We usually think that Sakyamuni led a limited existence, was born in India over two millennia ago, and died there at the age of eighty. This is correct as far as history goes. But from the essential standpoint, such a limited existence is not the true form of Sakyamuni. An eternal and immortal existence, which exists within and beyond the limited one, is the substance of Sakyamuni Buddha. The vital point of [Chapter 16], “The Duration of the Life of the Tathagata,” is that Sakyamuni, as a historical figure, declares that his essence is eternal and immeasurable. This declaration, the salient feature of the Lotus Sutra, cannot be found in any other sutra.