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.

Having last month covered the teachings of those sramaneras Bodhisattvas, we come to the Buddha’s intent and the setup before the Parable of the Magic City.

Bhiksus! I will collect Bodhisattvas and Sravakas and expound this sutra to them when I realize that the time of my Nirvana is drawing near, that the living beings have become pure in heart, that they can understand the truth of the Void by firm faith, and that they have already entered deep into dhyana-concentration. No one in the world can attain [true] extinction by the two vehicles. [True] extinction can be attained only by the One Buddha-Vehicle.

Bhiksus, know this! I can enter skillfully deep into the natures of all living beings. Because I saw that they wished to hear the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle and that they were deeply attached to the five desires, I expounded the teaching of Nirvana to them. When they heard that teaching, they received it by faith.

The Daily Dharma from March 17, 2016, offers this:

Bhikṣus, know this! I can enter skillfully deep into the natures of all living beings. Because I saw that they wished to hear the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle and that they were deeply attached to the five desires, I expounded the teaching of Nirvāṇa to them. When they heard that teaching, they received it by faith.

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.

Having last month covered Sakyamuni’s big reveal about the sixteen princes who became Bodhisattvas, we move to the teachings of those sramaneras Bodhisattvas.

Bhiksus! When we were sramaneras, we each taught many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings who followed me, heard the Dharma from me in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Some of them are still in Sravakahood. I now teach them the Way to Anuttara-samyak­sambodhi. They will be able to enter the Way to Buddhahood by my teaching, but not immediately because the wisdom of the Tathagata is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. Those living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, whom I taught [when I was a sramanera], included you bhiksus and those who will be reborn as my disciples in Sravakahood after my extinction. My disciples who do not hear this sutra or know the practices of Bodhisattvas, after my extinction will make a conception of extinction by the merits they will have accumulated by themselves, and enter into Nirvana as they conceive it. At that time I shall be a Buddha of another name in another world. Those who will enter into Nirvana as they conceive it will be able [to be reborn] in the world I shall live in, seek the wisdom of the Buddha, and hear this sutra. They will be able to attain [true] extinction only by the Vehicle of the Buddha in that world because there is no other vehicle except when the Tathagatas expound the Dharma with expedients.

And again, there is no other vehicle.

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.

Having last month covered Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathagata emerging from his samadhi after practicing dhyana-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas, we move on to Sakyamuni’s big reveal about the sixteen princes who became Bodhisattvas.

The Buddha said to the bhiksus:

These sixteen Bodhisattvas willingly expounded the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Each of them taught six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings were always accompanied by the Bodhisattva[, by whom they were taught,] in their consecutive existences. [In each of their consecutive existences,] they heard the Dharma from him, and understood it by faith. By the merits [they had thus accumulated], they were given a privilege to see four billion Buddhas, that is, four billion World­-Honored Ones. They have not yet seen all of them.

Bhiksus! Now I will tell you. The sixteen sramaneras, who were the disciples of that Buddha, have already attained Anuttara­-samyak-sambodhi. They now expound the Dharma in the worlds of the ten quarters. They have many hundreds of thousands of billions of attendants consisting of Bodhisattvas and Sravakas. Two of the sramaneras are now Buddhas in the east. One of them is called Aksobhya. He is in the World of Joy. The other is called Sumeru-Peak. Another couple of the sramaneras are now Buddhas in the southeast, called Lion-Voice and Lion-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the south, called Sky-Dwelling and Eternal-Extinction. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the southwest, called Emperor-Form and Brahma-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the west, called Amitayus and Saving-All-Worlds-From-Suffering. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the northwest, called Tamalapattracandana­Fragrance-Supernatural-Power and Sumeru-Form. Another couple of them are now Buddhas in the north, called Cloud-Freedom and Cloud-Freedom-King. One of the remaining two is now a Buddha in the northeast called Eliminating-Fear-Of-All-Worlds. The other one, that is, the sixteenth sramanera is I, Sakyamuni Buddha. I attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in this Saha-World.

And my mind wanders and wonders where is the the Saha World in a firmament in which two buddhas are each in the East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest and North and one is in the Northeast? Is the Saha World of the 16th prince, Sakyamuni Buddha, in the Northeast with Eliminating-Fear-Of-All-Worlds Buddha or in the nadir or the zenith or, for that matter, the center of the universe?

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.

Last month covered the long wait before Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathagata expounded the Lotus Sutra and the job the princes took up of expounding the Dharma while Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathagata sat in dhyana-concentration for 84,000 kalkpas.

Having practised dhyana-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas, the Buddha emerged from his samadhi, came back to his seat of the Dharma, sat quietly, and said to the great multitude, ‘These sixteen Bodhisattva-sramaneras are rare. Their sense organs are keen; and their wisdom, bright. In their previous existence, they already made offerings to many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, performed brahma practices under those Buddhas, kept the wisdom of those Buddhas, showed it to the living beings [of the worlds of those Buddhas], and caused them to enter into it. All of you! Approach these [Bodhisattva­sramaneras] from time to time and make offerings to them! Why is that? It is because anyone, be he a Sravaka or a Pratyekabuddha or a Bodhisattva, who believes this sutra expounded by these sixteen Bodhisattvas, keeps it, and does not slander it, will be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, that is, the wisdom of the Tathagata.’

The Daily Dharma of Nov. 9, 2016, offers this:

Anyone, be he a Śrāvaka or a Pratyekabuddha or a Bodhisattva, who believes this sūtra expounded by these sixteen Bodhisattvas, keeps it, and does not slander it, will be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi, that is, the wisdom of the Tathāgata.

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.

Last month I discussed the initial turning of the wheel of the Dharma by Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathagata and the plea of the 16 princes to go beyond the teaching for Sravakas and to expound the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi!

The Buddha assented to the appeal of the sramaneras, but it was twenty thousand kalpas afterwards that he expounded to the four kinds of devotees the sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

When the Buddha completed the expounding of this sutra, the sixteen sramaneras kept, recited and understood this sutra in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. The sixteen sramaneras, [ who were] Bodhisattvas, received this sutra by faith. Some Sravakas understood it by faith, but the other Sravakas and other living beings, thousands of billions in number, doubted it.

It took the Buddha eight thousand kalpas to complete the expounding of this sutra. During that time he did not take a rest. Having completed the expounding of this sutra, the Buddha entered a quiet room and practiced dhyana-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Seeing him practicing dhyana­concentration quietly in the room, the sixteen Bodhisattva­sramaneras each sat on a seat of the Dharma, expounded the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees for eighty-four thousand kalpas, and saved six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. They showed them the Way, taught them, benefited them, caused them to rejoice and to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sarµbodhi.

Bodhisattvas practice the Six Perfections or pāramitās. One of those is patience.

It took the Buddha 20,000 kalpas before he started expounding the Lotus Sutra and it took another 8,000 kalpas to complete.

But more to the point is this quote from the Lecture on the Lotus Sutra:

Our practice includes the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Twelve-Link Chain of Causation, the Six Paramitas, and it is all contained in the Lotus Sutra and the Odaimoku of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. When we strive to live according to the fundamental truths of Buddhism and follow the teachings in the Lotus Sutra by chanting the sutra and the Odaimoku, we create a life that manifests our inherent Buddha potential and allows us to live a life of indestructible happiness.
Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

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.

Yesterday and the day before’s discussions of the 16 princes set the stage for the big reveal on the final day of Chapter 7. But before I get to that I want to underline what constituted the initial turning of the wheel of the Dharma.

Thereupon Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathagata, having assented to the appeals made by the Brahman-heavenly­kings of the worlds of the ten quarters and also by the sixteen princes, turned the wheel of the teaching [of the four truths] three times, making twelve proclamations altogether. The wheel of this teaching could not be turned by any other one in the world, be he a sramana, a brahmana, a god, Mara or Brahman. The Buddha said, ‘This is suffering. This is the cause of suffering. This is extinction of suffering. This is the Way to extinction of suffering.’

Then he expounded the teaching of the twelve causes, saying, ‘Ignorance causes predisposition. Predisposition causes consciousness. Consciousness causes name-and-form. Name­and-form causes the six sense organs. The six sense organs cause impression. Impression causes feeling. Feeling causes craving. Craving causes grasping. Grasping causes existence. Existence causes birth. Birth causes aging-and-death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. When ignorance is eliminated, predisposition is eliminated. When predisposition is eliminated, consciousness is eliminated. When consciousness is eliminated, name-and-form is eliminated. When name-and-form is eliminated, the six sense organs are eliminated. When the six sense organs are eliminated, impression is eliminated. When impression is eliminated, feeling is eliminated. When feeling is eliminated, craving is eliminated. When craving is eliminated, grasping is eliminated. When grasping is eliminated, existence is eliminated. When existence is eliminated, birth is eliminated. When birth is eliminated, aging-and-death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation are eliminated.’

When the Buddha expounded these teachings to the great multitude of gods and men, six hundred billion nayuta men emancipated themselves from asravas, and obtained profound and wonderful dhyana-concentrations, the six supernatural powers including the three major supernatural powers, and the eight emancipations because they gave up wrong views. At his second, third and fourth expoundings of these teachings also, thousands of billions of nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges, emancipated themselves from asravas because they gave up wrong views. [They became Sravakas.] Those who became Sravakas thereafter were also innumerable, uncountable.

And this was all fine and good and what Buddhas do, but the 16 princes wanted more.

The sixteen princes were young boys at that time. They renounced the world and became sramaneras. Their sense organs were keen; and their wisdom, bright. They had already made offerings to hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas, performed brahma practices, and sought Anuttara-samyak­sambodhi in their previous existence. They said to the Buddha simultaneously, ‘World-Honored One! All these Sravakas of great virtue, many thousands of billions in number, have already done [what they should do]. World-Honored One! Expound to us the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi! If we hear that teaching, we will study and practice it. World-Honored One! We wish to have the insight of the Tathagata. You know what we have deep in our minds.’

Young boys reminding their father that half-measures won’t return full results.

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.

Brahman-heavenly-kings of the five hundred billion worlds in each of the 10 directions (5,000 hundred billion worlds in all) each pleaded for Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha to turn the wheel of the Dharma:

World-Honored One, turn the wheel of the Dharma,
Beat the drum of the Dharma as sweet as nectar,
Save the suffering beings,
And show them the way to Nirvana!

Assent to our appeal!
You studied the Dharma for innumerable kalpas.
Expound it with your exceedingly wonderful voice
Out of your compassion towards us!

And just as was mentioned yesterday, that it is the light of the Buddha’s wisdom that illumines the darkness, we are reminded today:

The wheel of this teaching could not be turned by any other one in the world, be he a sramara, a brahmara, a god, Mara or Brahman.

Imagine the darkness suddenly gone:

“When the Buddha expounded these teachings to the great multitude of gods and men, six hundred billion nayuta men emancipated themselves from asravas, and obtained profound and wonderful dhyana-concentrations, the six supernatural powers including the three major supernatural powers, and the eight emancipations because they gave up wrong views. At his second, third and fourth expoundings of these teachings also, thousands of billions of nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges, emancipated themselves from asravas because they gave up wrong views. [They became Sravakas.] Those who became Sravakas thereafter were also innumerable, uncountable.

And with that, I set up the discussion over the next several months of the role of the 16 young boys who renounce the world where they are princes and become novice followers of Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Buddha.

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 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.

Last month, I promised to touch on the debt owed to the 16 young sramanera bodhisattvas, who convinced the Buddha to expound the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

The Buddha assented to the appeal of the sramaneras, but it was twenty thousand kalpas afterwards that he expounded to the four kinds of devotees the sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

When the Buddha completed the expounding of this sutra, the sixteen sramaneras kept, recited and understood this sutra in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. The sixteen sramaneras, [ who were] Bodhisattvas, received this sutra by faith. Some Sravakas understood it by faith, but the other Sravakas and other living beings, thousands of billions in number, doubted it.

It took the Buddha eight thousand kalpas to complete the expounding of this sutra. During that time he did not take a rest. Having completed the expounding of this sutra, the Buddha entered a quiet room and practiced dhyana-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas. Seeing him practicing dhyana­concentration quietly in the room, the sixteen Bodhisattva­sramaneras each sat on a seat of the Dharma, expounded the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to the four kinds of devotees for eighty-four thousand kalpas, and saved six hundred billion nayutas of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. They showed them the Way, taught them, benefited them, caused them to rejoice and to aspire for Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

And most important, Sakyamuni was one of the srameaneras.

Bhiksus! When we were sramaneras, we each taught many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings, that is, as many living beings as there are sands in the River Ganges. Those living beings who followed me, heard the Dharma from me in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Some of them are still in Sravakahood. I now teach them the Way to Anuttara-samyak­sambodhi. They will be able to enter the Way to Buddhahood by my teaching, but not immediately because the wisdom of the Tathagata is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. Those living beings as many as there are sands in the River Ganges, whom I taught [ when I was a sramanera], included you bhiksus and those who will be reborn as my disciples in Sravakahood after my extinction. My disciples who do not hear this sitra or know the practices of Bodhisattvas, after my extinction will make a conception of extinction by the merits they will have accumulated by themselves, and enter into Nirvana as they conceive it. At that time I shall be a Buddha of another name in another world. Those who will enter into Nirvana as they conceive it will be able [to be reborn] in the world I shall live in, seek the wisdom of the Buddha, and hear this sutra. They will be able to attain [true] extinction only by the Vehicle of the Buddha in that world because there is no other vehicle except when the Tathagatas expound the Dharma with expedients.

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.

Last month, I started at the end of the chapter with Sakyamuni’s explanation of the Magic City created in the form of the teaching of Nirvana to give a rest to the travelers on the long and arduous road of birth and death.

Today, I’ll begin with the turning of the wheel by Great-Universal-Wisdom-Excellence Tathagata:

The wheel of this teaching could not be turned by any other one in the world, be he a sramana, a brahmana, a god, Mara or Brahman. The Buddha said, ‘This is suffering. This is the cause of suffering. This is extinction of suffering. This is the Way to extinction of suffering.’

Then he expounded the teaching of the twelve causes, saying, ‘Ignorance causes predisposition. Predisposition causes consciousness. Consciousness causes name-and-form. Name­and-form causes the six sense organs. The six sense organs cause impression. Impression causes feeling. Feeling causes craving. Craving causes grasping. Grasping causes existence. Existence causes birth. Birth causes aging-and-death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation. When ignorance is eliminated, predisposition is eliminated. When predisposition is eliminated, consciousness is eliminated. When consciousness is eliminated, name-and-form is eliminated. When name-and-form is eliminated, the six sense organs are eliminated. When the six sense organs are eliminated, impression is eliminated. When impression is eliminated, feeling is eliminated. When feeling is eliminated, craving is eliminated. When craving is eliminated, grasping is eliminated. When grasping is eliminated, existence is eliminated. When existence is eliminated, birth is eliminated. When birth is eliminated, aging-and-death, grief, sorrow, suffering and lamentation are eliminated.’

As a result the great multitude of gods and men emancipated themselves because they gave up wrong views. But that wasn’t enough for the 16 princes.

They said to the Buddha simultaneously, ‘World-Honored One! All these Sravakas of great virtue, many thousands of billions in number, have already done [what they should do]. World-Honored One! Expound to us the teaching of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi! If we hear that teaching, we will study and practice it. World-Honored One! We wish to have the insight of the Tathagata. You know what we have deep in our minds.’ …

The Buddha assented to the appeal of the sramaneras, but it was twenty thousand kalpas afterwards that he expounded to the four kinds of devotees the sutra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

The influence of sons on their father is a recurring theme in the Lotus Sutra. I’ll save for next month the debt owed to the 16 young sramanera bodhisattvas.