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, arriving at the profound and astonishing fifteenth chapter, “Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth.”
I. The Bodhisattva Multitude Emerging from the Earth
In the “Perseverance” chapter, bodhisattvas from other lands vow to come to the sahā world after the Buddha’s passing to propagate the Lotus Sutra. However, the Buddha stops them, saying, “There is no need. My own sahā world already has bodhisattvas who can undertake this great responsibility.”
As soon as the Buddha speaks, the earth quakes in six ways, and an immeasurable number of millions of great bodhisattvas emerge from the ground, taking their place in the air. Their bodies are golden, endowed with the thirty-two marks and immeasurable light. These bodhisattvas, each leading a vast retinue, some with followers numbering as many as the sands of sixty thousand Ganges Rivers, others with fifty thousand, forty thousand, or even just one follower. Their total number is so immense that it is beyond all calculation and metaphor.
II. Maitreya Bodhisattva’s Confusion and Questions
Among the emerging bodhisattvas are four leading teachers: Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, Pure Practices, and Firmly Established Practices. They represent the assembly, greet the Buddha, and praise his supreme merit in teaching sentient beings.
At this time, Maitreya Bodhisattva and the assembly of bodhisattvas numbering as many as the sands of eight thousand Ganges Rivers become deeply confused. They have never seen such a vast, magnificent, and powerful multitude of bodhisattvas. They do not know where they came from or who taught and perfected them.
The Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in the city of Gayā a mere forty-odd years ago. How could he have possibly taught such a great number of disciples who have been practicing for countless kalpas, and who are already endowed with deep merit and great transcendent powers? This is truly difficult to believe.
III. The Buddha’s True Explanation
The Buddha solemnly declares: “O Ajita! These immeasurable and countless great bodhisattvas who have emerged from the earth are those you have never seen before. However, ever since I attained Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi in this sahā world, I have been teaching and guiding these bodhisattvas, subduing their minds, and causing the thought of the path to awaken in them. They are my heirs, who have been abiding in the space beneath this world, diligently striving in their practice.”
Conclusion
The “Bodhisattvas Emerging from the Earth” chapter is a crucial turning point in the Lotus Sutra. It reveals a key point: the Buddha’s meritorious work of teaching is profound and boundless. The Buddha’s enlightenment forty-odd years ago was merely a “manifested body.” His true enlightenment was countless kalpas ago. This chapter officially lays the groundwork for the next one, “The Lifespan of the Tathāgata,” which reveals that the Buddha’s lifespan is immeasurable and without end.
Thank you.
