Observations placeholder

The Lotus sutra – translated by Burton Watson

One who can uphold this sutra
will delight in endlessly expounding
the principles of the various doctrines
and their names and phrases,
like a wind in the open sky
moving everywhere without hindrance or block.

After the Thus Come One has passed into extinction,
this person will know the sutras preached by the Buddha,
their causes and conditions and their proper sequence,
and will preach them truthfully in accordance with principle.

As the light of the sun and moon
can banish all obscurity and gloom,
so this person as he passes through the world
can wipe out the darkness of living beings,
causing immeasurable numbers of bodhisattvas
in the end to dwell in the single vehicle.

Therefore a person of wisdom,
hearing how keen are the benefits to be gained,
after I have passed into extinction
should accept and uphold this sutra.

Such a person assuredly and without doubt
will attain the Buddha way.