Mr. Altig’s Overview of the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Sutra

Monks, the great Brahma angels in those vast realms of fifty hundred thousand myriads of spheres all mounted their divine aerial vehicles. Carrying celestial bags as large as Mount Sumeru, filled with heavenly flowers, they journeyed through the four quarters of the universe. They arrived at last in the western quarter, where they beheld a wondrous sight.

There, on the summit of the exalted terrace of enlightenment, sat the Lord Mahabhignagnanabhibhu (Great-Knowledge-and-Dominance) , the Tathagata, on a royal throne at the foot of the tree of enlightenment. He was surrounded by a diverse assembly of beings: gods, Nagas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and non-human entities. His sons, the sixteen young princes, stood nearby, urging him to set in motion the wheel of the law.

With awe and reverence, the Brahma angels approached the Lord, bowing at his feet. They circled him many hundred thousand times, moving from left to right, showering him and the tree of enlightenment with flowers from their enormous bags. The flowers rained down over a distance of ten yojanas, a tribute as grand as Mount Sumeru itself.

Then, they offered their celestial vehicles to the Lord, imploring, “Accept, O Lord, these aerial cars out of compassion for us; use, O Sugata, these cars out of compassion for us.”

Having presented their offerings, the Brahma angels celebrated the Lord face to face with verses appropriate to the occasion.

A wondrous Jina, matchless and bright,
With mercy and grace, a beacon of light,
Born protector, ruler, master supreme,
To-day all quarters glow with a heavenly gleam.

From fifty thousand kotis of worlds we’ve come,
To humbly salute, our hearts now succumb,
Our lofty aerial cars we surrender,
To honor the Jina, our homage we tender.

Variegated and bright, these cars are our prize,
Gifts from past deeds under endless skies,
Accept them, oblige us, O Knower so true,
Use them with joy, as your wisdom construes.