The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law

Chapter 12

Devadatta
(3)

This is the ninety-first installment of a detailed commentary on the Threefold Lotus Sutra by the late founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, Rev. Nikkyo Niwano.

TEXT Thereupon a bodhisattva-attendant, from a region beneath, of the World-honored One Abundant Treasures, named Wisdom Accumulation, said to the Buddha Abundant Treasures: "Let us return to our own land!" But Shakyamuni Buddha said to Wisdom Accumulation: "Good son! Wait a while! Here is the Bodhisattva Manjushri. [First] meet and discuss with him the Wonderful Law and then return to your own land."

COMMENTARY A region beneath, of the World-honored One Abundant Treasures. Abundant Treasures is the buddha within the Precious Stupa that sprang up from the earth, as recounted in chapter 11, "Beholding the Precious Stupa," hence the allusion to "a region beneath." As already explained (see the January/February 2006 issue of Dharma World), the Precious Stupa symbolizes the buddha-nature, and the stupa's springing up from the earth indicates that the buddha-nature is not something received from an entity outside ourselves but something within us from the start.

Wisdom Accumulation, a bodhisattva-attendant of Abundant Treasures, believing that the truth that all are equally endowed with the buddha-nature had been fully expounded and that the significance of Abundant Treasures' appearance had served its purpose, suggested to the buddha that they now return to their own land. But Shakyamuni had not finished; he wished to drive home the truth of all people's equal possession of the buddha-nature. So he told Wisdom Accumulation to discuss the Wonderful Law with the bodhisattva Manjushri first. It is clear from the context that "Wonderful Law" here refers to the truth of all people's equal possession of the buddha-nature. Why Shakyamuni specified Manjushri will become clear as we read on.

TEXT Thereupon Manjushri, sitting on a thousand-petaled lotus flower as large as a carriage wheel, with the bodhisattvas who accompanied him also sitting on jeweled lotus flowers, unaided sprang up from the great ocean, out of the palace of the Sagara Dragon [King]. Taking up his place in the sky, he advanced to the Divine Vulture Peak, alighted from his lotus flower, went before the Buddha, and reverently made obeisance at the feet of the two World-honored Ones. When he had expressed his reverence he went over to Wisdom Accumulation, and after they had asked after each other's welfare, they withdrew and sat to one side.

COMMENTARY Another marvelous spectacle now unfolded. Manjushri, accompanied by a host of other bodhisattvas, all seated upon lotus flowers, sprang up from the great ocean. The "great ocean" refers to the sea of living beings--not just those of India, regarded at that time as the center of the world (actually, the people of every country regarded their land as the center of the world), but those of all the three thousand worlds. The palace of the dragon king beneath the sea can be interpreted as indicating a place far removed from the center of civilization. That Manjushri and the other bodhisattvas, having gone to that remote place to instruct its inhabitants in the Buddha Law, were seated on great lotus flowers symbolizes the fact that all bodhisattvas, wherever and whenever they may be, invariably teach on the basis of the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Sutra.

TEXT The Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation asked Manjushri: "Virtuous sir! Since you went to the dragon palace how many beings have you converted?" Manjushri answered: "Their numbers are immeasurable; they cannot be calculated, nor expressed in words, nor fathomed by the mind. Just wait a moment! You shall have proof." Before he had finished speaking numberless bodhisattvas sitting on jeweled lotus flowers sprang up from the sea, advanced to the Divine Vulture Peak, and took up their place in the sky. All these bodhisattvas had been converted and saved by Manjushri, had become perfect in bodhisattva deeds, and together discussed the Six Paramitas.

COMMENTARY Discussed the Six Paramitas. This means that the bodhisattvas praised the great teaching of the Six Paramitas, the six virtues of the bodhisattva practice (see the January-March 2007 issue of Dharma World), and stressed their importance.

TEXT Those in the sky, who had formerly been shravakas, told of [their former] shravaka deeds. [But] now they all practiced the principle of emptiness of the Great Vehicle. Then said Manjushri to Wisdom Accumulation: "Such has been the result of my course of instruction in the ocean."

COMMENTARY Those in the sky, who had formerly been shravakas, told of [their former] shravaka deeds. Shravakas are practitioners who strive to rid themselves of their delusions and defilements through hearing the Buddha's teaching. That these bodhisattvas "had formerly been shravakas" means, of course, that they had already advanced further, to the stage of the bodhisattva; but they were stressing that their practice as shravakas had also been highly significant.

This is an extremely important point. People who have reached a high level in any field of endeavor have a tendency to take their present stage of achievement as the norm and to hold others to the same standard. This is a rather arrogant attitude. Such people have forgotten that they were able to reach their present eminence only by going through the stages of lower-level disciplines. This is especially true of Buddhist practice. Constant and consistent efforts to eradicate delusions and defilements are an indispensable element of practice.

When these bodhisattvas in the sky were shravakas, they strove to gain personal emancipation from delusions and defilements, but another step was required before they could attain the bodhisattva's aspiration to save all living beings; that is all. Their practice as shravakas was far from meaningless; it formed the foundation on which they qualified to become bodhisattvas. That is why they preached the importance of shravaka practice even though they were already bodhisattvas practicing "the principle of emptiness of the Great Vehicle." This is something we who follow the way of the bodhisattva today would do well to ponder.
･ The principle of emptiness of the Great Vehicle. The principle of emptiness of the small vehicle is emancipation from phenomena, the teaching that all phenomena are devoid of self (substantive reality), being nothing but temporary manifestations arising through the conjunction of causes and conditions, and that through enlightenment to this truth one must dispel the delusions that keep one's mind in thrall to phenomena. The principle of emptiness of the Great Vehicle goes a step further, positively affirming the buddha-nature that is the original nature of every human being. It is the teaching that the fact that everyone is originally empty (shunya) means that everyone is equally animated by the Original Buddha; the buddha-nature is the essence of human nature and is equally present in all people. Therefore, becoming aware of one's own and others' buddha-nature and developing it is the way to save both oneself and others. That is true salvation.

TEXT Then the Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation extolled him thus in verse:

"Most wise, virtuous, brave, and strong one! / Thou hast converted innumerable beings, / As now this great assembly / And I have all seen. / Expounding the principle of the real aspect / And revealing the One Vehicle Law, / Extensively hast though led living beings / To attain with speed Bodhi."

COMMENTARY Traditionally, it was the custom in India to compose and recite extemporaneous verses at gatherings, and Indians were highly accomplished at this kind of versifying. Even today it is a common practice in intellectual circles. In much of the Lotus Sutra, it is said, the verses (gatha) were composed first and the prose passages (gadya) added later. Knowing this gives Wisdom Accumulation's verse in praise of Manjushri greater verisimilitude.
･ Brave, and strong one. "Brave" here means constant and resolute progress in pursuit of the truth and its clarification. "Strong" signifies the staunch willpower to persevere without losing heart, no matter what difficulties may befall one or how long they may last.
･ Great assembly. This phrase is a reference to the multitude of human and other beings gathered to hear the Buddha preach.
･ The principle of the real aspect. This is the real aspect of all things (see the January/February 1993 and November/December 1997 issues).
･ The One Vehicle Law. This refers to the teaching of the One Buddha Vehicle. The Buddha taught by means of many expedients or skillful means (upaya). Because all are of great value, people have a tendency to remain at the level of expedient teachings and to think they have been saved. But this is not ultimate salvation, merely temporary, personal salvation. True salvation is salvation together with all other living beings. Unless we expand our understanding of whatever teachings we may hear to include this dimension, we cannot attain true salvation. As has already been discussed, the Lotus Sutra reveals the meaning of the truth underlying the expedient teachings and makes it clear that all the teachings are expounded for the one aim of guiding all living beings to buddhahood. This is the teaching of the One Buddha Vehicle (see the May/June 1998 issue).

TEXT Manjushri replied: "That which I in the midst of the ocean always proclaimed was no other than the Wonderful Law Flower Sutra." Wisdom Accumulation asked Manjushri: "This sutra is very profound and subtle, the pearl of all the sutras, a rare thing in the world. Is there any being who, diligently and zealously practicing this sutra, can attain speedily buddhahood?"

COMMENTARY Diligently and zealously practicing. This means practicing steadfastly and single-mindedly, never allowing oneself to be diverted.

TEXT Manjushri replied: "There is the daughter of the Dragon King Sagara, just eight years old, wise and of keen faculties, well acquainted with the karma arising from the roots of action of all beings, who has obtained dharani, has been able to receive and keep all the most profound and mystic treasuries revealed by buddhas, and has deeply entered into meditations and penetrated into all laws. In a moment of time, she resolved on Bodhi and attained non-relapse [into mortality].

COMMENTARY Keen faculties. Just as a keen blade cuts sharply and cleanly, a person who has keen faculties can cut straight to the heart of a matter and comprehend it. ･ Well acquainted with the karma arising from the roots of action of all beings. "Roots" refers to the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). "Action" refers to the feelings, thoughts, and actions of which the sense organs are the agents. "Karma" has to do with the effects of one's actions on oneself and others. Thus, the daughter of the dragon king knew clearly how the actions of body, speech, and mind influence both the doer and others.
･ Dharani. This Sanskrit word refers to the ability to keep the teachings in one's heart. More precisely, it indicates the power to sustain and nurture good and to repel evil and prevent it from arising.
･ In a moment of time, she resolved on Bodhi and attained nonrelapse [into mortality]. The attainment of nonrelapse is important. Even if the aspiration for enlightenment arises suddenly, as in a flash of inspiration, nothing will come of it unless it can be sustained.

TEXT She has unembarrassed powers of argument and a compassionate mind for all the living as if they were [her] children; her merits are complete and the thoughts of her mind and explanations of her mouth are both subtle and great. Kind and compassionate, virtuous and modest, gentle and beautiful in her disposition, she has been able to attain Bodhi."

COMMENTARY Unembarrassed powers of argument. This does not mean mere fluency, a smooth tongue. It refers, rather, to the unrestricted persuasiveness, the ability to convince anyone, that springs from deep inner wisdom. It is people with this ability--not only people of religion but also those in other walks of life--who should be regarded as truly eloquent speakers. ･ A compassionate mind for all the living as if they were [her] children. This is the virtue of the sublimated maternal instinct. As I will discuss in more detail later, this is an invaluable element of women's attainment of buddhahood.
･ Merits. This refers to the virtues of guiding people to the truth, saving them, and benefiting them (see the May/June 2002 issue).
･ The thoughts of her mind and explanations of her mouth are both subtle and great. The dragon king's daughter's thoughts and words were not superficial but had indescribable depth and breadth. This sentence contains much food for thought for people today.
･ Virtuous and modest. In the Chinese text of the sutra this phrase is written with two ideograms, jen and jang. Jen means impartial, all-embracing love, while jang means the modesty and humility that keeps one from putting on airs no matter how eminent or wise one may be. Both jen and jang have been highly esteemed since ancient times as marks of a true person of character. Contemporary society seems to have cast aside these virtues in favor of self-assertion, but this is extremely shortsighted.
･ Gentle and beautiful in her disposition. The ideogram for "gentle" in the Chinese text is he, which has connotations of peace and harmony. These qualities represent the ideal in all human relations. The ideogram for "beautiful," ya, includes the meanings of elegance, grace, and refinement; it connotes uprightness, refinement, and good taste. An abrasive, prickly uprightness is not the real thing. Ya is a quality of the mellow heart. Gentleness and beauty of disposition are intrinsic to women; they are part of women's natural endowment. How unreasonable it would be for women to lose these intrinsic qualities--and how unfortunate for both one-self and others. This point, I think, calls for deep thought. I will discuss this further in the commentary on women's attainment of buddhahood.

It was because the dragon king's daughter possessed the qualities discussed above that Manjushri was able to say firmly that she had "been able to attain Bodhi," that is, supreme enlightenment.

TEXT The Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation said: "I have seen [how] Shakyamuni Tathagata, during innumerable kalpas, in doing arduous and painful deeds, accumulating merit, and heaping up virtue, sought the Way of Bodhi ceaselessly and without rest. I have observed that in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world there is not even [a spot] as small as a mustard seed where he has not laid down his body and life as a bodhisattva for the sake of the living; and only after that did he attain [the Way of] Bodhi. It is incredible that this girl, in but a moment, should become perfectly enlightened."

COMMENTARY After renouncing the world, for six years Shakyamuni undertook austerities so severe that his life hung by a thread. Then, realizing that this was not the way to gain enlightenment, he entered a state of deep contemplation and finally attained Perfect Enlightenment. All this, however, merely constituted his course of practice in the present life. Shakyamuni himself taught, and we today believe, that he had practiced as a bodhisattva in countless past lives.

This is what the Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation was emphasizing in saying that in the Buddha's innumerable past lives as a bodhisattva "there is not even [a spot] as small as a mustard seed where he has not laid down his body and life as a bodhisattva for the sake of the living." Wisdom Accumulation found it incredible that the dragon king's daughter, a mere eight-year-old girl, could attain Bodhi in such a brief time. As we shall see, Shariputra, known as "foremost in wisdom," also found it impossible to believe.

If we were subject to the same conditions as Shakyamuni, we today would not be able to believe it, either. But the conditions pertaining to Shakyamuni were totally different from those pertaining to the dragon king's daughter or ourselves. Shakyamuni truly achieved enlightenment through his own efforts. He pioneered the way to the truth. Hacking his way through the jungle of illusion, he cleared new ground and made it into a fine and fertile field. In doing so, he accumulated great merit. But we, like the dragon king's daughter, are in a position to make use of the field already cleared and cultivated by Shakyamuni.

We are like the poor son in the parable of the elder and his poor son in chapter 4 of the Lotus Sutra, "Faith Discernment"; we cannot be saved if we are unaware that we can inherit the elder's wealth. Once we realize that the Buddha's legacy (his teaching) is ours for the asking and are willing to receive it, any one of us can swiftly attain enlightenment. Herein lies the peerless value of the teaching left by Shakyamuni and of our believing and receiving it. Needless to say, the basic reason the dragon king's daughter could so speedily attain the Buddha's enlightenment was that she possessed the buddha-nature; but she was able to realize her buddha-nature because of the existence of Shakyamuni's teaching and because she was able readily to believe and receive it.

We can never be too grateful for the great blessing the Buddha has conferred upon us. He has bequeathed to us intact, in the form of his teaching, the enlightenment he attained through the most arduous effort. This is what enables us to attain an enlightened state so much more easily and quickly than Shakyamuni. We must firmly grasp this fact in reading the above passage. If we do, the true meaning of the words "in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world there is not even [a spot] as small as a mustard seed where he has not laid down his body and life as a bodhisattva for the sake of the living" will become clear.

On the face of it, the spot "where he has . . . laid down his body and life" means the place where he has sacrificed his body as a bodhisattva for the sake of living beings, but on a deeper level it means the place permeated with Shakyamuni's great effort to attain enlightenment. The Buddha's enlightenment extends to every tree, every blade of grass, in the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, even to a spot as tiny as a mustard seed. In other words, there is no place in the entire universe that is not permeated with Shakyamuni's incalculably arduous effort. If we realize this, the sight of a tree, a blade of grass, a spot as tiny as a mustard seed, must arouse in us profound gratitude for the magnitude of Shakyamuni's enlightenment and the blessing of his teaching, which contains the sum total of that enlightenment.

The great Japanese expounder of the Lotus Sutra Nichiren (1222-82), keenly feeling this, wrote, "The Buddha should have lived to the age of 120 but entered nirvana at the age of 80, bestowing favor upon us instead of living 40 more years. How could I express my gratitude to the Buddha's favor even if I should use the waters of the four great seas as the water for my inkstone, burn all the plants to make charcoal for my ink, use the fur of all animals for my brush, and use the lands of the worlds in the ten directions as my paper?"

TEXT Before he had ceased talking, the daughter of the dragon king suddenly appeared before [the Buddha] and after making reverent obeisance withdrew to one side, extolling him in verse:

"Profound of insight into sin and blessedness, / He illuminates the universe; / His spiritual body, ethereal and pure, / Has the thirty-two perfect signs; / With the eighty kinds of excellence / Is his spiritual body adorned: / He to whom gods and men look up, / Dragons and spirits pay reverence, / And all species of living beings / Do worship and honor. / That, having heard [the truth], I attained Bodhi / Only the Buddha may bear witness. / I will reveal the teaching of the Great Vehicle / Which delivers living beings from suffering."

COMMENTARY This beautiful verse sums up concisely the Buddha's merits and the working of his compassion.
･ Profound of insight into sin and blessedness, / He illuminates the universe. The word profound merits close attention. One who has profound insight into "sin and blessedness" will necessarily also realize the truth that the essence of human nature is the buddha-nature, which transcends "sin and blessedness" and which everyone possesses in equal measure. The above two lines laud the Buddha's deep wisdom and the preciousness of the teaching that is the light of that wisdom.
･ His spiritual body, ethereal and pure, / Has the thirty-two perfect signs; / With the eighty kinds of excellence / Is his spiritual body adorned. As explained in the July-September 2006 issue of Dharma World, there are three buddha bodies. "Spiritual body" in the lines above is a reference to the Law-body (dharma-kaya): Thusness, or the fundamental Law that animates all things. "His spiritual body, ethereal and pure" is an allusion to Thusness, which is so pure that it cannot be seen or even conceptualized. All human beings, and indeed all other phenomena, are animated by Thusness, as is Shakyamuni, the manifest-body (nirmana-kaya) of the Buddha. Unlike ordinary unenlightened people, however, Shakyamuni was a perfected human being, as indicated by the thirty-two signs, or primary marks, and the eighty kinds of excellence that characterize a buddha (see the September/October 1992 issue for a discussion of these). "Is his spiritual body adorned" can be interpreted as a reference to the symbolic, visible manifestation of the invisible Law-body.
･ All species of living beings / Do worship and honor. The phrase "all living beings" has often been interpreted as meaning "all people," since it has been seen as necessary and expedient to regard the Buddha's teaching as aimed first and foremost at saving human beings, but strictly speaking it refers to all living beings. That is clearly the case here, as seen by the inclusion of the words "species of." Some may think it odd to speak of nonhuman animals and of plants as worshiping and honoring the Buddha, but what is meant here is something much deeper than such a superficial interpretation: that all beings live in accordance with the Law taught by the Buddha.
･ That, having heard [the truth], I attained Bodhi / Only the Buddha may bear witness. "Having heard" refers to the dragon king's daughter's having heard the Buddha's teaching from the Bodhisattva Manjushri and having believed and received it.

Hinayana Buddhism considers practice to be the primary factor behind enlightenment, but Mahayana Buddhism regards belief, or faith, as the prime requisite, since one can make no progress without belief in the Eternal Original Buddha (the Law-body). Practice must be grounded in this belief. One can attain true enlightenment only through believing in the Eternal Original Buddha and becoming deeply aware that one is animated by that Eternal Original Buddha ("having heard [the truth], I attained Bodhi").

Only one who is enlightened can testify to enlightenment. That is why the dragon king's daughter said, "Only the Buddha may bear witness." This means the same thing as Shakyamuni's statement in chapter 2 of the Lotus Sutra, "Tactfulness," that "only a buddha together with a buddha can fathom the true aspect of all things."
･ I will reveal the teaching of the Great Vehicle. This means to elucidate the true meaning of the profound teaching of Mahayana in a way that all can clearly understand.
･ Which delivers living beings from suffering. These words, expressing the dragon king's daughter's resolve to save suffering living beings and emancipate them from their suffering, are a clear statement that true Mahayana enlightenment entails not only hearing, believing, and receiving the Buddha's teaching but also putting it into practice, spreading it to others with the strong resolve to save all living beings.

TEXT Thereupon Shariputra said to the daughter of the dragon: "You state that in no length of time you attained the supreme Way. This thing is hard to believe. Wherefore? [Because] the body of a woman is filthy and not a vessel of the Law. How can she attain supreme Bodhi?

COMMENTARY Later we will see how cleverly the dragon king's daughter counters Shariputra's objection, causing him to back down. The Vimalakirti-nirdesha-sutra includes a similar episode, in which an apsaras, or celestial maiden, sharply rebukes Shariputra for voicing such sentiments. The compilers of the Mahayana sutras probably put such words into the mouth of Shariputra, who was renowned for his wisdom, as a way of criticizing such a narrow-minded view of women among bhikshus, and among men in general. Shariputra was certainly given a thankless role to play!
･ A vessel of the Law. This indicates a person fit to understand and uphold the Buddha Law.

TEXT The Buddha Way is so vast that only after passing through innumerable kalpas, enduring hardship, accumulating good works, and perfectly practicing the Perfections can it be accomplished.

COMMENTARY The Perfections. This is a reference to the Six Perfections, or Six Paramitas.

TEXT Moreover, a woman by her body still has five hindrances: she cannot become first, king of the Brahma heaven; second, Shakra; third, a Mara king; fourth, a holy wheel-rolling king; and fifth, a buddha. How then could a woman's body so speedily become a buddha?"

COMMENTARY Shariputra is made to express a belief prevalent in ancient India. Brahma and Shakra (Indra), two of the supreme gods of the Brahman pantheon, were regarded by Buddhists as protectors of the Law. The Mara king was a god possessing prodigious supernatural powers, while a holy wheel-rolling king was a great monarch who unified the world under his rule by means of his virtue; both can be regarded as supermasculine beings. "Buddha" needs no explanation.

All these beings were endowed with superhuman powers or represented the pinnacle of human ability. It was believed that women, being subject to various bodily hindrances, could not attain any of these states. The refutation of this viewpoint that follows appears to be an argument against the view of women as innately inferior to men.

TEXT Now, the dragon's daughter possessed a precious pearl worth a three-thousand-great-thousandfold world, which she held up and presented to the Buddha, and which the Buddha immediately accepted.

COMMENTARY What is this "precious pearl worth a three-thousand-great-thousandfold world"? It is faith, absolute belief in the Buddha's teaching. The instant we have that kind of faith, we can merge with Thusness, or absolute Truth (tathata), the Original Buddha. The entire universe becomes ours. Therefore faith is certainly "worth a three-thousand-great-thousandfold world." The metaphor of the precious pearl is a most important one.

The Buddha's immediate acceptance of the precious pearl signifies that when we have faith we can resonate directly with the Buddha's heart. If we sincerely believe in the compassion of the Original Buddha, its power immediately begins working within us. This is the action of resonance, and it is the shortest path to buddhahood. Of course the effort to tear down the thick wall built up around our buddha-nature by delusions and defilements is also important, but we can hardly hope to do this at all thoroughly unless we renounce secular life altogether and take the tonsure. Heartfelt faith in the truth that the essential nature of human beings is the buddha-nature is a much faster way. Anybody--even ordinary lay people, even someone like the dragon king's daughter--can do this.

If we are firmly rooted in such faith, the wall of delusions and defilements that surrounds us will cease to be a barrier even though it remains; it will become permeable, as it were. The buddha-nature that was closed off by that wall will come into direct contact with the compassion of the Original Buddha and become one with it. This is the principle of the attainment of buddhahood through the Mahayana teaching. The dragon king's daughter was about to demonstrate this principle through her own experience.

TEXT The dragon's daughter then said to the Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation and the honored Shariputra: "I have offered my pearl, and the World-honored One has accepted it--was this action speedy?" They answered: "Most speedy." The daughter said: "By your supernatural powers behold me become a buddha even more rapidly than that!"

COMMENTARY As already explained, faith and the Buddha's power resonate instantaneously. Thus, if one only has absolute faith, buddhahood is also accomplished instantaneously. Saicho (767-822), the founder of the Tendai sect of Japanese Buddhism, expressed this as follows in his Hokke Shuku (Excellent Words About the Lotus): "If one sincerely receives and keeps the Lotus Sutra, one can speedily attain buddhahood through the sutra-power of the Wonderful Law." "The sutra-power of the Wonderful Law" refers to absolute faith in the true teaching and resonance with the compassion of the Original Buddha.

TEXT At that moment the entire congregation saw the dragon's daughter suddenly transformed into a male, perfect in bodhisattva deeds, who instantly went to the world Spotless in the southern quarter and sat on a precious lotus flower, attaining Perfect Enlightenment, with the thirty-two signs and the eighty kinds of excellence, and universally proclaiming the Wonderful Law to all living beings in the universe.

Then the saha world of bodhisattvas, shravakas, the eight groups of gods and dragons, and human and nonhuman beings, all from afar beholding the dragon's daughter become a buddha and universally preach the Law to gods, men, [and others] among that congregation, all rejoiced greatly and made reverent salutation from afar. The countless multitude, on hearing the Law, were aroused to apprehension and attained never sliding back [into mortality]. The countless multitude also received their prediction of the [perfect] Way. The world Spotless made the sixfold movement.

COMMENTARY We will leave discussion of the phenomenon of the dragon king's daughter's transformation into a male to the end of this chapter.
･ The eight groups. This is a reference to the eight kinds of supernatural beings, including gods, dragons, yakshas, and others, that safeguard the Law.
･ The sixfold movement. That the earth moved in six different ways upon a buddha's birth, attainment of Perfect Enlightenment, or preaching of a sermon was a traditional Indian figure of speech indicating that the entire world trembled with intense emotion.

TEXT Three thousand living beings in the saha world took up their abode in the stage of never returning [to mortality], while three thousand living beings set their minds on Bodhi and obtained their prediction [of attaining it].

The Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation and Shariputra and all the congregation silently believed.

COMMENTARY What a dramatic denouement! The Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulation and Shariputra fell silent in the face of the truth. But theirs was not a sulky silence; on the contrary, they were struck dumb by their keen realization of the buddha-nature and of the peerless value of the Lotus Sutra. As the text says, they "silently believed"--a most impressive phrase.

The message of the second half of this chapter, the story of the dragon king's daughter, is clearly that women as well as men can attain buddhahood. The Lotus Sutra was the first Buddhist scripture to teach this explicitly. Indeed, this chapter contains the earliest articulation of true equality of the sexes in the history of the world.

Male superiority was taken for granted throughout the ancient world. The Old Testament states that Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs. The Qur'an declares that males are placed above females. The Analects of Confucius states that women and children are hard to educate. This belief has persisted down to modern times. Even France, honored as the original home of the ideals of liberty and equality, only granted women full political rights in 1946. The United States has a reputation for valuing women more than any other society, but even there the sexes do not enjoy true equality. This is probably the legacy of the pioneer period, when the female population was small and it was believed that women needed to be treated gently because they were weak.

When we consider this pervasive attitude, the Lotus Sutra's proclamation almost two thousand years ago that women could attain buddhahood is nothing short of amazing. To become a buddha is to become a perfected human being. That men and women are equally perfectible is, surely, true equality of the sexes. It also expresses the ideal concept of equality, since it is based on investigation and elucidation of the very essence of human nature.

Some people may think that there is no need to labor this point in modern societies where gender equality is legally recognized. But men's tendency to look down on women remains strong, while women continue to harbor a sense of inferiority. It is necessary to settle both these problems once and for all. And I believe that the best way to do so is through a deep reading of the Lotus Sutra, whose teaching of equality is based on insight into fundamental human nature.

How did men's sense of superiority and women's sense of inferiority develop, and why do these attitudes linger today? Men and women are thought to have enjoyed equality in the earliest prehistoric times. Of course there was a division of labor between the sexes: For the most part the men hunted and fished, while the women gathered fruit, nuts, roots, and other plant life for food. But this was nothing more than a simple division of labor. Because women had to care for children, they could not afford to wander too far from home, so they gathered food in the immediate vicinity. The men, meanwhile, ventured farther afield in search of birds, beasts, and fish. This division of labor also made sense for physiological reasons. Women's bodies are adapted to their important function of giving birth. They do not have the muscular strength of men, but they are better equipped to endure such hardships as food shortages.

These inherent differences became more highly developed in both sexes because of the above-mentioned division of labor. Constant wandering in fields, forests, and mountains made men nimbler, battling the elements made them stronger, and their lifestyle made them brave and bold. Women's innate capacity for love, patience, and endurance were enhanced by childbirth and child rearing. Neither set of qualities can be said to be superior to the other. But because the muscular strength needed to do battle with nature was the first condition for survival in those rigorous times, inevitably the idea of women as weaker than men took root. Thus, even though women were indispensable, men developed a tendency to look down on them. Meanwhile, women internalized this attitude and began to see themselves as inferior. Generally speaking, hunting and herding peoples tended to look down on women, while agricultural peoples tended to revere them. Early Japan provides a good example of the latter type of society, as indicated by the fact that Amaterasu Omikami, the deity of the sun and the mythical progenitor of the imperial line, is female.

Toward the end of the hunting-and-gathering period of prehistory, population gradually increased and food grew scarce. The men had to range farther afield in search of game and were often away for long stretches. This meant that the women had to take care of their needs and those of their children with what they could gather themselves. They came up with the idea of cultivating crops instead of depending on plants growing in the wild. According to one theory, the concept of cultivation arose when people observed that seeds thrown away near their dwellings sprouted the next year and bore fruit. Be that as it may, it is generally accepted that agriculture was invented by women.

This invention led to a great change in people's way of life. Indeed, it marked the beginning of culture. Here too women's intelligence and love played a major role. Having invented agriculture, women gradually refined it. They thought up the idea of using fertilizers to improve crops, and their observation of the best times for planting and the other stages of cultivation gave rise to the calendar. Women are also credited with discovering how to weave plant fibers like hemp into cloth and how to dye it with juices from plants and with inventing the molding of clay into pots and other vessels.

At that time women were the mainstay of the home and the linchpin of the community. Since the men tended to be away for long periods, it was the women who cultivated the communal fields, oversaw the harvest and saw that it was fairly distributed, and taught the children how to till the soil. In short, women were in charge of agricultural labor, of government, and of education. Amaterasu Omikami was the central deity of the Japanese people. The myth of the world growing dark when she hid herself in a cave symbolizes women's high status in early Japanese society.

Something happened, however. As agriculture became more sophisticated, people switched from a nomadic or seminomadic lifestyle to sedentary life in permanent settlements. Men began to take part in farming. They also domesticated animals, which meant that there was a source of meat and other animal products close to home. In time the strongest males took charge, monopolizing economic power and relegating women to the status of servants providing labor. Gender equality became a thing of the past.

When men seized all sovereignty, they began to think of everything in terms of their own interests and convenience. For example, where once women had been revered for their precious role of giving birth and rearing children, they were now seen as mere instruments for producing offspring--that is, new labor power and fighting power--and for satisfying men's sexual needs. Meanwhile, men arbitrarily blamed all their anxieties and struggles over securing mates on women, branding them as evil temptresses.

As male-centered society persisted, women were forced to depend on men for their livelihood. Not only was it no longer necessary for women to think and talk about social and political matters, it was downright inconvenient for the men. In time women were shut out of public affairs and taught that "a woman's place is in the home"--and only in the home. Such education made women's way of thinking narrow and passive. Another thing that happened when society came to revolve around men was that women found it necessary to attract male protectors. This exacerbated coquetry and jealousy, which led to women's being seen more than ever as evil temptresses. What is more, the longer male-centered society continued, the more pervasive grew the view of women as innately weak, an idea whose seed had been planted in the earliest times because of physiological differences between the sexes. As already mentioned, women themselves came to believe that they really were inferior to men.

All this makes it clear that the concept of gender inequality is nothing but the product of ignorance. Ignorance comes from not looking beneath the surface of phenomena. Men and women together have created the world we know; both are indispensable. If we just open our eyes a little, any one of us should be able to see that men and women are essentially equal. And yet people do not see. That is ignorance.

Shakyamuni, in the "Devadatta" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, demolished this ignorance. The story of the dragon king's daughter's attaining buddhahood at the age of only eight--and attaining it so swiftly--is a great declaration that all human beings, male and female alike, possess the buddha-nature equally. Has there ever been as clear and thoroughgoing a statement of gender equality?

There is one bothersome point, however: the dragon king's daughter's transformation into a male before becoming a buddha. Any thoughtful person will probably wonder why she did not become a buddha just as she was. Why the intermediate stage? But we should not make too much of this. We must remember that the Lotus Sutra was preached not for a handful of scholars and bhikshus but for the salvation of countless multitudes. In the India of Shakyamuni's time, as in almost every other country of the world, the concept of male supremacy was deeply embedded. Women themselves took it for granted. The best way to get ordinary people to accept the revolutionary idea that a woman could attain buddhahood was to have her turn into a man first. This expedient made it easier to understand.

If the Lotus Sutra had been a philosophical work intended for scholars and bhikshus, the teaching of the essential equality of the sexes would probably have been developed through logical argument. But since its aim was to enlighten ordinary people to the loftiest truth, it was put together in the form of dramatic episodes. In the circumstances, having the dragon king's daughter turn into a male was a natural device.

The basic message is that human beings are essentially equal, transcending gender differences. But the actual dramatis personae used to illustrate this are perforce either male or female. Had the dragon king's daughter been presented as becoming a buddha while still in female form, it is doubtful that people could have swallowed the idea, given the prevailing social assumptions. It was much more effective to conform to the conventions of the times by having her turn into a male first.

How should we today interpret her change of sex? I myself think that it teaches that women themselves should throw off their sense of inferiority and realize their essential equality to men. Even in societies where men and women are equal under the law, there can be no true gender equality until women stop thinking in terms of dependence on men. Women who quietly examine their own hearts will, I believe, agree.

I hope that both men and women will learn the meaning of true gender equality through the teaching in this chapter and become deeply aware of it. If men would honestly recognize women's excellence and women would rid themselves of not only their sense of inferiority but also their hostility to men, both sexes would be more open and could cooperate to create a new and better life.

At the same time, although men and women are essentially equal as human beings, they should not forget that on the phenomenal level they are divided into two sexes. Men are men, and women are women. We must willingly accept the fact that the differences between men and women are naturally ordained. It is important to develop the breadth of vision to see that true happiness comes of men and women making the most of their innate characteristics and working together in amity for their mutual benefit.

To be continued

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