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

In response, the Lord released a radiant beam of light from his brow. Instantly, the eastern realms became visible, revealing countless Buddhas across vast worlds, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. These Buddha lands sparkled with crystal clarity, adorned with trees of jewels, and draped with fine cloth—canopies of gold and precious substances interwoven with grace sheltered the multitudes of Bodhisattvas. The Lords, the Buddhas, were seen teaching the law with voices of unparalleled sweetness.

Similarly, the vision unfolded in the southeast, the south, the southwest, the west, the northwest, the north, the northeast, below, and above, in all the ten directions of space. Worlds beyond worlds, Buddhas beyond Buddhas, all became visible. Each direction revealed countless Buddha lands, as many as the sands of the Ganges, with the Lords teaching in lands beyond measure.^⁠

In the vast expanse of space, the enlightened beings known as Tathāgatas (Buddhas), who reside in all directions, turned to their followers, the Bodhisattvas, with a shared intention. They expressed a desire to travel to our world, known as the Saha-world, to pay homage to the sacred relic of a great Buddha named Prabhūtaratna (Abundant Treasures).

They arrived here, each accompanied by a few of their closest followers, and found our world transformed into a vision of perfection. Instead of the usual landscapes, everything was adorned with jewel-laden trees, and the earth was made of lapis lazuli, covered in gold, and filled with sweet-smelling incense. The land was strewn with beautiful Mandārava flowers, and no ordinary human or demon cities, mountains, oceans, or rivers were to be seen. It was a world without suffering, devoid of all realms of ordinary existence, except for those gathered at that assembly.

Each enlightened being went to sit beneath a jewel tree that towered five hundred yojanas high, with its branches, leaves, and fruits shining brightly. Beneath each tree was a magnificent throne, five yojanas high, made of resplendent jewels. The Buddhas sat there, cross-legged, each one taking their place by a tree, embodying wisdom and serenity in this extraordinary gathering.