffus, using Murano’s translation, offers an interpretation of this verse that complements Nikkyō Niwano’s explanation.
It is the ordinary day-to-day practice that each of us performs that is actually the great secret practice of Rahula. It isn’t fame or acquiring a big name that is required to attain enlightenment. It isn’t being famous that will lead others to practice the Lotus Sutra. It is our practice of the Lotus Sutra in our everyday lives that will enable countless others just like us to ultimately take faith in the Lotus Sutra. We should not be discouraged, instead we can look at Rahula who will become Walking-On-Flowers-Of-Seven-Treasures Buddha and we too can walk on the flowers of the seven treasures of Myoho-Renge-Kyo.
Gene Reeves translated the verse in this manner:
The hidden acts of Rahula
Only I am able to know.
As my eldest son
He is revealed to all.
Innumerable tens of thousands of millions
Are his blessings, beyond calculation.
Dwelling at peace in the Buddha-dharma,
He seeks the unexcelled way.
In his Stories of the Lotus Sutra, Reeves says:
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p115-116Rahula was also known as a “first” – first in quietly doing good. It is said that this means that he followed the Vinaya precepts, the rules for monks, very strictly. Like Ananda, he became one of the Buddha’s ten principal disciples.
As he was Shakyamuni’s only biological son, it was only natural that Shakyamuni Buddha would make an extra effort not to show any favoritism toward him. Thus there are many stories of Rahula being treated by his father just like any other follower.
While the name Ananda means “bliss” or “joy,” the name Rahula means “obstruction,” “bond,” or “fetter.” Born just shortly before the future Buddha left home to pursue enlightenment, it is said that he was named Rahula by his grandfather after the future Buddha announced immediately after the birth of his son that an “obstruction” (rahula) had been born. Like many sons of noble Shakya families of the time, the future Buddha apparently had been thinking of leaving home from a fairly young age. It is said that his own father, the king, had arranged for his marriage to Yashodhara when he was nineteen in order to discourage him from leaving home. Ten years later, Rahula was born, and it was said that Shakyamuni called him Rahula because he created “bonds” of affection. This story would later be used to show how a bond of love can be an impediment or hindrance to one who wants to follow the life of a monk.
Though his age at the time is far from certain, Rahula was about seven years old when Shakyamuni returned to his home in Kapilavasthu with many of his followers and stayed in a bamboo grove outside the city. Yashodhara pointed his father out to the boy, but at first Shakyamuni paid no attention to his son. When they were about to leave, Yashodhara told Rahula to ask for his father’s blessings. He did so, and Shakyamuni beckoned to him to follow him. When they reached the forest, Shakyamuni told Shariputra to shave the boy’s head, put him in monk’s robes, and make him the first novice monk. In some accounts, Yashodhara tells Rahula to ask his father for his inheritance and his wealth, and the Buddha instead makes him the inheritor of his spiritual wealth by turning him into a novice monk.
Just as according to Fa-hsien nuns worshiped at the stupas of Ananda, novice monks worshiped at the Stupa of Rahula, who apparently died before his father did.
For me I like to ponder this:
If Rahula “shows himself to all living beings in the form of [Śākyamuni’s] eldest son,” what is his real form?