DESCRIPTION

In response to Śāriputra receiving the prediction of enlightenment in Chapter Three, Subhūti, Kātyāyana, Kāśyapa, and Maudgalyāyana rise from their seats. Together, they tell the second of the seven parables in the Lotus Sutra - ‘The Wealthy Man and His Poor Son.’ This is the story of a rich man whose only son runs away at a young age only to return years later poor and destitute, unaware of being the heir to a great fortune. The chapter concludes with Kāśyapa giving a poetic summary of the chapter and parable.