XIX

If the merits of a hearer are so vast, how much greater those of a preacher of this Sutra! We are told that such a one—and it is interesting to note, whether male or female—will obtain great increase of natural powers, both now and hereafter.

The Buddha is shown as addressing the great Bodhisattva, Ever Zealous. To him he says:

“If any good son or good daughter receives and keeps this Law-Flower Sutra, or reads, or recites, or expounds, or copies it, that person will obtain eight hundred merits of the eye, twelve hundred merits of the ear, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind; with these merits he will dignify his six organs, making them all serene. That good son or good daughter, with serene eyes of flesh, begotten by his parents, will see whatever exists within and without the Three-Thousand-Great-Thousandfold World, mountains, forests, rivers, and seas, down to the Avici hell and up to the summit of existence, and also see the living beings in it, as well as see and know in detail all their karma-causes and re-birth states of retribution.”

The twelve hundred merits of the ear are thus described in verse:

“His ears, those begotten by his parents, Are serene, unsullied, untainted. By these ordinary ears he hears 220The sounds in the Three-Thousand World, The sounds of elephants, horses, carts, and oxen, The sounds of gongs, bells, conches, drums, The sounds of lutes and harps, The sounds of pipes and flutes, The sounds of pure lovely song; Listening without undue attachment, He hears countless human sounds, And can understand all he hears; He hears also the sounds of gods, And mystic voices of singing; Hears sounds of men and women, And sounds of youths and maidens. In mountains, streams and gorges, The sounds of Kalavinkas, Ming-ming and other birds, All these sounds he hears. The pangs of the hosts in hell And all the sounds of their tortures; Hungry ghosts driven by hunger and thirst And the sounds of their importunity; The voices of asuras, Inhabiting the ocean shores, When they converse together, And bellow forth their cries. Such a preacher as this, Calmly dwelling here From afar hears these sounds Without harm to his organ of hearing. In the worlds in every direction, Birds and beasts cry to each other, 221And the Preacher here abiding Hears them in every detail. All the Brahma heavens above, From Light-Sound and Universal-Purity To the Heaven of the Summit of Existence,— The sounds of their conversation, The Preacher here abiding, Hears them in every detail. All the hosts of bhikshus And of bhikshunis Reading or reciting the Sutra, Or preaching it to others, The Preacher here abiding Hears them in every detail. Also the Bodhisattvas Who intone this Sutra-Law, Or preach it unto others, Collating and expounding its meaning,— All such sounds as these, He hears in every detail.”

The eight hundred powers of his organ of smell are so enhanced that, by means of his serene organ, the fragrance of the world is his. He can also discern everything by their odour—elephants, cattle, men, grasses, the gods in their heavens, even Brahma; “from afar he will smell all these and know where they abide.” Nevertheless, “though he smell these odours, yet his organ of smell will not be injured, nor will he make any error; and if he wishes to define and tell them to others, his meaning will not err.”

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222“The gods, whether walking or seated, Their rambles and magic powers, He who keeps this Law-Flower By smell can know them all. . . . . . Lions, tigers, wolves, elephants, Bisons, buffaloes and their kind, He by smell knows their place. If there be a woman with child, Who discerns not yet its sex, Male, female, organless, or inhuman, He by smell can discern it. By his power of smell He knows if the newly pregnant Will succeed or not in being Joyfully delivered of happy children. By his perceptive power of smell He knows the thoughts of men and women, Their lusts, foolishness or anger, And also the maintainers of goodness. All the hidden treasures, Gold, silver, and jewels, Stored in copper vessels, By smell he can clearly distinguish, Every kind of jewelled necklace, Of price beyond all knowledge, By smell he knows its value, Its source and its location.”

The twelve hundred merits of his tongue are the merits of taste and speech. “Whatever pleasant or 223unpleasant, sweet or not sweet, bitter or astringent thing meets his tongue will become of the finest flavour, like heavenly nectar; nothing will be unpleasant. If, in the assembly, he uses his organ of the tongue to preach, sonorous and beautiful sounds will enter the hearts of all, giving them pleasure and enjoy.” Celestial beings, dragons, demons, monks and nuns, disciples, kings, princes, and ministers, will flock to hear him preach the Law. The Buddhas will delight to hear him and will also preach toward him.

“If this Preacher desires To make his lovely voice Fill the whole universe, He is able at will to achieve it.”

The eight hundred merits of the body not only give him a body clear as crystal which all admire, but to him all other bodies are displayed, for everything of every kind is reflected to him in the crystal mirror of his own body.

“Downward to the Avici-Hell, upward to the Summit of all Existence, all things and all living beings are displayed in his body.”

“As on a pure bright mirror Every image is seen, So, in his own pure body, The Bodhisattva sees the whole world. . . . . . 224Though not yet possessed of the flawless, Mystic, spiritual body, Yet in his pure ordinary body Everything is revealed.”

The twelve hundred merits of thought enable him, “on hearing a single verse or sentence, to penetrate its infinite and boundless meanings. Having discerned those meanings, he will be able to discourse on that single sentence or verse for a month, four months, even a year”—for one verse of this Sutra like “the flower in the crannied wall” opens up vast questions.

“Whatever he ponders, estimates, and speaks, will be the Buddha-Law, nothing but truth, and that which former Buddhas have taught.”

“Every living creature Of this world, within and without, Gods, dragons, humans, Yakshas, demons, spirits, others, These in the six destinations, Whatever they may be thinking— In reward for keeping the Law-Flower, Instant he knows them all. The countless Buddhas of the universe, With their hundreds of felicitous signs, Who preach to all the living, He hears and retains it all. He ponders on the infinite, And preaches the Law without stint, Never forgets or makes a mistake, 225Because he keeps the Law-Flower. Knowing the form of all laws, Perceiving their ordered meaning, Comprehending the terms and words, He explains them according to knowledge. Whatever this man preaches Is the Law of former Buddhas; And because he proclaims this Law, He is fearless of the throng. A keeper of the Law-Flower Sutra Has an organ of thought such as this. Though not yet possessed of faultlessness, Such is the foretoken he possesses.”