Hello, everyone. Welcome to this episode of the podcast provided by the Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated of Australia.
Today, I’d like to share with you Chapters 26 and 27 of the Lotus Sutra.
Chapter 26: Dhāraṇī
This chapter tells the story of how the Buddha’s disciples, heavenly beings, and even rākṣasīs (female demons) make great vows to protect the Dharma expounders who uphold the Lotus Sutra.
The Protection of Bodhisattva Medicine King
Bodhisattva Medicine King, seeking to help Dharma expounders cultivate and benefit sentient beings more easily, vows to protect them with a mantra. The dhāraṇī he recites was spoken by buddhas as numerous as the sands of sixty-two koṭis of Ganges Rivers, and its power is inconceivable. He solemnly states, “If anyone attacks a Dharma expounder of the Lotus Sutra, it is equivalent to attacking these immeasurable and boundless buddhas.”
The Vows of Bodhisattva Brave Donor and the World-Protecting Kings
Next, Bodhisattva Brave Donor also steps forward. He vows to recite a dhāraṇī for those who read and uphold the Lotus Sutra, protecting them from the harassment of any evil ghosts, rākṣasas, or hungry ghosts. His mantra was similarly spoken by buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River.
Following him are the four world-protecting heavenly kings. The heavenly king Vaiśravaṇa vows to use his divine mantra to protect the Dharma expounders, promising, “I myself will protect those who hold this sutra, ensuring that no misfortune or illness will befall them within a hundred yojanas.” Subsequently, the heavenly king Upholder of the Nation also vows to use his dhāraṇī to protect the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.
The Vows of the Rākṣasīs and the Mother of Ghost Children
The rākṣasīs and the Mother of Ghost Children also make a joint vow to the Buddha, saying, “O Bhagavat, we also wish to protect those who read and uphold the Lotus Sutra and rid them of their troubles. If anyone tries to find fault with a Dharma expounder, they shall never succeed.”
They publicly recite a mantra and make a solemn vow, declaring, “Let troubles come upon our own heads, but never let a Dharma expounder be distressed!” They even issue a warning in verse: “If anyone disobeys my mantra and troubles a Dharma expounder, his head will split into seven pieces, like a branch of the arjaka tree. He will suffer the same grave transgressions as killing his parents, cheating others with scales, or causing schism in the Sangha like Devadatta.”
Chapter 27: Ancient Accounts of King Wonderful Adornment
This chapter tells a very moving story that reveals a core truth: a good mentor is the greatest cause for attaining the Buddha path.
King Wonderful Adornment and His Good Mentors
The story takes place in the distant past. There was a king named Wonderful Adornment, whose consort was named Pure Virtue. They had two sons, Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye. These two sons were extraordinary. They not only possessed great transcendent powers, merit, and wisdom, but were also “sons of the Dharma King,” having long practiced the bodhisattva path. They were well-versed in the six perfections, the thirty-seven Dharma-aiding practices, and had attained various profound meditative states.
At that time, a buddha named Cloud Thunder Sound Constellation King Flower Wisdom was expounding the Lotus Sutra. The two sons, yearning for the Dharma, said to their mother, “Mother, we should go and make offerings to this Buddha and listen to this sutra, for it is of the utmost importance to us.”
However, their father, King Wonderful Adornment, was a monarch who followed “heresies.” His mind was obscured by wrong views, making it difficult for him to accept the Buddha’s teachings.
Their mother said to them, “Your father is devoted to external paths. You should go and persuade him to come with us.”
The two sons, as sons of the Dharma King, were concerned for their father’s wrong views. To move him, they decided to display their transcendent powers. They leaped into the air and performed various miracles: they caused water to flow from their upper bodies and fire from their lower bodies; they grew to fill the air and then shrank; they entered the earth as if it were water and walked on water as if it were earth.
King Wonderful Adornment had never seen such sights. His heart was filled with joy and awe. He humbly asked his sons, “Who is your teacher? Whose disciples are you?”
The two sons replied, “O great king, our teacher is the Buddha Cloud Thunder Sound Constellation King Flower Wisdom, who is now expounding the Lotus Sutra. We are his disciples.”
Upon hearing this, King Wonderful Adornment immediately developed faith and reverence, and said, “I also wish to see your teacher! Let us go together!”
These two brothers, through their inconceivable skillful means, enabled their father—a person firmly attached to wrong views—to awaken the thought of unexcelled enlightenment. They truly performed the “Buddha’s work” for their father—the work of guiding sentient beings toward the achievement of unexcelled enlightenment.
The Buddha’s Prophecy and King Wonderful Adornment’s Realization
King Wonderful Adornment, along with his consort, court, and retinue—a total of forty-two thousand people—went to see the Buddha. They paid homage and circled him respectfully.
The Buddha Cloud Thunder Sound Constellation King Flower Wisdom taught the Dharma to the king, filling his heart with great joy. Deeply moved, King Wonderful Adornment took off his precious pearl necklaces, worth hundreds of thousands, and scattered them over the Buddha. In the air, they transformed into a jeweled platform. The Buddha sat cross-legged on the platform, emitting a great radiance. This was the Buddha’s blessing.
King Wonderful Adornment looked at the Buddha’s glorious and sublime form and praised his virtues. The Buddha then announced to the assembly, “This King Wonderful Adornment will, in the future, become a buddha named Sal Tree King. His land will be level and pure.”
Upon hearing this prophecy, King Wonderful Adornment immediately passed his throne to his younger brother and, along with his family and retinue, renounced household life to practice the Buddha-Dharma. He diligently practiced the Lotus Sutra for eighty-four thousand years and eventually attained an inconceivable meditative state.
He then ascended into the air and said to the Buddha, “O Bhagavat, my two sons truly performed the Buddha’s work for me. Through their miraculous transformations, they changed my mind of wrong views, allowing me to abide in the Buddha-Dharma and meet you, the Bhagavat. These two sons are my great good mentors. They were born into my house in order to inspire the roots of good merit I had accumulated in past lives and to benefit me.”
The Buddha praised him, saying, “Exactly! Exactly! It is as you have said. If the sons and daughters of a virtuous family plant roots of good merit, they will meet good mentors throughout many lives. A good mentor is a great cause for inspiration, for he can guide you to see the buddhas and awaken the thought of unexcelled enlightenment.”
The Merit of a Good Mentor
The Buddha then revealed to the assembly, “What do you think? Who was King Wonderful Adornment? He is none other than Bodhisattva Flower Virtue. His consort Pure Virtue is none other than Bodhisattva Light Shining Adornment Marks. And those two sons, Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye, are none other than Bodhisattva Medicine King and Bodhisattva Medicine Superior.”
The Buddha concluded, “These two bodhisattvas, Medicine King and Medicine Superior, had planted deep roots of good merit under countless buddhas in past lives. They were born into that house of wrong views out of compassion for King Wonderful Adornment and to guide him back to the right Dharma.”
Conclusion
Everyone, the story of the “Ancient Accounts of King Wonderful Adornment” helps us deeply understand the excellence of a “good mentor.” The fact that we are fortunate enough to hear the Buddha-Dharma and draw near to the Three Jewels in this life is due to the roots of good merit we have planted in the past, and these roots were cultivated through the guidance of good mentors. May we all establish a profound and excellent connection with true good mentors.
Thank you.
