Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month completed Day 9’s portion of the Assurance of Future Buddhahood, we return to The Simile of Herbs.

Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Mahā-Kāśyapa and other great disciples:

“Excellent, excellent! You spoke of my true merits very well. My true merits are just as you said. In reality, however, I have more merits. They are innumerable, asaṃkhya. You will not be able to describe all of them even if you try to do so for many hundreds of millions of kalpas.

“Kāśyapa, know this! I, the Tathāgata, am the King of the Dharma. Nothing I say is false. I expound all teachings with expedients by my wisdom in order to lead all living beings to the stage of knowing all things. I know what region a living being will be taken to by what teaching, and what a living being has deep in his mind. I am not hindered by anything in knowing all this. I know all things clearly, and show my knowledge of all things to all living beings.

This setup for the Simile of the Herbs underscores what we will learn: It is not the teaching that changes; it is the capacity of people. The fruits and flowers are different because of the species; all receive the same water of the Dharma.

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month given the Assurance of Future Buddhahood for Maha-Kasyapa, we come to the reaction of Great Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana.

Thereupon Great Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti and Mahā-Kātyāyana trembled, joined their hands together with all their hearts, looked up at the World-Honored One with unblenching eyes, and sang in gāthās in unison:
Great Hero, World-Honored One!
King of the Dharma of the Śākyas!
Give us your voice
Out of your compassion towards us!
If you see what we have deep in our minds,
And assure us of our future Buddhahood,
We shall feel as cool and as refreshed
As if we were sprinkled with nectar.

Suppose a man came
From a country suffering from famine.
Now he saw the meal of a great king.
He did not partake of it in doubts and fears.
After he was told to take it by the king,
He took it at once.
We are like that man.
We know the defects of the Lesser Vehicle.
But we do not know how to obtain
The unsurpassed wisdom of the Buddha.

Although we hear you say [to us],
“You will become Buddhas,”
We are still in doubts and fears about it,
Just as that man was about the meal.
If you assure us of our future Buddhahood,
We shall be happy and peaceful.

You, the Great Hero, the World-Honored One,
Wish to give peace to all the people of the world.
If you assure us of our future Buddhahood, we shall be
Like the man who was permitted to take the meal.

The Daily Dharma from Aug. 28, 2016, offers this:

If you see what we have deep in our minds,
And assure us of our future Buddhahood,
We shall feel as cool and as refreshed
As if we were sprinkled with nectar.

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month given the Assurance of Future Buddhahood for Maha-Kasyapa in prose, we repeat it in gathas:

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

I will tell you, bhiksus.
I see this Kasyapa
With the eyes of the Buddha.
He will become a Buddha
In his future life
After innumerable’ kalpas from now.

He will see in his future life
Three hundred billions
Of Buddhas, of World-Honored Ones.
He will make offerings to them,
And perform brahma practices
To obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.
Having made offerings
To the Most Honorable Bipeds,
He will study and practice
Unsurpassed wisdom,
And become a Buddha on the final stage
Of his physical existence.

The ground [of his world] will be pure.
It will be made of lapis lazuli.
Many jeweled trees
Will stand on the roadsides.
The roads will be marked off by ropes of gold.
Anyone will rejoice at seeing them.

Fragrance will be sent forth from the trees;
And beautiful flowers will be strewn
On the ground, which will be adorned
With various wonderful things.
The ground will be even,
And devoid of mounds and pits.

The number of the Bodhisattvas
Will be beyond calculation.
They will be gentle.
They will have great supernatural powers.
They will keep the sutras of the Great Vehicle
Expounded by the Buddhas.

The Sravakas will have already eliminated asravas,
And reached the final stage of their physical existence.
They will become sons of the King of the Dharma.
Their number also will be beyond calculation.
Even those who have heavenly eyes
Will not be able to count them.

The duration of the life of that Buddha
Will be twelve small kalpas.
His right teachings will be preserved
For twenty small kalpas.
The counterfeit of his right teachings
Will be preserved also for twenty small kalpas.
All this is my prophecy
About the World-Honored One called Light.

Lotus World offers this about the prediction for Buddhahood of Maya-Kasyapa, who is present in Nichiren’s Gohonzon:

In the Lotus Sutra, the voice-hearers fall into three groups of superior capacity, intermediate capacity, and lesser capacity, depending on the manner in which they are able to understand the One Vehicle. Mahakashyapa, Katyayana, and Subhuti comprise the intermediate category. They require the preaching of parables, such as the parable of the burning house in Chapter 3, in order to comprehend the One Vehicle.

In the Lotus Sutra, Mahakashyapa, along with Subhuti, Katyayana, and Maudgalyayana all express their joy at hearing the teaching of the One Vehicle in Chapter 4. These four disciples then tell the Buddhist version of the parable of the prodigal son in that same chapter. In chapter five, the Buddha addresses the parable of the herbs to these four. In Chapter 6, the Buddha predicts the future buddhahood of these four disciples beginning with Mahakashyapa, who he announces will become Light Tathagata of the world Light Virtue.
Lotus World: An Illustrated Guide to the Gohonzon

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month concluded The Simile of Herbs chapter, it’s time for the Assurance of Future Buddhahood for Maha-Kasyapa.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, having sung these gathas, said to the great multitude [of bhiksus]:

This Maha-Kasyapa, a disciple of mine, will see three hundred billions of Buddhas, of World-Honored Ones, make offerings to them, respect them, honor them, praise them, and expound an innumerable number of their great teachings in his future life. After that, on the final stage of his physical existence, he will become a Buddha, called Light, 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. His world will be called Light-Virtue; and the kalpa in which he will become that Buddha, Great-Adornment. The duration of the life of that Buddha will be twelve small kalpas. His right teachings will be preserved for twenty small kalpas, and the counterfeit of his right teachings will be preserved also for twenty small kalpas. His world will be adorned, and not be defiled with tile-pieces, rubble, thorns or dirt. The ground [of his world] will be even, and devoid of pits and mounds. It will be made of lapis lazuli. Jeweled trees will stand in lines, and the roads will be marked off by ropes of gold. Jeweled flowers will be strewn all over the ground, and the ground will be purified. Many hundreds of thousands of millions of Bodhisattvas and innumerable Sravakas will live in that world. Although Mara and his followers also will live there, they will not do any evil but protect the teachings of the Buddha.

The Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers one reason why the Buddha’s contemporary disciples face a different future than those who come after.

I can’t stress this enough that we who practice today have been given a promise that fundamentally is greater than any promise given to the contemporary disciples of the Buddha. With this promise by the Buddha those who practice today actually have a stronger more direct connection to the Buddha than those who lived during the lifetime of the Buddha. We will, by the merit of our practice of the Lotus Sutra, be able to be present with Shakyamuni, Many Treasures as well as all the replica Buddhas. For anyone who practices the Lotus Sutra to lament they were not born in the time of the Buddha some 2500 years ago it will be like saying they would rather have a lesser teaching of the Buddha than the fundamental truth of all Buddhas as revealed in the Lotus Sutra.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month described the grownups among the plants, it’s time to conclude the chapter.

As previously stated, Kasyapa, I expound the Dharma
And lead human flowers
[To the fruits of Buddhahood]
Just as the large cloud waters all flowers
By a rain of the same taste
And causes them to bear their fruits.

Kasyapa, know this!
I reveal the enlightenment of the Buddha
With various stories of previous lives,
With various parables and similes,
That is, with various expedients.
All the other Buddhas do the same.

Now I will tell you[, Sravakas,]
The most important truth.
You, Sravakas,
Have not yet attained [true] extinction.
What you are now practicing is
The Way of Bodhisattvas.
Study and practice it continuously,
And you will become Buddhas.

The Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this conclusion on the Simile of Herbs:

Concerning the Simile of the Herbs, it should be pointed out that all the plants live in harmony with each other. They are grouped together, even as they each grew according to their unique nature. Some would grow near mountains, some near the river, some in between. Yet they all grew together. Over and over in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha either refers to groups of people, alludes to groups of people or addresses groups of people. Even when he addresses specific individuals he does so as representatives for people of similar capacities. We each are important to the greater whole that makes up the entire universe as well as our local Sangha. Every person brings a unique perspective and understanding to the practice of Buddhism. The entire Sangha grows stronger by the contributions of each person, just as society is made stronger when all people actively participate.

It takes the combined efforts of many people to ensure that our society reflects the ideas and beliefs of Buddhism, which in turn will help eliminate the suffering that is around us in the world today.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Having last month summarized how this simile reveals the dharma it’s time to describe the grownups among the plants before we conclude the chapter.

Both the Sravakas and the cause-knowers,
Who live in mountains or forests,
Who have reached the final stage
of their physical existence,
And who have attained enlightenment by hearing the Dharma,
May be likened to the herbs
Which have already grown up.

The Bodhisattvas
Who resolve to seek wisdom,
Who understand the triple world,
And who seek the most excellent vehicle,
May be likened to the short trees
Which have already grown up.

Those who practice dhyana,
Who have supernatural powers,
Who have great joy
When they hear that all things are insubstantial,
And who save all living beings
By emitting innumerable rays of light,
May be likened to the tall trees
Which have already grown up.

Ah, for a chance to be a real grownup.

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Last month, I covered the differentiation of those who received the rain of the Dharma. Now to summarize:

I now expediently reveal the Dharma with this simile.
I expound one truth with various discourses.
This simile is only one of the expedients
Employed by my wisdom,
Just as a drop of sea water is
Part of the great ocean.

Though I water all living beings of the world
With the same rain of the Dharma,
They practice the teachings
Of the same taste differently
According to their capacities,
Just as the herbs and trees
In thickets and forests
Grew gradually according to their species.

The Buddhas always expound
The teachings of the same taste
In order to cause all living beings of the world
To understand the Dharma.
Those who practice the teachings continuously
Will obtain [ various fruits of] enlightenment.

Underline Those who practice the teachings continuously/ Will obtain [various fruits of] enlightenment.

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Last month covered how those who hear the Dharma will reach various stages according to their capacities. This month we have examples of this differentiation.

Those who live among gods and men,
Or those who live with a wheel-turning-holy-king,
Or with King Sakra or with King Brahman,
May be likened to the small herbs.

Those who know the Dharma-without-asravas,
Who attained Nirvana,
And who obtained the six supernatural powers,
Including the three major supernatural powers,
May be likened to the middle herbs.
So may those who live alone in mountains or forests,
Who practice dhyana-concentrations,
And who attained the enlightenment of cause-knowers.

Those who seek the stage of the World-Honored One,
Who practice endeavors and concentration of mind,
And who wish to become Buddhas,
May be likened to the large herbs.

My sons [, that is, the Bodhisattvas]
Who seek
The enlightenment of the Buddha exclusively,
Who believe that they will become Buddhas definitely,
And who have compassion towards others,
May be likened to the short trees.

The Bodhisattvas
Who turn the irrevocable wheel of the Dharma
By their supernatural powers,
And who save many thousands of myriads
Of millions of living beings,
May be likened to the tall trees.

Although my teachings are of the same content to anyone
Just as the rain is of the same taste,
The hearers receive my teachings differently
According to their capacities
Just as the plants receive
Different amounts of the rain water.

It always inspires me to know that “Those who live among gods and men,/Or those who live with a wheel-turning-holy-king,/Or with King Sakra or with King Brahman,/May be likened to the small herbs.” Me and the gods on the same level. And, of course, I’m just as inspired by the larger plants.

All from the teachings of the same content.

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

The Simile of the Herbs (I always pronounce the “h”) is my favorite of the seven parables in the Lotus Sutra. And beyond the actual parable the message of this chapter is among the most important in my view:

I see all living beings equally.
I have no partiality for them.
There is not ‘this one’ or ‘that one’ to me.
I transcend love and hatred.

I am attached to nothing.
I am hindered by nothing.
I always expound the Dharma
To all living beings equally.
I expound the Dharma to many
In the same way as to one.

I always expound the Dharma.
I do nothing else.
I am not tired of expounding the Dharma
While I go or come or sit or stand.
I expound the Dharma to all living beings
Just as the rain waters all the earth.

I am not tired of giving
The rain of the Dharma to all living beings.
I have no partiality for them,
Whether they are noble or mean,
Whether they observe or violate the precepts,
Whether they live a monastic life or not,
Whether they have right or wrong views,
Whether they are clever or dull.

Those who hear the Dharma from me
Will reach various stages
[Of enlightenment]
According to their capacities.

The equality despite the difference.

Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood.

Yesterday concluded with:

The Buddhas expound the Dharma
In perfect freedom.
Knowing the various desires and dispositions
Of all living beings,
They expound the Dharma
With innumerable parables
And with innumerable similes
According to their capacities.

And in the Simile of the Herbs, Sakyamuni clarifies that there is only one Dharma:

Kasyapa, know this! I, the Tathagata, am like the cloud. I appeared in this world just as the large cloud rose. I expounded the Dharma to gods, men and asuras of the world with a loud voice just as the large cloud covered all the one thousand million Sumeru-worlds. I said to the great multitude, ‘I am 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. I will cause all living beings to cross [the ocean of birth and death] if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to emancipate themselves [from suffering] if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to have peace of mind if they have not yet done so. I will cause them to attain Nirvana if they have not yet done so. I know their present lives as they are, and also their future lives as they will be. I know all. I see all. I know the Way. I have opened the Way. I will expound the Way. Gods, men and asuras! Come and hear the Dharma!’

And while the Buddha “expounded to them an innumerable variety of teachings according to their capacities in order to cause them to rejoice and receive benefits with pleasure” it was all one content:

The various teachings I expound are of the same content, of the same taste. Those who emancipate themselves [from the bonds of existence,] from illusions, and from birth and death, will finally obtain the knowledge of the equality and differences of all things. But those who hear or keep my teachings or read or recite the sutras in which my teachings are expounded, or act according to my teachings, do not know the merits that they will be able to obtain by these practices. Why is that? It is because only I know their capacities, appearances, entities and natures. Only I know what teachings they have in memory, what teachings they have in mind, what teachings they practice, how they memorize the teachings, how they think of the teachings, how they practice the teachings, for what purpose they memorize the teachings, for what purpose they think of the teachings, for what purpose they practice the teachings, and for what purpose they keep what teachings. Only I see clearly and without hindrance that they are at various stages [of enlightenment]. I know this, but they do not know just as the trees and grasses including herbs in the thickets and forests do not know whether they are superior or middle or inferior. My teachings are of the same content, of the same taste. Those who emancipate themselves [from the bonds of existence,] from illusions, and from birth and death, will finally attain Nirvana, that is, eternal tranquility or extinction. They will be able to return to the state of the Void.