爾時佛告諸菩薩及一切大衆 諸善男子 汝等當信解如來誠諦之語 復告大衆 汝等當信解如來誠諦之語 又復告諸大衆 汝等當信解如來誠諦之語 是時菩薩大衆 彌勒為首 合掌白佛言 世尊 唯願說之 我等當信受佛語 如是三白已 而復言曰 唯願說之 我等當信受佛語 爾時世尊知諸菩薩 三請不止 而告之言 汝等諦聽 如來秘密神通之力 一切世間天人及阿修羅 皆謂今釋迦牟尼佛 出釋氏宮 去伽耶城不遠 坐於道場 得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提 然善男子 我實成佛已來 無量無邊 百千萬億那由他劫 譬如五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇三千大千世界 假使有人 磨為微塵 過於東方五百千萬億那由他阿僧祇國 乃下一塵 如是東行 盡是微塵 諸善男子 於意云何 是諸世界 可得思惟校計 知其數不
ěr shí fó gào zhū pú sà jí yī qiē dà zhòng zhū shàn nán zǐ rǔ děng dāng xìn jiě rú lái chéng dì zhī yǔ fù gào dà zhòng rǔ děng dāng xìn jiě rú lái chéng dì zhī yǔ yòu fù gào zhū dà zhòng rǔ děng dāng xìn jiě rú lái chéng dì zhī yǔ shì shí pú sà dà zhòng mí lè wéi shǒu hé zhǎng bái fó yán shì zūn wéi yuàn shuō zhī wǒ děng dāng xìn shòu fó yǔ rú shì sān bái yǐ ér fù yán yuē wéi yuàn shuō zhī wǒ děng dāng xìn shòu fó yǔ ěr shí shì zūn zhī zhū pú sà sān qǐng bù zhǐ ér gào zhī yán rǔ děng dì tīng rú lái mì mì shén tōng zhī lì yī qiē shì jiān tiān rén jí ā xiū luó jiē wèi jīn shì jiā móu ní fó chū shì shì gōng qù qié yé chéng bù yuǎn zuò yú dào chǎng dé ā nòu duō luó sān miǎo sān pú tí rán shàn nán zǐ wǒ shí chéng fó yǐ lái wú liàng wú biān bǎi qiān wàn yì nà yóu tā jié pì rú wǔ bǎi qiān wàn yì nà yóu tā ā sēng qí sān qiān dà qiān shì jiè jiǎ shǐ yǒu rén mó wéi wēi chén guò yú dōng fāng wǔ bǎi qiān wàn yì nà yóu tā ā sēng qí guó nǎi xià yī chén rú shì dōng xíng jìn shì wēi chén zhū shàn nán zǐ yú yì yún hé shì zhū shì jiè kě dé sī wéi jiào jì zhī qí shù bù
Key Message
The Buddha's life transcends historical time — he attained Buddhahood immeasurable kalpas ago and has always been present; that eternal Buddha is here with sentient beings even now.
▸The Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathagata (Rulai Shouliang Pin, 如來壽量品) is the sixteenth of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra and is universally regarded as the doctrinal apex and climax of the entire sutra.
The Chapter on the Lifespan of the Tathagata (Rulai Shouliang Pin, 如來壽量品) is the sixteenth of the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra and is universally regarded as the doctrinal apex and climax of the entire sutra. In this chapter the Buddha reveals to his assembly a truth of staggering consequence: he did not first attain enlightenment 2,500 years ago beneath the Bodhi tree near Gaya. In reality, he attained Buddhahood an inconceivably remote time ago — 'immeasurable, boundless hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of nayuta kalpas' in the past. The historical Shakyamuni, then, is a manifestation body (nirmanakaya), a skillful display for the benefit of beings; the true life of the Buddha has neither beginning nor end. This eternally abiding Buddha (本佛, honbutsu) pervades the worlds of the ten directions and continues without cessation to teach and liberate sentient beings. The Lotus Sutra's egalitarian vision — that all beings possess Buddha-nature — is here consummated in the revelation of the Buddha's own eternity: just as every being has the seed of Buddhahood within, so the Buddha who awakens that seed has always been and always will be present.