Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Full Text

Having last time considered the examples of Bodhisattvas of those worlds illuminated by the light of the Buddha, we consider the actions of kings and other bodhisattvas:

Mañjuśrī!
I see some kings coming to a Buddha,
And asking him about unsurpassed enlightenment.
They have renounced the world of pleasures,
Left their palaces,
Parted from their ministers and women,
And shaved their beard and hair.
They now wear monastic robes.

I also see some Bodhisattvas
Becoming bhikṣus,
Living alone in retired places,
And joyfully reciting sūtras.

I also see some Bodhisattvas
Zealously and courageously
Entering remote mountains, and pondering
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

I also see some of them having given up desires,
And living in retired places,
Entering deep into dhyāna-concentration,
And obtaining the five supernatural powers.

I also see some Bodhisattvas finding peace in dhyāna,
Joining their hands together [towards the Buddha],
And praising the King of the Dharma
With tens of millions of gāthās.

I also see some Bodhisattvas resolute in mind.
They have obtained profound wisdom
By questioning the Buddha.
And now they remember what they heard from him.

I also see some sons of the Buddha
Concentrating their minds, having wisdom,
Expounding the Dharma to the multitude
With innumerable parables and similes,
Expounding the Dharma with joy,
Teaching [other] Bodhisattvas,
Defeating the army of Mara,
And beating the drum of the Dharma.

I also see some Bodhisattvas
Being tranquil and peacefully calm,
Not delighting in being respected
By gods or dragons.

I also see some Bodhisattva
Living in forests, and emitting ray of light
In order to have the denizens in hell,
And cause them to enter the Way to Buddhahood.

I also see some sons of the Buddha
Walking about forests without sleeping
In order to attain
The enlightenment of the Buddha.

I also see some of them
Observing the precepts with due deportment,
And keeping purity like that of gems,
In order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

It is worth noting that after 36 times through this section of the Lotus Sūtra, I still enjoy this foundation built to support this sūtra. As the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra notes:

[I]n most sutras, the Introductory and Propagation parts are short and sweet, serving merely structural functions to complete the whole. In contrast, the Lotus Sutra contains a detailed introduction in addition to a general preface. This detailed introduction, unique to the Lotus Sutra, presents teachings that foreshadow what will be expounded in the following chapters.

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Having last month considered what Maitreya is seeing, we consider examples of Bodhisattvas of those worlds illuminated by the light of the Buddha.

Mañjuśrī!
I see and hear
Hundreds of thousands of millions of things
Such as these
From this world.
I will tell you briefly some more of them.

I see as many Bodhisattvas of those worlds
As there are sands in the River Ganges,
Who are seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha
[In various ways] according to their environments

Some of them practice almsgiving.
They joyfully give treasures
Such as gold, silver,
Pearls, manis, shells, agates, and diamonds.
They also give menservants and maidservants,
Vehicles and palanquins adorned with treasures.

They proceed to the enlightenment of the Buddha
By the merits obtained thereby,
Wishing to obtain this vehicle,
The most excellent vehicle
In the triple world,
The vehicle praised by the Buddhas.

Some Bodhisattvas give
Jeweled chariots yoked with four horses,
Equipped with railings and flower-canopies,
And adorned on all sides.

I also see some Bodhisattvas
Offering their flesh or their limbs
Or their wives or their children
In order to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.

I also see some Bodhisattvas
Joyfully offering
Their heads or their eyes or their bodies
In order to attain the wisdom of the Buddha.

From this “introduction” I look forward to seeing these acts of Bodhisattvas repeated by Never-Despising Bodhisattva, Gladly-Seen-By-All-Beings Bodhisattva, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva and Universal-Sage Bodhisattva. What was then, is now and will be in the future.

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Having last month considered Maitreya Bodhisattva’s question in gāthās, we consider what Maitreya is seeing.

I see from this world
The living beings of the six regions
Extending down to the Avici Hell,
And up to the Highest Heaven

Of each of those worlds.
I see the region to which each living being is to go,
The good or evil karmas he is doing,
And the rewards or retributions he is going to have.

I also see the Buddhas,
The Saintly Masters, the Lion-like Ones,
Who are expounding
The most wonderful sūtra
With their pure and gentle voices,
And teaching
Many billions of Bodhisattvas.
The brahma voices of the Buddhas
Are deep and wonderful,
Causing people to wish to hear them.

I also see the Buddha of each of those worlds
Expounding his right teachings to all living beings
In order to cause them to attain enlightenment.

He explains his teachings
With stories of previous lives,
And with innumerable parables and similes.

To those who are confronted with sufferings,
And tired of old age, disease, and death,
The Buddha expounds the teaching of Nirvana,
And causes them to eliminate these sufferings.

To those who have merits,
Who have already made offerings to the past Buddhas,
And who are now seeking a more excellent teaching,
The Buddha expounds [the Way of] cause-knowers.

To the Buddha’s sons
Who are performing various practices,
And who are seeking unsurpassed wisdom,
The Buddha expounds the Pure Way.

The unique qualities of this Introductory Chapter are discussed in the Introduction to the Lotus Sutra:

[I]n most sutras, the Introductory and Propagation parts are short and sweet, serving merely structural functions to complete the whole. In contrast, the Lotus Sutra contains a detailed introduction in addition to a general preface. This detailed introduction, unique to the Lotus Sutra, presents teachings that foreshadow what will be expounded in the following chapters.

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Having last month considered what the crowd thought of the wonder displayed by the Buddha, Maitreya Bodhisattva repeats in gāthās.

Thereupon Maitreya Bodhisattva, wishing to repeat what he had said, asked him in gāthās:

Mañjuśrī!
Why is the Leading Teacher
Emitting a great ray of light
From the white curl between his eyebrows?

[The gods] rained mandārava-flowers
And mañjūṣaka-flowers.
A breeze carrying the fragrance of candana
Is delighting the multitude.

Because of this, the ground has become
Beautiful and pure;
And this world quaked
In the six ways.

The four kinds of devotees
Are joyful.
They are happier than ever
In body and mind.

The light from [the white curls]
Between the eyebrows of the Buddha illumines
Eighteen thousand worlds to the east.
Those worlds look golden-colored.

The Introduction to the Lotus Sūtra explains the Unique Qualities of the Lotus Sutra:

[I]n most sutras, the Introductory and Propagation parts are short and sweet, serving merely structural functions to complete the whole. In contrast, the Lotus Sutra contains a detailed introduction in addition to a general preface. This detailed introduction, unique to the Lotus Sutra, presents teachings that foreshadow what will be expounded in the following chapters. Secondly, the Lotus Sutra is structured as if the conclusion incorporates the main part. For example, after Chapter Ten, “The Teacher of the Dharma,” most chapters in the second division deal with the matter of keeping and propagating the Sutra in future worlds, which is, in fact, the major characteristic of a conclusion.

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Having last month heard the World-Honored One expound a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “Innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas,” we see the Buddha emit a ray of light illumining all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east.

Thereupon the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand worlds in the east, down to the Avchi Hell of each world, and up to the Akanistha Heaven of each world. The congregation saw from this world the living beings of the six regions of those worlds. They also saw the present Buddhas of those worlds. They also heard the Dharma expounded by those Buddhas. They also saw the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās of those worlds who had already attained [the various fruits of] enlightenment by their various practices. They also saw the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas [of those worlds] who were practicing the Way of Bodhisattvas [in various ways] according to the variety of their karmas which they had done in their previous existence, and also according to the variety of their ways of understanding [the Dharma] by faith. They also saw the past Buddhas [of those worlds] who had already entered into Parinirvana. They also saw the stupas of the seven treasures which had been erected to enshrine the śarīras of those Buddhas after their Parinirvana.

See Six Omens Shown in This World

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Having last month completed the introduction of the crowd, the World-Honored One expounds a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.”

Thereupon the four kinds of devotees, who were surrounding the World-Honored One, made offerings to him, respected him, honored him, and praised him. The World-Honored One expounded a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.” Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha sat cross-legged [facing the east], and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.

Thereupon the gods rained mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, and mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers upon the Buddha and the great multitude. The world of the Buddha quaked in the six ways. The great multitude of the congregation, which included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, nonhuman beings, the kings of small countries, and the wheel-turning-holy-kings, were astonished. They rejoiced, joined their hands together [towards the Buddha], and looked up at him with one mind.

See Three Locations of the Teaching