Chapter 21. The Spiritual Powers of the Tathagata
At this point in the assembly, a multitude of great Bodhisattvas, numbering like the dust motes of a thousand worlds, surged forth from the earth. They stood before Shakyamuni Buddha, palms joined, gazing intently at the World-Honored One, and said: “After your parinirvana, we vow to receive, uphold, read, recite, explain, copy, and make offerings to the Lotus Sutra.” Then, Shakyamuni Buddha manifested his divine powers. He extended his broad and long tongue until it reached the Brahma Heaven, and every pore of his body emitted countless rays of multicolored light, illuminating every corner of the ten directions. The Buddha’s broad and long tongue is one of the eighty minor marks of excellence. Through what merit is this tongue formed? It comes from never having told a lie. Because he never spoke falsely, his tongue could be that long. Furthermore, all the emanation Buddhas did the same, extending their broad and long tongues and emitting light from their pores. Different lights illuminate different realms of sentient beings. Because the vibration frequencies of the light differ, they reach different beings; this is what is meant by “the Buddha’s light shines everywhere.” It shines throughout every corner of the worlds in the ten directions, leaving nowhere untouched.
The emanation Buddhas seated on lion thrones under various jeweled trees did the same. Simultaneously, they cleared their throats and snapped their fingers. Why did they manifest these signs? To awaken sentient beings from their slumber! They used their Dharma power to rouse you. Usually, when Hinayana disciples enter the samadhi of extinction or deep meditation, a snap of the fingers is used to call them out of it. The Buddha used these sounds of coughing and snapping fingers to awaken beings from their dreams. These sounds resounded through all the Buddha-lands of the ten directions, and the earth shook in six ways. Such is the divine power of the Buddha!
Then, because his light illuminated the ten directions above and below, sentient beings in other Buddha-lands could also see the Lotus Assembly. They cried out in the void: “Beyond immeasurable, boundless, hundreds of thousands of ten-thousands of millions of asamkhyeya worlds from here, there is a land called Saha. There resides a Tathagata named Shakyamuni, who is currently preaching a Mahayana sutra for the great Bodhisattvas called the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, which is a teaching for instructing Bodhisattvas and is protected and remembered by all Buddhas. We should rejoice from the depths of our hearts and pay homage and make offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha.” Thus, from their distant lands, they joined their palms and said: “Namo Shakyamuni Buddha! Namo Shakyamuni Buddha! Namo Shakyamuni Buddha!” Then, they took various flowers, exquisite incense, jeweled necklaces, banners, canopies, personal ornaments, and other precious treasures and wonderful items and scattered them toward the Saha world, toward the site of the assembly. These items, coming from the worlds of the ten directions, gathered like clouds, forming a jeweled canopy that covered the Tathagatas and the Lotus Assembly. At that moment, the worlds ofthe ten directions became unobstructed, merging as if into a single Buddha-land.
Finally, Shakyamuni praised the Lotus Sutra and spoke of the importance of reading, reciting, and upholding it, as well as the merit gained from doing so. In short, all the profound and wonderful Dharma deeds of the Tathagata are preached and indicated in this sutra. Therefore, after the Tathagata’s passing, you should single- mindedly receive, uphold, explain, and copy the Lotus Sutra and practice according to its teachings—the most important thing is practice. Wherever this sutra is, that place is a sacred site (Bodhimanda). It is here that all Tathagatas attain Unsurpassed Complete Enlightenment, turn the wheel of Dharma, and enter nirvana. Actually, the Buddha is not saying that we should simply place a copy of the Lotus Sutra somewhere tomorrow and make offerings to it; the most important thing is for us to attain the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, to understand it, and to embody it. The Buddha said that wherever the Lotus Sutra is, a stupa should be built for offerings. In truth, when our entire body and mind can be pure and dignified, that is the adornment of the Buddha’s stupa and an offering to the Tathagata. Because your Tathagata is right here, you are purifying and dignifying this physical body. This body is the Buddha’s stupa. If you can be pure and dignified, and diligently practice the Six Paramitas taught by the Buddha to perfect your merit, you are adorning the Lotus Sutra and making an offering to it. Your Tathagata is the Lotus Sutra! This is the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra.
Chapter 22. Entrustment
This chapter primarily describes Shakyamuni Buddha extending his right hand to rub the crowns of the heads of immeasurable, countless great Bodhisattvas. Since the Tathagata is our mind, for the Buddha to rub our crowns is equivalent to us placing our own hand on our own head. Thus, he can rub the crowns of immeasurable and boundless sentient beings, for everyone can place their hand on their own head. Because we do not understand the Tathagata—the realm of our own inner Tathagata—we do not understand the realm of Shakyamuni Buddha. Then, the Buddha proclaimed his teaching to them, hoping that these great Bodhisattvas would preach the Lotus Sutra to all sentient beings in the cycle of rebirth during the future Dharma-Ending Age, so that they might hear and know this sutra and attain wisdom no different from that of the Buddha.