This is the ninety-ninth installment of a detailed commentary on
the Threefold Lotus Sutra by the founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, Rev. Nikkyo Niwano.

Two especially important points arise in this chapter. The first is that when the bodhisattvas who had come from other lands to this saha world said to the World-honored One that they would strive to convert the living beings here, the Buddha declined their offer, assigning that task to the many bodhisattvas who had sprung up out of the earth. These bodhisattvas had experienced the numerous pains and problems of everyday life and, pursuing their religious practice within it, had, without secluding themselves, attained the highest enlightenment. Because they had experienced and overcome suffering and anxiety, they possessed true strength and resourcefulness, and were therefore the most suitable people to teach and convert living beings. To entrust the saha world to them is thus to instruct us that this world can be purified and made peaceful by everyone living in it, and that we must build our own happiness in life. Thus, it is our responsibility to construct our own Land of Tranquil Light. Our happiness must be achieved through our own efforts. What a powerful and positive message this is!

Shakyamuni himself passed through a similar process in order to attain ultimate enlightenment. This is a clear point of difference between Buddhism and other religions. While other beliefs have excellent teachings too, it is difficult for us to understand the process by which their founders came to comprehend those teachings. Whether they were sent from God or given by divine revelation, they are imbued with a mystery incomprehensible to the human mind. The means by which Buddhism came about, on the other hand, are clearly apparent: Shakyamuni, born into this world as human as any one of us, experienced the same joys and tribulations as other human beings but, having resolved to undergo strict ascesis and meditation, finally arrived at complete realization. If we follow the path that Shakyamuni revealed to us, we can be certain that, like him, we will eventually attain the same supreme enlightenment. Because the Buddha's teachings sprang up out of the earth (actual life), we are able to follow them, and because we have experienced the earth (actual life), we are truly able to bring others to liberation and enlightenment. This is the first thing that this chapter emphasizes.

The second point is that, as mentioned at the end of chapter 14, this chapter marks the beginning of the realm of origin, the second half of the sutra; the first half of the chapter is the introductory part of the realm of origin, leading to chapter 16, which reveals the true form of the Buddha. The latter half of the chapter, together with chapter 16 and the first half of chapter 17, are considered to be the main part of the realm of origin.

I admit that stating that we have only to follow the path Shakyamuni laid down for us to be assured of perfect enlightenment poses many difficulties for ordinary people. This is why Shakyamuni taught a more direct and complete way of salvation in the main part of the realm of origin. Let us now read the text, bearing these points in mind.

TEXT At that time the bodhisattva-mahasattvas who had come from other lands, numerous as the sands of eight Ganges, arose in the great assembly, and with folded hands saluted and spoke to the Buddha, saying: "World-honored One! If the Buddha will allow us, after his extinction, diligently and zealously to protect and keep, read and recite, copy and worship this sutra in this saha world, we would preach it abroad in this land." Thereupon the Buddha addressed all the host of those bodhisattva-mahasattvas: "Enough! My good sons! There is no need for you to protect and keep this sutra. Wherefore? Because in my saha world there are in fact bodhisattva-mahasattvas [numerous] as the sands of sixty thousand Ganges; each one of these bodhisattvas has a retinue [numerous] as the sands of sixty thousand Ganges; these persons are able, after my extinction, to protect and keep, read and recite, and preach abroad this sutra."

COMMENTARY "Enough" is a strong expression. Here we can feel Shakyamuni's determined spirit. We should regard the Buddha's words as having a special significance for those of us living in later times, interpreting them not as Shakyamuni's response to the bodhisattvas from other lands but as an encouragement to us not to seek salvation from other sources.

TEXT When the Buddha had thus spoken, all the earth of the three-thousand-great-thousandfold land of the saha world trembled and quaked, and from its midst there issued together innumerable thousand myriad kotis of bodhisattva-mahasattvas. All these bodhisattvas with their golden-hued bodies, thirty-two signs, and boundless radiance had all before been dwelling in [infinite] space below this saha world. All these bodhisattvas, hearing the voice of Shakyamuni Buddha preaching, sprang forth from below.

COMMENTARY Because these bodhisattvas were endowed with the same thirty-two primary marks of excellence as the Buddha himself and because they emitted a golden radiance from their bodies, they were certainly bodhisattvas very close to the Buddha's enlightenment. Buddhist scholars regard these bodhisattvas as having been directly converted by the Eternal Original Buddha, and so call them "bodhisattvas of the origin." Those converted by Shakyamuni, on the other hand, are termed "bodhisattvas of the trace." More important for us than this division, however, is the meaning underlying the appearance in this world of the bodhisattvas who remained in the space beneath the saha world. There are many interpretations; let us look at them one by one.

First, the bodhisattvas were people who had long since attained enlightenment. This is why they are said to have been dwelling in space. They were standing by in the Pure Land waiting to begin their liberating action in the saha world. It is in this preparedness that the true worth of the bodhisattva is found. If those in the Pure Land were to dwell there for all eternity, they would become aloof from suffering beings and so lose their right to be called bodhisattvas. Thus the point to note here is that as soon as Shakyamuni called them the bodhisattvas sprang up out of the earth and appeared in the saha world.

Passing through the earth necessitated enormous strength, which the bodhisattvas possessed. In other words, they were bodhisattvas who had practical strengths in the everyday world. Religious people who simply gain enlightenment and dwell peacefully in the realm of that enlightenment without using their power to save people are not bodhisattvas. It is those who possess the power to rip through the earth who are the truly religious, the true spiritual leaders.

Passing through the earth has the further meaning of experiencing the life of the actual world. Bodhisattvas of the origin are both emanations of the Eternal Original Buddha and personifications of that buddha. This is why they were standing by in space, that is, in the Pure Land. In order to save people living in this world, those bodhisattvas must experience actual life and use that experience to guide and teach people. Otherwise they cannot offer true liberation. People who study religious texts and write theoretical tomes have an important role, but such people alone cannot save people in the actuality of their lives. Those who would be active bodhisattvas must immerse themselves in humanity, suffering amid the grime and pollution of the world, coming into direct contact with human pain and anxiety and human weakness and meanness. It is only by doing so that they can lead people effectively and raise them up. This is the significance of the bodhisattvas' passing through the earth.

Looking at this from another angle, we can interpret the passage as teaching us a process of development in the way we see things. Dwelling in the space beneath the saha world can mean being within the enlightenment of emptiness (shunyata). This enlightenment is, in human terms, the truth that the essence of a human being is the buddha-nature, which all people possess equally. This is supreme realization, the fundamental principle for liberating living beings. But no one will be saved if the bodhisattva remains within that enlightenment and does not move on. People in the real world are diverse in their characteristics: Some are wise, others foolish, and still others kind or cruel, tenacious or apathetic, unselfish or avaricious, capable or incompetent. A person who can look upon all these people equally, disregarding their differences, is worthy to be called wise.

It is not enough, however, to admire a wise person; that does nothing to help the world. Merely being a wise person is the same as being a hermit living alone in the mountains, for there is no contact with living people and actual society. If that person perceives the differences that mark living human beings and penetrates the truth of the source of those differences, however, he or she develops a way of salvation for people. To understand the marks of difference belonging to living beings is to pass through the earth.

When we read on a little further, we find that the bodhisattvas who sprang up out of the earth remained in the sky after making obeisance before the Jeweled Stupa. This signifies that, having understood the marks of difference among human beings, the bodhisattvas once again contemplated the equality of the buddha-nature. To remain at the stage of perceiving differences is to become enmeshed in those differences. It is necessary to pass beyond that stage and see the buddha-nature that is the essence of all human beings. The understanding of the buddha-nature and of equality achieved in this process differs from the conceptual ideas about them held formerly, in that it has a driving force that is the energy to save all living beings.

When one gains such an understanding of the buddha-nature and of equality, a vast and boundless compassion is born within one, and one perfects one's qualifications to act as a savior, not only of humanity but of all living beings. The process by which one moves from essential equality to actual marks of difference, and then deepens one's understanding by returning to the essential equality that underlies all differences, is symbolized in the movement of the bodhisattvas from the space under the earth to the earth and to the space above the saha world.

We should not skim through this very important chapter, seeing it merely as a strange or mystical story, for, as we have seen, it contains profound truths.

TEXT Each one of these bodhisattvas was the commander of a great host, leading a retinue [numerous] as the sands of sixty thousand Ganges; moreover, others led retinues [numerous] as the sands of fifty thousand, forty thousand, thirty thousand, twenty thousand, ten thousand Ganges; moreover, down to the sands of one Ganges, the sands of half a Ganges, a quarter of it, down to a fraction of a thousand myriad kotis of nayutas; moreover, a thousand myriad kotis of nayutas of followers; moreover, myriads of kotis of followers; moreover, a thousand myriad, a hundred myriad, or even a myriad; moreover, a thousand, a hundred, or even ten; moreover, those who lead five, four, three, two, or one disciples; moreover, one who is alone, happy in the practice of isolation. Such [bodhisattvas] as these are immeasurable, illimitable, beyond the powers of comprehension by calculation or comparison.

COMMENTARY The description of the great differences in the number of followers is very realistic and interesting. Perhaps the number of followers depends on the practical strength and influence of the bodhisattva.

TEXT When these bodhisattvas had emerged from the earth, each went up to the wonderful Stupa of the Precious Seven in the sky, where were the Tathagata Abundant Treasures and Shakyamuni Buddha. On their arrival they made obeisance, with faces to the ground, to both the World-honored Ones, and going to the buddhas seated on the lion thrones under the jewel trees, they also saluted them, three times making procession round them on their right, with folded hands revering them, and extolling them with all kinds of bodhisattva hymns. Then they stood to one side, with delight gazing upon both the World-honored Ones.

COMMENTARY The Stupa of the Precious Seven (the Jeweled Stupa), as mentioned in chapter 11, "Beholding the Precious Stupa," represents the buddha-nature, the essence of all human beings. Thus the description of the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth going up to the Stupa of the Precious Seven in the sky and making obeisance to the two tathagatas represents the action of expressing gratitude to and trust in Shakyamuni, who first brought the teachings to the saha world, and to the buddha-nature of absolute equality. It was natural too that the bodhisattvas, as liberators of the saha world, should praise and express a desire to emulate the emanated buddhas, for they had spoken of the truth of the buddha-nature of absolute equality.
? Three times making procession round them on their right. This is a traditional Indian form of devotion. Even today, people visiting places like stupas circle them three times to the right, bowing each time they pass the front. That is why stupas are constructed to be circumambulated.
? Extolling them with all kinds of bodhisattva hymns. While the surface meaning is the ways the bodhisattvas praised the Buddha, what is more important is the underlying spiritual meaning. The bodhisattvas knew better than ordinary people, even bhikshus and bhikshunis, true gratitude to the Buddha. Thus when they extolled him, they did so in the true meaning of the word. Ordinary people praise the Buddha, thanking him for rescuing them from their suffering. Bhikshus and bhikshunis are likely to speak highly of him as the great master of their lives who has rid them of their defilements. These bodhisattvas, on the other hand, applauded him for his virtue and actions, for they knew the truth about him. We do not know the exact words they used, but they must have reflected the bodhisattvas' knowledge.

This is an important thing to remember, even regarding our daily lives. It is easy to praise someone, but true praise is extremely difficult. We must be especially careful when we are speaking of someone of high degree. People who think that any kind of praise will do often find themselves wide of the mark. This is often counterproductive, and they are thought to be indulging in mere flattery; considered to be lacking in understanding, they are scorned.

The central issue is whether we can deliver true praise. The ability to do so is closely related to a person's inner growth. Nichiren said that though he was respected by people, veneration for the wrong reasons has no meaning at all. He viewed his role as a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in his society to be to transmit the true spirit of Shakyamuni. It would be a mistake, he said, to show him gratitude for his teachings, when they were not his but the Buddha's. It is ironic that there are some groups who view Nichiren as the same as the Original Buddha; this is an excellent example of mistaken veneration.

Raising the level of our inner life is perhaps the most important task we have. When we have achieved spiritual richness we will be able to praise others in the truest way. Let us therefore strive to learn and practice the Buddha's teachings so that we will be able to sing the praises of the Buddha in the truest sense.

TEXT From the time that these bodhisattva-mahasattvas first issued from the earth and extolled the buddhas with all kinds of bodhisattva hymns, in the interval there had passed fifty minor kalpas. During all this time Shakyamuni Buddha sat in silence, and silent also were the four groups; [but] the fifty minor kalpas, through the divine power of the Buddha, seemed to the great multitude as half a day.

COMMENTARY Here we read that the bodhisattvas who had emerged from the earth praised the Buddha for fifty minor kalpas (about 850 million years). This symbolizes the fact that however much we praise the Buddha's virtues we can never reach an end. That the Buddha sat during that time in silence means that he acknowledged the rightness of the bodhisattvas' praise of him, that is, that they well understood his true essence. The assembly, the ordained and lay practitioners, also sat in silence, forgetting who and where they were in the exaltation they felt when listening to the hymns of the bodhisattvas to the Buddha. What a wonderful religious experience that must have been, when the Buddha (preacher of the Dharma), the bodhisattvas (those who had practiced the Dharma) and religious practitioners (those who had studied the Dharma) were as one body! In this state of exaltation fifty minor kalpas passed as though they were only half a day.

Physics has shown that time is not absolute. Furthermore, subjectively, time is an unreliable measure. When we are absorbed in work the day flies past, but when we have nothing to do it seems endless. It is not just a matter of perception: It is far more worthwhile to spend one day on meaningful work than a year loafing around. Similarly, fifty years working even in part for others is time better spent than one hundred years of no particular effort.

In our spiritual life it is the same. Chanting sutras and venerating the Buddha for hours but with no real concentration is not the mark of a devout believer. It makes no sense to say to others that if chanting the daimoku, "I take refuge in the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law," for an hour a day does not bring benefits they should chant for two hours, or even three. This is foolish advice and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the nature of time. Belief has nothing at all to do with the duration of time. Some may experience a million years in a second, while others may spend fifty, a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years and still not reach the end of the path. It is important that we understand that in the religious life fifty minor kalpas may be half a day, or half a day may be fifty minor kalpas. In both the secular and the religious life, it is time fully spent that is of value. This passage teaches us that life is led in the truest way when time is regarded thus.

TEXT At that time the four groups, also by the divine power of the Buddha, saw the bodhisattvas who everywhere fill the space of innumerable hundred thousand myriad kotis of domains. Among the host of those bodhisattvas there were the four leading teachers: the first was named Eminent Conduct, the second named Boundless Conduct, the third named Pure Conduct, and the fourth named Steadfast Conduct. These four bodhisattvas were of their hosts the chief heads and leaders.

COMMENTARY Eminent Conduct. This is one who practices the supreme Dharma.
? Boundless Conduct. This is one who undertakes limitless practice.
? Pure Conduct. This is one who is pure in practice.
? Steadfast Conduct. This is one who is certain in practice.

The meaning of "conduct" (religious practice) calls for some comment. All the bodhisattvas mentioned were practitioners of their belief. As soon as the discourse of the realm of trace, the first half of the Lotus Sutra, with its theoretical teachings of wisdom, was over, countless bodhisattvas to whom religious practice was the prime concern appeared. There is no further need for doctrinal explanation. The leaders of these bodhisattvas were Eminent Conduct, Boundless Conduct, Pure Conduct, and Steadfast Conduct. Together they symbolize the four universal vows of the bodhisattva. These vows express the workings of the mind of the Buddha and are the fundamental wishes of one practicing the Buddha Way.

The first vow is "However innumerable living beings are, I vow to save them." This is the most specific of the four vows, for it has a clear objective. One who practices this vow is steadfast in religious training, concerned that his or her practice can be actualized. That is why this bodhisattva is called Steadfast Conduct.

The second vow is "However immeasurable the defilements are, I vow to extinguish them." This is a vow to purify the spiritual life. One who practices to do that is undertaking pure practice and therefore is called Pure Conduct.

The third vow is "However inexhaustible the Buddha's teachings are, I vow to master them." The Buddha's teachings are vast and boundless. Even though we can study them, penetrating their more profound meanings is very difficult. Thus, in taking refuge in the Three Treasures we say, "May we embrace the riches of the sutra and make our wisdom wide and deep as the sea." However boundless the teachings are, and however long it takes to practice them, the bodhisattva vows to penetrate them all. One who practices to do that is undertaking boundless practice and therefore is called Boundless Conduct.

The fourth vow is "However infinite the Buddha Way [enlightenment] is, I vow to attain it." Attaining the Buddha Way means understanding the supreme Dharma that runs through all existences in the universe, causing them all to live happily based on this Dharma, and leading all human beings to the ideal Buddha realm. A great bodhisattva strives to reach this realm but, out of compassion for all living beings, at the same time works to take them there as well. One who practices to do that is practicing the supreme, limitless Dharma and therefore is called Eminent Conduct.

All these bodhisattvas have the word conduct in their names and so are religious practitioners first and foremost, who manifest in actual life the wisdom of the real aspect of all things taught in the realm of trace, the first half of the sutra, and realize the truth of the equality of the buddha-nature through the exercise of compassion. We, as modern-day believers, are the inheritors of their work, and it is our task to realize it in our daily life. If we do not, we have not grasped the implications of the teaching given here.

TEXT In front of [their] great hosts, each of them with folded hands looked toward Shakyamuni Buddha and inquired of him, saying: "World-honored One! Hast thou few ailments and few troubles, and art thou at ease? Are those whom thou must save readily receiving thy teaching? Do they cause the World-honored One not to become weary?"

COMMENTARY Hast thou few ailments and few troubles? "Few" here does not mean "few in number" but translates a Chinese word that serves a negating function. Thus, it means "Hast thou no ailments and no troubles?"
? Those whom thou must save. This refers to those whom Shakyamuni teaches and liberates from their sufferings. The phrase indicates all living beings, starting with his direct disciples.

TEXT Thereupon the four great bodhisattvas spoke thus in verse:

"Is the World-honored One at ease, / With few ailments and few troubles? / In instructing all the living beings, / Is he free from weariness? / And are all the living / Readily accepting his teaching? / Do they cause the World-honored One / Not to get tired?"

Then the World-honored One, in the great assembly of the bodhisattvas, spoke thus: "So it is, so it is, my good sons! The Tathagata is at ease, with few ailments and few troubles. These beings are easy to transform and I am free from weariness.

COMMENTARY Shakyamuni was already elderly, and we can assume that his great task of teaching living beings had taken a toll. Yet because of his boundless compassion, he did not consider his work to be difficult or tiring.

TEXT Wherefore? Because all these beings for generations have constantly received my instruction and worshiped and honored the former buddhas, cultivating roots of goodness. All these beings, from first seeing me and hearing my preaching, received it in faith and entered the Tathagata wisdom, except those who had previously practiced and learned the small vehicle; [but] even such people as these I have now caused to hear this sutra and enter the Buddha wisdom."

COMMENTARY I have already noted that the link between the Buddha and living beings is not a matter of one or two generations. The Buddha makes that clear in this passage.
? Except those who had previously practiced and learned the small vehicle. This is a phrase easy to misinterpret. Practitioners of the small vehicle are those who have come into contact with the Buddha in this world, having had no previous links with him, and who seek to serve him as shravakas or pratyekabuddhas. Because they either have not completed the preliminary stages of practice by not having grown the roots of virtue through the accumulation of good actions or have no traces in their subconscious of having heard the Mahayana teachings in a past life, they are unable to accept easily the true Mahayana teachings when they hear them. Since the only difference is that practitioners of the small vehicle have begun to practice in this life what other people have been taught in a past life, however, they too will eventually be able to attain the same enlightenment, though they may arrive at it later. It makes no difference, in the context of the eternal Buddha Way, whether one studied the teachings in the past and becomes enlightened in the present or studies them for the first time in the present and reaches enlightenment in the future.

TEXT Thereupon these great bodhisattvas spoke thus in verse:

"Good, good! / Great Hero, World-honored One! / All these living beings / Are easily transformed [by thee], / Are able to inquire into / The profound wisdom of buddhas, / And, hearing, to believe and discern. / We congratulate thee."

COMMENTARY Congratulate. This word means literally "the joy that follows." "Joy" is the profound delight that arises from a feeling of deep gratitude for the teachings, and "follows" refers to being wholly devoted to the person who gives the teachings.

TEXT Then the World-honored One extolled these supreme chiefs, the great bodhisattvas, [saying]: "Good, good! My good sons! You may [rightly] be minded to congratulate the Tathagata."

COMMENTARY The Buddha's response is reflexive. As soon as the great bodhisattvas speak to him in gratitude as their refuge, he praises them in return. It is this kind of interchange that deepens belief and extends the teaching. A simple one-way traffic between mentor and practitioner or teacher and pupil does not give rise to such development. The exchange between the Buddha and the great bodhisattvas teaches us this.

It is important, too, that the Buddha praises the bodhisattvas for their congratulations, that is, for their profound delight in the teachings. Religious teaching does not involve simply studying doctrine or understanding in a theoretical manner what has been taught. That alone does not lead to actual practice and, by extension, to causing the world to move. Understanding and expressing delight in the teachings generate a great energy that finds expression in practice. Experiencing "the joy that follows" is the raison d'_tre of religion, for it gives rise to the power to liberate the world. A religious teacher must have a deep understanding of this point.

TEXT Then Maitreya Bodhisattva and the host of [other] bodhisattvas, numerous as the sands of eight thousand Ganges, all reflected thus: "From of old we have never seen nor heard of such a host of great bodhisattva-mahasattvas issuing from the earth, standing in the presence of the World-honored Ones, with folded hands worshiping and inquiring of the Tathagata."

COMMENTARY Maitreya and all the other bodhisattvas, who have been acting as the Buddha's assistants, are still sitting at the Buddha's feet receiving his teachings. Maitreya in particular, being the one who has received Shakyamuni's assurance that he will be the next Buddha to appear in the saha world, will naturally have been the most distinguished of all the bodhisattvas. Suddenly, however, bodhisattvas even greater than him and his companions have appeared like clouds out of the earth and have greeted Shakyamuni in a familiar fashion. Shakyamuni too has responded to them as old acquaintances as they exchange words of praise. Is it any wonder that Maitreya is taken aback?

TEXT Then Maitreya Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, being aware of the thoughts in the minds of all the bodhisattvas, numerous as the sands of eight thousand Ganges, and desiring also to resolve his own doubt, folded his hands toward the Buddha and asked him thus in verse:

"[These] innumerable thousand myriad kotis, / [This] great host of bodhisattvas, / Are such as we have never seen before. / Be pleased to explain, Honored of Men, / From what places they have come, / For what reason they have assembled. / Huge of body, of transcendent [power], / Of wisdom inconceivable, / Firm of will and memory, / With great powers of forbearance, / Whom all the living rejoice to see: / Whence have they come?

COMMENTARY Honored of Men. The literal meaning of the Chinese phrase is "the highest of all two-legged beings," an epithet of the Buddha.
? Huge of body. It was an ancient Indian custom to symbolize personal greatness in terms of physical size. According to legend, Shakyamuni was about five meters tall. "Huge of body" is doubtless an expression praising his great virtue. We find such references throughout the sutras, and experience the idea vividly when we see giant statues of the Buddha, such as those of the Buddha entering nirvana at Kushinagara in India and Wat Po in Thailand, the great standing statue of the Buddha at Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka, the giant rock-cut images of the Buddha at Yun-kang in China, the Great Buddhas of Nara and Kamakura in Japan, and other images too numerous to mention. Let us remember that a huge body is a symbol of great virtue. ? Whom all the living rejoice to see. This is an expression often found in the sutras. A person of extremely great merit has the power to attract people. Without this power, a person lacks the qualification to be a spiritual guide and leader. We should all aspire to be someone that others "rejoice to see."

To be continued

In this series, passages in the TEXT sections are quoted from The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Company, 1975, with slight revisions. The diacritical marks originally used for several Sanskrit terms in the TEXT sections are omitted here for easier reading.

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