Hello, everyone. Welcome to this episode of the podcast provided by the Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated of Australia.
Today, we continue our exploration of the Lotus Sutra, delving into the twelfth and thirteenth chapters.
1. Renouncing One’s Life to Seek the Dharma
First, let’s look at the “Devadatta” chapter. In this section, the Buddha recalls his past lives. Eons ago, he was a king who, in his quest for the Great Dharma, vowed to abandon the pleasures of the five senses. He even beat a drum to proclaim to the four directions that he would serve as a servant for life to anyone who could teach him the Mahayana. A sage named Asita came to teach him the Lotus Sutra. With no trace of arrogance, the king personally provided for the sage, even offering his own body as a seat. He served the sage diligently for a thousand years without tiring, either in body or mind.
The king at that time was the Buddha’s previous incarnation, and the sage who taught him was Devadatta, the very person who repeatedly tried to harm him in this life.
2. The Dragon King’s Daughter Attains Buddhahood
In the same chapter, the Dragon King’s daughter offers a jewel worth the great manifold cosmos to the Buddha. The Buddha accepts it, and in front of the entire assembly, the girl suddenly transforms into a man, perfects the bodhisattva practices, and goes to the Spotless World in the south. There, she sits on a jeweled lotus flower, attains Buddhahood, and expounds the Dharma for all sentient beings.
The common thread in these two stories is the resolve to give one’s life for the Dharma. Only when we place the Dharma above everything else can we truly obtain it and achieve a qualitative leap in our practice.
Next, let’s examine the thirteenth chapter, “Perseverance.” This chapter is a collective vow made by all those who are determined to propagate the Dharma. It details the various challenges that will be faced in the evil age after the Buddha’s passing and demonstrates the unwavering determination of the bodhisattvas to protect the Dharma despite all difficulties.
1. The Collective Vow of Bodhisattvas, Śrāvakas, and Nuns
In this chapter, although sentient beings in the future evil age will have shallow roots of merit and be filled with excessive pride, greed for offerings, and deceit, the bodhisattvas vow to face them with great patience and protect the Dharma at the cost of their own lives.
Following their lead, five hundred arhats who have received their predictions and eight thousand disciples also state that, because the people in the sahā world are evil, superficial, and full of defilements and deceit, they will go to other, more easily taught lands to widely teach this sutra.
The Buddha then gives predictions of future Buddhahood to his aunt, Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī, and her six thousand attendants, as well as to Rāhula’s mother, Yaśodharā. This event fills all the nuns with great joy, and they too vow to go to other lands to widely teach this sutra.
2. Enduring Hardship to Protect the Dharma
At that time, eighty myriads of koṭis of nayutas of great bodhisattvas make a lion’s roar vow together, saying: “O Bhagavat! After your passing, we will travel throughout the worlds in the ten directions to enable sentient beings to copy, preserve, recite, explain, and practice this sutra. This will all be due to the Buddha’s majestic power. We only ask that you, O Bhagavat, watch over and protect us from afar.”
Through verses, they detail the many challenges they will face in the future evil age and express their fearless spirit:
Harm from Ignorant People: They will encounter ignorant people who will use malicious words and slander, and even attack them with sticks and swords, but they vow to endure it all with a patient heart.
Slander from Evil Monks: In the evil age, there will be false practitioners who are wicked and deceitful. They will pretend to have attained the Dharma and, driven by greed for gain, will slander the bodhisattvas, accusing them of being “false practitioners” and “teaching heretical doctrines.” Facing this disrespect and defamation from “internal enemies,” the bodhisattvas say: “Because we revere the Buddha, we will be patient with all this wickedness.” They will even endure being mockingly called “You are all buddhas.”
Social Ostracism: The Dharma propagators may be incited by evil monks to be ostracized by kings and ministers, or even be forced to leave monasteries and be expelled to remote places. However, the bodhisattvas vow that they will not cherish their own lives, but only the highest path. Wherever they find someone seeking the Dharma, in any village or city, they will go there to teach the wonderful Dharma entrusted to them by the Buddha.
Conclusion
The “Perseverance” chapter profoundly illustrates the spirit of Dharma protectors, and the mindset of renouncing one’s life for the Dharma: they do not cherish their own lives, but only the highest path, and are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the True Dharma. Propagating the Lotus Sutra is an extremely rare and precious undertaking, but it is also the common vow of all aspiring bodhisattvas. Today, after the Buddha’s passing, we all have the opportunity to achieve Buddhahood with this heart of reverence for the Dharma and loyalty to the Buddha.
Thank you.
