Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Bodhisattva Never-Despising’s practice has always intrigued me. I could imagine myself in another life being this guy:

There lived arrogant bhiksus in the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathagata, that is, after the end of the age of his right teachings which had come immediately after his extinction. [Those arrogant bhiksus] were powerful. At that time there lived a Bodhisattva called Never­Despising.’ He took the form of a bhiksus.

Great-Power-Obtainer! Why was this bhiksu called Never­Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas or upasikas, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

He did not read or recite sutras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’

And it is that universal quality of Bodhisattva Never-Despising’s practice that the Missionary Department of Nichiren Shu is tapping into as it seeks ways to honor the upcoming 800th anniversary of Nichiren Shonin’s birth in 2021. Here’s the text of an article that appeared in the Aug. 1, 2016, issue of Nichiren Shu News:

“You’re a Buddha” can also work with events anywhere in the world. The artwork is freely available to all Nichiren Shu temples. The International Section will help create special versions of the poster or t-shirt artwork for special events or temple anniversaries. We sincerely hope you can use the materials the Missionary Department has created and welcome your requests.

As my contribution, I took artwork on the Nichiren Shu website in Japan and created this animation:

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Having discussed yesterday the merits received by the “men or women who keep, read, recite, expound or copy this sutra” it’s appropriate to note the example of the Bodhisattva who posed as a Bhisku and wandered about bowing to everyone and saying, “You will become Buddhas.”

When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gathas of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gathas, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years. He expounded this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to many people [in his prolonged life]. The arrogant bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas, that is, the four kinds of devotees who had abused him and caused him to be called Never-Despising, saw that he had obtained great supernatural powers, the power of eloquence, and the great power of good tranquility. Having seen all this, and having heard the Dharma from him, they took faith in him, and followed him.

Something all can appreciate: The great power of good tranquility

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Having put off discussing Never Despising Bodhisattva last month and the month before, I begin here:

There lived arrogant bhiksu in the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathagata, that is, after the end of the age of his right teachings which had come immediately after his extinction. [Those arrogant bhiksus] were powerful. At that time there lived a Bodhisattva called Never­Despising. He took the form of a bhiksu.

A Bodhisattva who took the form of a bhiksu. That’s an important fact that underscores the Bodhisattva vow: Sentient beings are innumerable; I vow to save them all. In this case, by choosing to be a bhiksu and suffering the abuse of powerful foes.

Great-Power-Obtainer! Why was this bhiksu called Never-­Despising? lt was because, every time he saw bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas or upasikas, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

He did not read or recite sutras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’

The headquarters of Nichiren Shu in Japan is preparing for the 800th anniversary of his birth in 2022 and recently unveiled a very Never-­Despising greeting for visitors to their website.

Here’s my adaptation of the greeting:

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

Last month I focused the idea that the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma can be heard only once in a very long time because the Buddhas expound this sutra only once. Having heard it, we should have no doubts.

Before I get into the story of Never Despising Bodhisattva as a previous life of Sakyamuni and eventually discuss the start of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tahagatas, I want to reiterate what is taught before the rare teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

Great-Power-Obtainer! Innumerable, limitless, inconceivable, asamkhya kalpas ago, there lived a Buddha called Powerful­Voice-King, 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 World­Honored One. The kalpa in which he lived was called Free-From­Decay; and his world, Great-Achievement. Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara­samyak-sambodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

Rare it is to have the opportunity to keep, read, recite, expound or copy the Lotus Sutra.

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

My self-imposed single-topic restriction leaves me wondering how to approach both the story of Never-Despising Bodhisattva as a previous life of Sakyamuni and the next chapter where we see the reaction of Sakyamuni to the vow of the Bodhisattvas from Underground to expound the Lotus Sutra everywhere after Sakyamuni’s extinction.

And having no obvious choice, I’ll ignore all of that and instead underscore what I see as the bottom line of the tale of Never-Despising Bodhisattva:

This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sutra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sutra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sutra].

He should expound this sutra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

No doubts here.

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

What struck me today in reading about this long-long-long-long ago Buddha called Powerful-Voice-King was the use of the Three Vehicles by a Buddha:

Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

For me, this underlined the idea that to hear the Lotus Sutra is something special.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sutra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sutra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sutra].

He should expound this sutra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Of course, the main point of this chapter is the story of Never Despising, a bodhisattva who took on the form of a bhiksu in “the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathagata.”

He did not read or recite sutras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’

He was not well-received and, instead, was routinely abused. But he never despaired or became angry.

When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gathas of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gathas, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years. He expounded this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to many people [in his prolonged life]. The arrogant bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas, that is, the four kind of devotees who had abused him and caused him to be called Never-Despising, saw that he had obtained great supernatural powers, the power of eloquence, and the great power of good tranquility. Having seen all this, and having heard the Dharma from him, they took faith in him, and followed him.

And the kicker to the story:

The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sutra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sutra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi quickly.

Again we learn of the recurring relationship between the Buddha and his followers:

The four kinds of devotees who always abused [me, who was] that Bodhisattva at that time are now present here in this congregation in the persons of the five hundred Bodhisattvas including Bhadrapala, the five hundred bhiksunis including Lion-Moon, and the five hundred upasakas including Thinking-Of-Buddha. Now they do not falter in seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

Today’s reading concludes with the opening of Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathagathas, in which we have the Bodhisattvas who emerged from the sky below the Saha-World vowing to uphold the Lotus Sutra and Sakyamuni and all of his replicas demonstrating their appreciation:

Thereupon the World-Honored One displayed his great supernatural powers in the presence of the multitude, which included not only the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas who had already lived in this Saha-World [before the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from underground], headed by Manjusri, but also bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. He stretched out his broad and long tongue upwards until the tip of it reached the World of Brahman. Then he emitted rays of light with an immeasurable variety of colors from his pores. The light illumined all the worlds of the ten quarters. The Buddhas who were sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees also stretched out their broad and long tongue and emitted innumerable rays of light. Sakyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas under the jeweled trees displayed these upernatural powers of theirs for one hundred thousand years.

Recently I’ve been reading Nichiren’s Senji-sho, Selecting the Right Time, and came across a footnote that explains the tongues:

Having a long tongue is one of the Buddha’s 32 physical excellences, considered a sign of truly spoken words.

What happens next was even more impressive:

Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers. These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways. By the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, the living beings of those worlds, including gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, saw the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Saha-World. They also saw Sakyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathagata on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundred of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas and the four kind of devotees were surrounding Sakyamuni Buddha respectfully. Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

The story of Never-Despising Bodhistattva begins with some details about the Buddha of that time, Powerful-Voice-King, and his expedient teachings:

Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

One point that stood out in today’s reading is the fact that Never-Despising Bodhisattva “took the form of a bhiksu” and it was as a bhiksu that he was treated so poorly by those he bowed to the four kinds of devotees and said:

I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.

It was while Never-Despising Bodhisattva was on his deathbed that he heard the Lotus Sutra from a voice in the sky. And just as was explained in the Chapter 19, The Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified.

Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years. He expounded this Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma to many people [in his prolonged life]. The arrogant bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas, that is, the four kinds of devotees who had abused him and caused him to be called Never-Despising, saw that he had obtained great supernatural powers, the power of eloquence, and the great power of good tranquility. Having seen all this, and having heard the Dharma from him, they took faith in him, and followed him.

Of course the punch line of this tale is that Never-Despising Bodhisattva was Sakyamuni in that previous life and the four types of believers then are in the crowd hearing the Lotus Sutra today.

One final point:

This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sutra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this satra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sutra].

He should expound this sutra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

In the next chapter, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathagatas, we get a vivid demonstration of that power:

Thereupon the World-Honored One displayed his great supernatural powers in the presence of the multitude, which included not only the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas who had already lived in this Saha-World [before the arrival of the Bodhisattvas from underground], headed by Manjusri, but also bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimaras, mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings. He stretched out his broad and long tongue upwards until the tip of it reached the World of Brahman. Then he emitted rays of light with an immeasurable variety of colors from his pores. The light illumined all the worlds of the ten quarters. The Buddhas who were sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees also stretched out their broad and long tongues and emitted innumerable rays of light. Sakyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas under the jeweled trees displayed these supernatural powers of theirs for one hundred thousand years. Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers. These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways. By the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, the living beings of those worlds, including gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, saw the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Saha-World. They also saw Sakyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathagata on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundred of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas and the four kinds of devotees were surrounding Sakyamuni Buddha respectfully. Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

The teachings of Powerful-Voice-King Buddha “innumerable, limitless, inconceivable, asamkhya kalpas ago”:

Powerful-Voice-King Buddha expounded the Dharma to the gods, men and asuras of his world. To those who were seeking Sravakahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the four truths, saved them from birth, old age, disease and death, and caused them to attain Nirvana. To those who were seeking Pratyekabuddhahood, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the twelve causes. To the Bodhisattvas who were seeking Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, he expounded the teaching suitable for them, that is, the teaching of the six paramitas, and caused them to obtain the wisdom of the Buddha.

In the age of the counterfeit of the right teachings of the first Powerful-Voice-King Tathagata there lived a Bodhisattva called Never Despising who took the form of a bhiksu.

He did not read or recite sutras. He only bowed to the four kinds of devotees. When he saw them in the distance, he went to them on purpose, bowed to them, and praised them, saying, ‘I do not despise you because you can become Buddhas.’

I want to print up business cards to hand out. Perhaps something like this:

When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gathas of the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gathas, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years.

Putting those years to good use:

This Never-Despising Bodhisattva-mahasattva made offerings to those Buddhas, respected them, honored them, praised them, and planted the roots of good. After that, he was able to meet thousands of billions of Buddhas. He also expounded this sutra under those Buddhas. By the merits he had accumulated in this way, he was able to become a Buddha.

Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sutra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sutra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi quickly.

And in gathas:

Never-Despising [Bodhisattva] at that time
Was myself.
The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.

This is a one-time opportunity:

This Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sutra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sutra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sutra].

He should expound this sutra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightemnent of the Buddha.

In the following chapter, the Bodhisattvas who sprung up from underground vow to expound the Lotus Sutra after the Buddha’s extinction, which prompts the Buddha and all of his replicas to put on a display of supernatural powers involving tongues and lights for 100,000 years.

Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers. These two sounds [of coughing and snapping] reverberated over the Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters, and the ground of those worlds quaked in the six ways. By the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, the living beings of those worlds, including gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, and mahoragas, men and nonhuman beings, saw the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Saha-World. They also saw Sakyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathagata on the lion-like seat in the stupa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundred of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahasattvas and the four kinds of devotees were surrounding Sakyamuni Buddha respectfully. Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

The two previous days covered how “Anyone [who keeps this sūtra] will he able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified” and the wonderful feats they will be able to do with those merits. And in Chapter 20 we hear the story of Never Despising Bodhisattva, someone who received those merits as a result of his efforts.

Why was this bhikṣu called Never-Despising? It was because, every time he saw bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇis, upāsakas or upāsikās, he bowed to them and praised them, saying, ‘I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why is that? It is because you will be able to practice the Way of Bodhisattvas and become Buddhas.’

He was rewarded:

Having kept all these gāthās, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years.

Never Despising Bodhisattva was Śākyamuni in a previous life:

If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.

And the arrogant bhikṣus who troubled Never Despising Bodhisattva:

The four kinds of devotees,
Who were attached to views at that time,
Were able to meet innumerable Buddhas
After they heard
The words of Never-Despising [Bodhisattva]:
“You will become Buddhas.”
They are now present here
In this congregation.

The rare good fortune to hear the Lotus Sutra:

This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sūtra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sūtra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sūtra].

He should expound this sūtra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

In Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas, we hear the vow of the Bodhisattvas who had sprung up from underground:

After your extinction, we will expound this sūtra in the worlds of the Buddhas of your replicas and also in the place from which you will pass away. Why is that? It is because we also wish to obtain this true, pure and great Dharma, to keep, read, recite, expound and copy [this sūtra], and to make offerings to it.

And in response Śākyamuni and all of the Buddhas present “stretched out their broad and long tongues and emitted innumerable rays of light” for 100,000 years.

Then they pulled back their tongues, coughed at the same time, and snapped their fingers.

Through the supernatural powers of the Buddhas, every living being in the worlds of the 10 quarters were able to see Śākyamuni, Many Treasures, the other Buddhas and the innumerable Bodhisattvas gathered in the Sahā world. The gods of the 10 quarters who witnessed this said:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”

Day 25 covers all of Chapter 20, Never-Despising Bodhisattva, and opens Chapter 21, The Supernatural Powers of the Tathāgatas.

The benefits of Never Despising:

“When he was about to pass away, he heard [from a voice] in the sky the twenty thousand billion gāthās of the Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, which had been expounded by the Powerful-Voice-King Buddha. Having kept all these gāthās, he was able to have his eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind purified as previously stated. Having his six sense-organs purified, he was able to prolong his life for two hundred billion nayuta more years.”

Never Despising Śākyamuni:

The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly.

Past and present:

The four kinds of devotees who always abused [me, who was] that Bodhisattva at that time are now present here in this congregation in the persons of the five hundred Bodhisattvas including Bhadrapāla, the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs including Lion-Moon, and the five hundred upāsakas including Thinking-Of-Buddha. Now they do not falter in seeking Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The bottom line:

Great-Power-Obtainer, know this! This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma benefits Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and causes them to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. Therefore, they should keep, read, recite, expound and copy this sūtra after my extinction.

Just one chance:

This Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma
Can be heard only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones,
Expound this sūtra only once
In hundreds of millions of billions of kalpas,
That is, in an inconceivable number of kalpas.

Therefore, anyone who hears this sūtra
And practices the Way
After my extinction,
Should have no doubts about [this sūtra].

He should expound this sūtra with all his heart;
Then he will be able to meet Buddhas
Throughout all his existences,
And quickly attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

In Chapter 21, the supernatural powers of the Buddha and his replicas allowed the living beings of the Buddha worlds of the 10 quarters to see “the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas sitting on the lion-like seats under the jeweled trees in this Sahā-World. They also saw Śākyamuni Buddha sitting by the side of Many-Treasures Tathāgata on the lion-like seat in the stūpa of treasures. They also saw that the many hundreds of thousands of billions of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas and the four kinds of devotees were surrounding Śākyamuni Buddha respectfully, Having seen all this, they had the greatest joy that they had ever had.”

At that time the gods in the skies [of the worlds of the ten quarters] said loudly:

“There is a world called Sahā beyond a distance of many hundreds of thousands of billions of asaṃkhyas of worlds. In that world lives a Buddha called Śākyamuni. He is now expounding to Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas a sūtra of the Great Vehicle, called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’ Rejoice from the bottom of your hearts! Bow and make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha!”