Observations placeholder

The Lotus sutra – translated by Burton Watson

At that time the world-Honored one, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:

The minds of these persons will be pure,
bright, keen, without stain or defilement.
And with these wonderful mental faculties
they will understand the superior, intermediate, and inferior Law.

Hearing no more than one verse,
they will master immeasurable principles
and be able to preach them step by step in accordance with the Law
for a month, four months, or a year.

All the living beings
in the inner and outer parts of this world,
heavenly beings, dragons, humans,
yakshas, spirits,
those in the six realms of existence
and all the various thoughts they have-
upholders of the Lotus Sutra as their reward
will know all these in an instant !

The countless Buddhas of the ten directions,
adorned with the marks of a hundred blessings,
for the sake of living beings preach the Law,
and such persons, hearing it, will be able to accept and uphold it.

They will ponder immeasurable principles,
preach the Law in an immeasurable number of ways,
yet from start to finish never forget or make a mistake,
because they are upholders of the Lotus Sutra.

They will understand the characteristics of all phenomena,
accord with principles, recognizing their proper order,
be masters of names and words,
and expound and preach things just as they understand them

What these persons preach
is in all cases the Law of former Buddhas,
and because they expound this Law
they have no fear before the assembly.

Such is the purity of the mental faculties
of these upholders of the Lotus Sutra.
Though they have not yet attained freedom from outflows,
before that they will manifest the marks described here.

While these persons uphold this sutra
they will dwell safely on rare ground,
by all living beings
delighted in, loved and respected,
able to employ a thousand, ten thousand varieties
of apt and skillful words
to make distinctions, expound and preach-
because they uphold the Lotus Sutra.