The lotus of the wonderful law : $b or, The lotus gospel...

We are now introduced to a further interlude, in which the Buddha addresses the great Bodhisattva, Might-Endowed. He tells him of a former Buddha-realm, over which was a Buddha known as King of Majestic Voice. On his entering into Nirvana, his successors followed each other to the number of twenty thousand kotis, each being of the same title. After the Nirvana of the first “Buddha of the Majestic Voice”, and after the first period of the pure doctrine had passed, monks of the utmost arrogance obtained the chief power, who cruelly persecuted the hero of the parable that follows. It will be observed that by these the Hinayana School is meant.

That hero is a monk called Never Despise, so styled because he refused to contemn any one, being assured that every one was a prospective buddha. It is a parable of the Mahayanist persecuted by his fellow monks, the Hinayanists, because he preaches universal buddhahood for all the living.

“Might-endowed! For what reason was he named Never Despise? Because he paid respect to and commended everybody he saw, monks, nuns, men and women disciples; speaking thus: ‘I deeply revere you. Wherefore? Because you are walking in the bodhisattva way and are to become Buddhas.’ That monk did not devote himself to reading and reciting the Sutras, but only to paying respect, so that when he saw afar off a member of the four classes of disciples, he would specially go and pay respect to them, commending them, saying: ‘I dare not slight you, because you are all to become Buddhas.’ Amongst the four classes, there were those who, irritated and angry and low-minded, reviled and abused him saying: ‘Where does this ignorant bhikshu come from, who takes it on himself to say, “I do not slight you,” and who predicts us as destined to become Buddhas? We need no such false predictions.’ Thus, he passed many years, constantly reviled but never irritated or angry, always saying: ‘You are to become Buddhas.’ Whenever he spoke thus, they beat him with clubs, sticks, potsherds, or stones. But, while escaping to a distance, he still cried aloud: ‘I dare not slight you. You are all to become Buddhas.’ And because he always spoke thus, the haughty monks, nuns, and their disciples dubbed him: Never Despise.

“When this monk was drawing near his end, from the sky he heard, and was perfectly able to receive and retain, twenty thousand myriad kotis of verses of the Law-Flower Sutra, which the Buddha, King of Majestic Voice, had formerly preached. Whereupon he obtained, as stated above, clearness and purity of eye-organ, as also of the organs of ear, nose, tongue, body, and thought. Having obtained the purity of these six organs, he further prolonged his life for two hundred myriad kotis of nayutas of years, and abundantly preached this Law-Flower Sutra to the people. Then the haughty four orders of monks, nuns, and male and female disciples, who had slighted and contemned this man, and given him the name Never-Despise, seeing him possessed of great transcendent powers, of power of eloquent discourse, and power of excellent meditation, and having heard his preaching, believed in and followed him. This Bodhisattva again converted thousands, myriads, kotis of beings to Perfect Enlightenment.”

“He was I myself. If I, in my former lives, had not received and kept, read and recited this Sutra, and preached it to others, I should not have been able so soon to attain to Perfect Enlightenment. Because, under former Buddhas, I received and kept, read and recited this Sutra, and preached it to others, I so soon attained to Perfect Enlightenment.”