Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

As it was then, so it is today: We must understand the Buddha’s “sincere and infallible words by faith.”

The Bodhisattvas, headed by Maitreya, agreed three times and once more for good measure.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, seeing that they repeated their appeal even after they repeated it three times, said to them:

Listen to me attentively! I will tell you about my hidden core and supernatural powers. The gods, men and asuras in the world think that I, Sakyarnuni Buddha, left the palace of the Sakyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gaya, and attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi [forty and odd years ago]. To tell the truth, good men, it is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of kalpas since I became the Buddha.

And:

All this time I have been living in this Saha-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asamkhya worlds outside this world.

The choice of teachings:

Good men! When some people came to me, I saw the strength of the power of their faith and of the other faculties of theirs with the eyes of the Buddha. Then I named myself differently, and told them of the duration of my life differently, according to their capacities. I also said to them, ‘I shall enter into Nirvana.’ I expounded the Wonderful Dharma with these various expedients, and caused the living beings to rejoice.

Good men! When I saw that some people of little virtue and of much defilement were seeking the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, I told them, ‘I renounced my family when I was young, and attained Anuttara-samyak-sarnbodhi [forty and odd years ago].’ In reality I became the Buddha in the remotest past as I previously stated. I told them this as an expedient to teach them, to lead them into the Way to Buddhahood.

The Buddha’s perspective:

All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which I do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly.

PARABLE OF THE SKILLFUL PHYSICIAN AND HIS SICK CHILDREN

We are the Buddha’s delusional children:

He said to them, ‘Know this! Now I am old and decrepit. I shall die soon. I am leaving this good medicine here. Take it! Do not be afraid that you will not be cured!’

We take the medicine and wait to see the Buddha:

On hearing that they had recovered their health, the father returned home, and showed himself to them.

This Saha-World is the Pure World:

The [perverted] people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa [of destruction] is coming.”
In reality trus world of mine is peaceful.
It is filled with gods and men.

The gardens, forests and stately buildings
Are adorned with various treasures;
The jeweled trees have many flowers and fruits;
The living beings are enjoying themselves;
And the gods are beating heavenly drums,
Making various kinds of music,
And raining mandarava-flowers on the great multitude and me.

[This] pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the [perverted] people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

Because of their evil karmas,
These sinful people will not be able
To hear even the names of the Three Treasures
During asamkhya kalpas.

To those who have accumulated merits,
And who are gentle and upright,
And who see me living here,
Expounding the Dharma,
I say:
“The duration of my life is immeasurable.”
To those who see me after a long time,
I say, “It is difficult to see a Buddha.”

I can do all this by the power of my wisdom.
The light of my wisdom knows no bound.
The duration of my life is innumerable kalpas.
I obtained this longevity by ages of practices.

Underlying everything:

I am always thinking:
“How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?”

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

The Buddha’s bottom line:

Good men! Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!

He said to the great multitude again, “Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

He said to them once again, “Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

And three times plus one the Bodhisattvas pleaded to learn the answer to yesterday’s questions.

Thereupon the World-Honored One, seeing that they repeated their appeal even after they repeated it three times, said to them: “Listen to me attentively! I will tell you about my hidden core and supernatural powers. The gods, men and asuras in the world think that I, Śākyamuni Buddha, left the palace of the Śākyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gayā, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago]. To tell the truth, good men, it is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of kalpas since I became the Buddha.

During those uncountable many years:

All this time I have been living in this Sahā-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them.

This Sahā-World

I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly. The living beings are various in their natures, desires, deeds, thoughts and opinions. Therefore, I expounded the dharma with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, similes and discourses, in order to cause all living beings to plant the roots of good. I have never stopped doing what I should do. As I said before, it is very long since I became the Buddha. The duration of my life is innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas. I am always here. I shall never pass away.

And in gāthās:

The [perverted] people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa [of destruction] 11 is coming.”
In reality this world of mine is peaceful.
It is filled with gods and men.
The gardens, forests and stately buildings
Are adorned with various treasures;
The jeweled trees have many flowers and fruits;
The living beings are enjoying themselves;
And the gods are beating heavenly drums,
Making various kinds of music,
And raining mandārava-flowers on the great multitude and me.

[This] pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the [perverted] people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

THE PARABLE OF THE SKILLFUL PHYSICIAN AND HIS SICK CHILDREN

The Buddha said: “I am like the father. It is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of asaṃkhyas of kalpas since I became the Buddha. In order to save the [perverted] people, I say expediently, ‘I shall pass away.’ No one will accuse me of falsehood by the [common] law.

And in gāthās:

All of you, wise men!
Have no doubts about this!
Remove your doubts, have no more!
My words are true, not false.

The physician, who sent a man expediently
To tell his perverted sons
Of the death of their father in order to cure them,
Was not accused of falsehood although he was still alive.

In the same manner, I am the father of the world.
I am saving all living beings from suffering.

And most important:

I am always thinking:
“How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?”

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata

By faith:

Thereupon the Buddha said to the great multitude including Bodhisattvas and others, “Good men! Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

He said to the great multitude again, “Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

He said to them once again, “Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

Thereupon the great multitude of Bodhisattvas, headed by Maitreya, joined their hands together and said to the Buddha, “World-Honored one, tell us! We will receive your words by faith.”

They said this three times. Then they said once again, “Tell us! We will receive your words by faith.”

After explaining just all how inconceivably long it has been since becoming the Buddha, Śākyamuni explains:

All this time I have been living in this Sahā-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asaṃkhya worlds outside this world.

And he’ll be around for awhile more:

The duration of my life is innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas. I am always here. I shall never pass away.

(Parable of the Skillful Physician and His Sick Children)

This Triple World as it is:

All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which I do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly.

And in gāthās:

The [perverted] people think:
“This world is in a great fire.
The end of the kalpa [of destruction] is coming.”
In reality this world of mine is peaceful.
It is filled with gods and men.
The gardens, forests and stately buildings
Are adorned with various treasures;
The jeweled trees have many flowers and fruits;
The living beings are enjoying themselves;
And the gods are beating heavenly drums,
Making various kinds of music,
And raining mandārava-flowers on the great multitude and me.

[This] pure world of mine is indestructible.
But the [perverted] people think:
“It is full of sorrow, fear, and other sufferings.
It will soon burn away.”

The Buddha’s constant thought:

I am always thinking:
“How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed Way
And quickly become Buddhas?”

Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata.

So I’d like to just reprint the whole thing. Forced to forgo that, I’d start by pointing out the Buddha’s repeated warning:

Thereupon the Buddha said to the great multitude including Bodhisattvas and others, “Good men! Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

He said to the great multitude again, “Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

He said to them once again, “Understand my sincere and infallible words by faith!”

Is there any other way to believe than by faith?

“Listen to me attentively! I will tell you about my hidden core and supernatural powers. The gods, men and asuras in the world think that I, Śākyamuni Buddha, left the palace of the Śākyas, sat at the place of enlightenment not far from the City of Gayā, and attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi [forty and odd years ago]. To tell the truth, good men, it is many hundreds of thousands of billions of nayutas of kalpas since I became the Buddha.”

Continuing . . .

All this time I have been living in this Sahā-World, and teaching [the living beings of this world] by expounding the Dharma to them. I also have been leading and benefiting the living beings of one hundred thousand billion nayuta asaṃkhya worlds outside this world.

The reality of the Triple World:

All that I say is true, not false, because I see the triple world as it is. I see that the triple world is the world in which the living beings have neither birth nor death, that is to say, do not appear or disappear, that it is the world in which I do not appear or from which I do not disappear, that it is not real or unreal, and that it is not as it seems or as it does not seem. I do not see the triple world in the same way as [the living beings of] the triple world do. I see all this clearly and infallibly. The living beings are various in their natures, desires, deeds, thoughts and opinions. Therefore, I expounded the dharma with various stories of previous lives, with various parables, similes and discourses, in order to cause all living beings to plant the roots of good. I have never stopped doing what I should do. As I said before, it is very long since I became the Buddha. The duration of my life is innumerable, asaṃkhya kalpas. I am always here. I shall never pass away.

And in gāthās:

I know who is practicing the Way and who is not.
Therefore I expound various teachings
To all living beings
According to their capacities.

I am always thinking:
“How shall I cause all living beings
To enter into the unsurpassed
Way And quickly become Buddhas?

In March 2015, I began my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra Practice. Mornings I use the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England’s Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized, which provides the shindoku version of the Lotus Sutra divided into 32 parts. Each afternoon, I read aloud the same section of the Lotus Sutra in English. (For more on the value of reciting in shindoku, a reading of the Chinese translation of the Sūtra with a Japanese pronunciation, see The Dharma Sound blog post.)

For the first 40 32-day cycles I used the Third Edition of Senchu Murano’s English translation of the Lotus Sutra. Then I started using alternate translations. After 10 cycles through those, I have returned to Murano.

Beginning July 23, 2019, following my self-styled 21-Day Retreat Encouraged by Universal Sage Bodhisattva, I added the recitation of The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva (Reeves) following Day 32 and the recitation of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings before Day 1. Since I don’t have shindoku versions of these sutras, I am reading one half in the morning and the remainder in the evening.

Here I note what I read each day.

Lotus Sutra Text

Current Day

• Sutra of Innumerable Meanings
• Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory [Text]
• Day 2 completes Chapter 1, Introductory. [Text]
• Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients. [Text]
• Day 4 finishes Chapter 2, Expedients, and completes the First Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 5 begins Chapter 3, A Parable [Text]
• Day 6 continues Chapter 3, A Parable [Text]
• Day 7 concludes Chapter 3, A Parable, and begins Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith. [Text]
• Day 8 concludes Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith, and closes the Second Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 9 covers Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, and introduces Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood. [Text]
• Day 10 concludes Chapter 6, Assurance of Future Buddhahood, and opens Chapter 7, The Parable of a Magic City. [Text]
• Day 11 continues Chapter 7, The Parable of the Magic City [Text]
• 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. [Text]
• Day 13 covers all of Chapter 8, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Five Hundred Disciples. [Text]
• Day 14 covers all of Chapter 9, The Assurance of Future Buddhahood of the Śrāvakas Who Have Something More to Learn and the Śrāvakas Who Have Nothing More to Learn, and opens Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma. [Text]
• Day 15 concludes Chapter 10, The Teacher of the Dharma, and opens Chapter 11, Beholding the Stūpa of Treasures. [Text]
• Day 16 concludes Chapter 11, Beholding the Stupa of Treasures, and completes the Fourth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 17 covers all of Chapter 12, Devadatta, and opens Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra. [Text]
• Day 18 concludes Chapter 13, Encouragement for Keeping this Sutra, and begins Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices. [Text]
• Day 19 concludes Chapter 14, Peaceful Practices, and begins Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground. [Text]
• Day 20 completes Chapter 15, The Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground, and concludes the Fifth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 21 covers all of Chapter 16, The Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata. [Text]
• Day 22 covers all of Chapter 17, The Variety of Merits. [Text]
• Day 23 covers all of Chapter 18, The Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sutra, and opens Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma. [Text]
• Day 24 concludes Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma and closes the Sixth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas. [Text]
• Day 26 concludes Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, includes Chapter 22, Transmission, and introduces Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. [Text]
• Day 27 concludes Chapter 23, The Previous Life of Medicine-King Bodhisattva. [Text]
• Day 28 covers all of Chapter 24, Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva, and concludes the Seventh Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Day 29 covers all of Chapter 25, The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva. [Text]
• Day 30 covers all of Chapter 26, Dhāraṇīs [Text]
• Day 31 covers Chapter 27, King Wonderful-Adornment as the Previous Life of a Bodhisattva. [Text]
• Day 32 covers Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, closing the Eighth Volume of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. [Text]
• Contemplation of Universal Sage

(For more on what I’m doing and why, see this blog post.)