by Harvey Kraft
Of the remaining number among the 20,000 devotees in attendance, 6,000 were women and 2,000 were students.
The headcount ascribed to 2,000 students was also the result of a mathematical scheme derived from two attributes. This number recognized the students for their mastery of an entry-level skill: mind over matter. Multiplying these two aspects times the 1,000 conditions of a world-system connoted that through mastery of this skill they were able to overcome physical needs and the desire for objects.
Led by two devout women, Siddhartha Gautama’s aunt and foster mother, Maha-Prajapati, and the learned Yasodhara, his wife as Prince Siddhartha prior to his awakening under the Sacred Tree, 6,000 female Bhiksuni sat in joyful reverence. Their base number, six, acknowledged their mastery of the Six Great Virtues (Skt. Paramitas): giving, grace, forbearance, dedication, reflection, and wisdom.
In addition to the 20,000 followers, an undetermined number of male and female householders (Skt. Upasaka) were also in attendance in larger than usual numbers as the call to assemble for a dramatic new revelation had spread across many lands.
Above the heads of the human assemblage Sakamuni Buddha opened a channel to the Universe to welcome a celestial audience of 80,000 Great Enlightening Beings (Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas). In the language of sacred mathematics and harmonics, the 80,000 tuning in to the event from across the Universe reflected the Eightfold Noble Path multiplied by Ten Practices202 and again by the 1,000 conditional world-systems (8 x 10 x 1,000 = 80,000).
Next, the Buddha looked into the Mind of Nature and welcomed 520,000 divinities and heavenly attendants from the Golden Mountain and a host of enchanted spirits inhabiting the natural realm. The divine beings emerged from the heavens with impressive fanfare led by the tutelary deity Sakra Devanam Indra, sovereign of the Realm of Desire, and the progenitor of happiness, creativity, and harmony. His personal entourage included 20,000 Shining Divine Beings (Skt. Deva). They were followed by the Four Heavenly Kings charged with the harmony of the four-quadrants of the Saha world-system. Each King led a train of 10,000 Deva, and 60,000 additional attendants. Next came the Four Kings of Fragrance and Music each guiding some 100,000 followers.
From the Heaven of Delightful Forms, its sovereign Great God of Freedom, Maha-Ishvara, arrived with a train of 30,000, followed by the Supreme ruler of the Realm of Form, Mahabrahma, and his 24,000 divine children. Then came a train of various enchanted creatures—mythological spirits of land, sea, and air, each presenting their kings—followed by retinues of a hundred thousand or more.
As the enchanted creatures entered and passed before the Buddha they pledged their allegiance to him and promised to protect his disciples from natural dangers. First to arrive were the Nagas with the eight Waterdragon kings leading the way. These rulers of water had come from their palaces in the rainclouds, oceans, rivers, and lakes. The mythic depiction of Nagas originated from ancient cultures praying to lizards and snakes to help make it rain. In Sumerian mythology, they were primordial deities prone to fits of anger responsible for torrential rainstorms or drought. In Babylonian mythology, Marduk killed Tiamat, the mother of all the Nagas. But in Buddhist mythology, the Nagas were good forces representing the calm sweet waters (Abzu) essential to the nourishment of life.
The parade of enchanted creatures continued with: (a) the Garuda, intellectually gifted bird-kings whose flapping wings produced speeches on such topics as the temporary nature of all relative things or the importance of cultivating virtues for the fulfillment of wishes; (b) the flying Fairies, Gandharvas, producers of pleasure-giving sounds of music, beauty, and fragrances; (c) the horse-headed Kimnara kings, a mythic rendition derived from hordes of horse riders who descended from remote mountain cultures. They had come to Vulture Peak to sing and dance the praises of the Buddha-Dharma in Nature; and, (d) the kings of the four Furies, the Assura, who arose from their underworld lair below the oceans to hear the Buddha’s impending revelation.
At their worst the Assura instigated chaos, ignorance, and selfishness, but their presence here suggested that they also served the greater good. They provided the counter-balancing energy needed to keep the euphoric influences of the heavenly Devas in check. The Assura inoculated people with the strength to endure suffering, shoulder the burdens of injustice, combat adversity, and survive times of darkness.
Next came the enchanted creatures responsible for the fertility of the plant world, Plant Goblins (Skt. Yaksas) and Wood Nymphs (female Yaksis), accompanied by snake-headed Celestial Musicians (Skt. Mahoragas). All came from deep inside the forests to celebrate the revelation of the Lotus Sutra sermon.
The attendees assembling to witness the Lotus Sutra included beings from the Heavens above, the Universe beyond, known areas of civilization, and inside of nature, as well as the furthest, most remote, or undiscovered areas of Earth—under the seas, distant lands across the oceans, up the steepest mountains, in the deepest forests, and below ground in subterranean caverns.
The presence of the Mind of Nature acknowledged that the universal Buddha-Dharma encompassed Natural Law, and testified to its far-reaching influence, including unseen spirits inside of Nature’s hidden dimensions, and as yet undiscovered lands in distant areas of the world.
Enchanted creatures, spirits and deities of various anthropomorphic combinations appeared in shamanic, Egyptian, Sumerian, Vedic, Brahmanic, and Greek mythologies. Some of these mythological images reflected unique cultures from remote locations. In his youth Siddhartha Gautama learned that during the Arya migrations they encountered strange beings that gave rise to tales of fantastic inhabitants in forests, mountains, bodies of water, and the air. The presence of the enchanted creatures represented the Lotus Sutra’s inclusiveness of all cultures on Earth, all beings, no matter how they appeared or how remote their lands. The purpose of all this diversity was to project the view that the Lotus Cosmology would bring peace across the world and the cosmos.
Following the arrival of these various types of beings, a reformed local monarch, King Ajatasattu, arrived with a royal procession to represent the state of human society. He symbolized that the Lotus Sutra could transform the world from a place where the powerful still conquered the weak into a world where peace would overcome war. Initially, a vicious, power-lusting warmonger, this Indus king had converted to a peace-loving Buddhist believer. His presence constituted a triumphant clarion call for a new kind of leadership in human political systems.
The wheels on Ajatasattu’s chariot, whose once fearful sounds signaled the approach of a destructive military machine, now produced the uplifting music of cyclical time with every turn, symbolizing the advance of the Dharma for the sake of peace and prosperity. His presence portended that in the future wise leaders will turn the Dharma-Wheel, causing harmonious cosmic alignments to spread happiness and wellbeing across their land. At such a time, authorities will serve people with compassion and share the natural sources of the Earth. This era would coincide with the turning of the Dharma-Wheel of the Lotus Cosmology, when the sounds of the Lotus Sutra would reverberate across all civilized cultures on Earth.
In a world where the wealthy dominated the poor, next to arrive were the Wheel-Rolling Kings of the Four Great Metals, representing the authoritative power of generosity to overcome greed. They appeared with followings of hundreds of thousands of people. These metallic Kings, an echo of the Magus Daniel’s dream interpretation of the giant figure made of four metals, illustrated the source of prosperity in the four directions.
The wealth of nations at that time in history depended primarily on precious and base metals made available due to advancements in mining and smelting. With the Mesopotamian invention of metallurgy (approx. 2000 BCE), the mining of the four principle metals, gold, silver, iron, and copper (the latter used primarily in making Bronze) led to the production of enormous wealth. Egypt produced Gold, Copper, and Iron. The Taurus Mountains (Anatolia and northern Babylonia) were major sources of Gold and Silver. The Zagros Mountains (Persia) pr
oduced Silver, Copper, and Iron, and the Indus Valley region offered gold, copper, and iron. Its Kolar province was one of the world’s largest gold nugget fields and gold mine deposits. Gold had acquired a sacred status thousands of years earlier, when it was believed that gold pieces were parts of the sun that fell to Earth.
Natural resources and metallic holdings made kings, near and far, wealthy and powerful. Control of the mines meant economic dominance, a major reason why the King of Kings of the time, the Persian Emperor Darius I, deployed his chariot-led military to conquer territories from Egypt to the Indus.
The metallic wheels of the Wheel-Rolling Kings, on the other hand, were symbolic of a different kind of wealth. They represented “the wealth of the Buddha’s great wisdom” and its worldwide distribution. In terms of mythic numerology, the four Wheel-Rolling Kings personified the sacrosanct mathematical sequence, 4-3-2-1, and harmonic frequency, thus connoting that the Buddha’s Lotus Cosmology would spread in the future throughout the four directions of the world,203 as follows:
The reach of the Gold Wheel-Rolling King represented all “four” cardinal directions: North, South, West, and East. The Silver Wheel-Rolling King would carry wisdom in “three directions,” the “continents” to the East, West, and South. The Copper Wheel-Rolling King would spread the word across “two continents,” the East and South regions, and the Iron Wheel-Rolling King would turn the Dharma-wheel in the Southern region of the Indus, Ganges, and the subcontinent.
The Wheel-Rolling Kings of the Four Great Metals sent a political message meant to ring across the Persian Empire: In times to come, prosperity will spread to cultures in all corners of the world. At that time people everywhere would benefit from the appearance of a new form of leadership. Rather than subjecting populations to warmongering and dominating authorities, Selfless leaders will appear. They will focus on public service to relieve social ills through compassionate wisdom. They will be able to inspire the transformation of the populace everywhere through evolutionary progress, creativity, and virtuous actions.
Earlier in Babylon, the Chief Magus Siddhartha Gautama had held a popular position responsible for the welfare of the poor and distribution of public goods. In this official capacity within the structure of the Persian state he was designated the Bhagapa204 or “Lord Dispenser of State Goods” for Babylon and its surroundings. But, once he became the Buddha his title was modified to Bhagava,205 or “Lord Dispenser of Sacred Goods.” Referring to the role of one who distributes the wealth of wisdom for the sake of all humanity, Sakamuni was addressed as Lord Buddha. Throughout a number of sutras the Buddha’s sacred goods were referred to in metaphor as shining precious metals and gemstones, along with flowers, music, banners, and fragrances representing his celestial and mystic wisdom as a wealth of happiness.
QUICKNESS
The Bhagava was preparing now to deliver his most profound gift of all.
The Lord Buddha took his seat on a high ground so that all present may see him. The Sangha members all settled in and awaited his word. Focused, they watched in silence, as the cross-legged Sakamuni entered into a contemplative trance and instantly alighted to a lofty mindstation in concert with the 80,000 Celestial Bodhisattvas. The Enlightening Ones were able to see Vulture Peak from their lands across the Universe. Anticipating that in this sutra the Buddha would unveil the Threefold Buddha-body, they recounted in unison their understanding that a Buddha’s body could neither be described in relative terms nor as an entity that was Void [of Relativity]. Underlying their acknowledgement of this mystery was their profound wish to bear witness to the Threefold Buddha-body in its full scope:
His Buddha-body is neither existing nor non-existing;
Without cause or condition,
Without self or others;
Neither square nor round,
Neither long nor short;
Without appearance or disappearance,
Without birth or death;
Neither created nor emanating,
Neither made nor produced;
Neither sitting nor lying,
Neither walking nor stopping;
Neither moving nor rolling,
Neither calm nor quiet;
Without advance or retreat,
Without safety or danger;
Without right or wrong,
Without merit or demerit;
Neither that nor this,
Neither going nor coming;
Neither blue nor yellow,
Neither red nor white;
Neither crimson nor purple,
Without any variety of color . . .
His body is formless and yet has form.206
The 80,000 Celestial Bodhisattvas concurred that the Buddha’s body was a mystery. But, they thought, he must be preparing to illuminate his Tathagata-body, as the One-Who-Comes to Declare the Truth. One of the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas by the name of Wondrous Displays inquired if this was an appropriate time to ask a question of the Bhagava.
Sakamuni responded openly, “Ask anything, as you wish. I want to be sure to answer all remaining questions, while my mortal time here on Earth allows it.” Having received permission, the Celestial Bodhisattva then posed a curious question: “What would be the quickest way for a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva to attain Perfect Enlightenment?”
Although clearly this initial exchange seemed to exclude the other onlookers, it did convey that the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas had never set aside their desire for Supreme Awakening, as the Buddha had encouraged all of his disciples to do. Although the Celestial Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas already had achieved a level of cosmic freedom equal to that of a Buddha, it appeared that they still did not know how to enter the state of Buddhahood.
Sakamuni had transmigrated through hundreds of thousands of lifetimes prior to his birth as the Buddha of Saha. Because his journey took so long to accomplish, the Enlightening Ones wondered it there might be a faster route to achieving Buddhahood.
Sakamuni answered as follows:
“As all of my followers already know from the Course of Perfecting Wisdom, the phenomenal projections of form are both fleeing and empty. And yet human beings place great importance on their possessions, believing such things to be of lasting value. Their desire for forms of all kinds can be so compelling that some are willing to cause harm to others just so they may possess what others have. Moreover, even those who do acquire possessions in a rightful manner still are unable to satisfy their momentary cravings and growing appetites. Observing this to be the case, you, my compassionate Bodhisattvas, are fully aware of what is really going on. You know that in a single infinitesimal moment of Existence, a myriad number of phenomenal forms characterized by innumerable conditional states, emerge, settle, change, and vanish instantly—arising from and receding back into the Formless Field in less than an instant. These innumerable manifestations conjured forth by countless desires appear to be real to sentient observers, although they are transient and empty projections, mere shadows of the ‘True Aspect of All Phenomena.’ Knowing this to be the case, the celestial Bodhisattva seeking to quickly abide in Perfect Enlightenment, should look for the answer in the Middle Path, as follows:
If a Bodhisattva wishes to awaken to the supreme Dharma . . . he should know of the unique Dharma gateway that opens into the house of innumerable meanings . . . therein, a Bodhisattva who wishes to enter it should observe that in the Cosmos of Relativity . . . humans regard as real empty phenomena that emerge, change, and perish. They experience them as bad things and good things . . . but, in actuality, everything in Nature emerges from one Formless Field. Once inside this Perfectly Endowed Reality, the Bodhisattva will discover the power to bring relief to suffering beings and delight them all . . . in doing so a Bodhisattva can quickly find Supreme Awakening.207
Instantly, everything in Existence begins, ends, and renews in a single moment. This principle echoed the mythic power of Ptah, Marduk, and Brahma to create, end, and recreate the world instantly by divine edict with a mere
word. The Buddha, however, was illustrating to the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas that in penetrating the Perfectly Endowed Reality (Sahd-Dharma) they could in an instant do all that was needed to help human beings deal with the manifestations of suffering.
How does one enter the Perfectly Endowed Reality? By boarding the One All-Encompassing Vehicle of the Lotus Cosmology.
Thus in attending this assembly the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas will learn how to quickly and without any detour enter the Perfectly Endowed Reality, which all Buddhas shared in order to see things as they really were, to teach Bodhisattvas how to advance evolution, and to deliver humans to higher consciousness. Offering the One Vehicle to the 80,000 Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas, Sakamuni called on them to quickly board it so they might enter the realm of Buddhahood and put it into practice.
Propagate it earnestly, and protect it heartily day and night, and it will make living beings gain the benefits, virtues, and merits of the ultimate cosmology.208
Wanting to learn more, some of the Celestial Beings wondered: Which would be better, using this Vehicle of Perfect Enlightenment exclusively or in addition to the Teachings of the Three Vehicles?
Sakamuni shocked the listening audience by declaring that all Buddhas everywhere shared in only one all-encompassing Universal Truth, and once a Buddha unveiled it, all prior methods paled in comparison. He said that the Three Vehicles had first come into his mind when he entered Buddhahood under the Sacred Tree. After chasing Mara with his vow to lead countless beings into "Supreme Awakening," he had reflected on what kind of tactful methods he would need to use to help disciples raise their capacity. That's when he had conceived of using the Three Vehicles to provide a ramp that would take followers into the One Vehicle that would deliver them to Perfect Enlightenment.
But, as he indicated in the Paradox of Attainment, these vehicles of limited enlightenment could not could not open the gate to Perfect Enlightenment. While they served to bring them closer to Perfect Enlightenment, they could not be used to reach the inconceivable Truth of Supreme Awakening.
