DESCRIPTION

The Lotus Sutra begins like all sutras, with the declaration ‘Thus have I heard,” followed by a description of the location - Rājagṛha, on Mt. Gṛdhrakūṭa (’Vulture’s Peak’) - as well as the vast assembly of well known Bhikṣus, Bhikṣuṇī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas, devas, nāgas, kiṃnaras, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, and King Ajātaśatru.

Initially, the Buddha teaches the bodhisattvas a Mahayana sutra called ‘Immeasurable Meanings’ (Mahānirdeśa), after which he enters a samādhi called the “abode of immeasurable meanings” (ananta-nirdeśa-pratiṣṭhāna) and remains unmoving in both body and mind while heavenly flowers fall like rain from the sky, and the whole buddha world quakes in six ways.

Then the Buddha emits a ray of light from the tuft of white hair between his eyebrows, making totally clear eighteen thousand worlds in the east, everything within them, from the hell fealms to the Buddha’s śarīra relic stupas made of the seven precious treasures.

Maitreya Bodhisattva, on behalf of everyone, asks Mañjuśrī, “What is the reason for this marvelous sign, this great ray of light?” and then elaborates at length in verse.

Mañjuśrī answers by recalling a past time when there was a Buddha called Candrasūryapradīpa (’Moon Sun Radiance’) at which time the same events occurred, after which that Buddha taught the ‘Lotus Sutra.’ At that time, there were two bodhisattvas, Varaprabha (’Wonderfully Bright’) and Yaśaskāma (’Seeker of Fame’), who are revealed to by previous lives of Mañjuśrī and Maitreya. This recursive account and the stories within it revolve around the concept of vyākaraṇa - predictions of future attainment of anuttarā-saṃyak-saṃbodhi.