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

So, monks, what do you think? Was it someone else who was the king at that time? You must not believe that, for I was the King then. And what about the Seer? Do you think it was someone else who was the Seer at that time? No, you must not believe that either, for Devadatta, the monk, was the Seer then. In fact, monks, Devadatta, was my good friend. With Devadatta’s help, I was able to achieve the six perfect virtues (Pāramitās): noble kindness^⁠, noble compassion^⁠, noble sympathy^⁠, noble indifference^⁠, the thirty-two signs of a great man^⁠, the eighty lesser marks^⁠, the golden hue^⁠, the ten powers^⁠, the fourfold confidence^⁠, the four social graces^⁠, the eighteen unique qualities^⁠, magical power^⁠, and the ability to save beings everywhere^⁠. All of this I gained after coming to Devadatta.

I tell you, monks, I declare to you: This Devadatta, the monk, will become a Tathāgata named Devarāja (meaning “King of the Gods”), an enlightened being, in the world called Stairs of the Gods, after countless, immeasurable eons. The lifetime of that Tathāgata Devarāja will be twenty intermediate kalpas. He will preach the law extensively, and beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River will abandon evil and attain enlightenment through him. Some will aspire to individual enlightenment, while others, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, will aspire to supreme, perfect enlightenment and develop unshakable patience.

Furthermore, monks, after the complete passing away of the Tathāgata Devarāja, his true law will remain for twenty intermediate kalpas. His body will not be divided into different parts or relics; it will stay intact within a Stūpa made of seven precious substances, sixty hundred yojanas high and forty yojanas wide. All gods and men will honor it with flowers, incense, fragrant garlands, unguents, powder, clothes, umbrellas, banners, and flags, and celebrate it with verses and songs. Those who walk around that Stūpa from left to right or humbly pay their respects will attain various levels of enlightenment, from Arhatship to Hermit Buddhaship. Others, both gods and men, in vast numbers, will set their minds on supreme, perfect enlightenment and never turn back.

The Lord then spoke to the monks again, saying: Whoever in the future, whether young men or young women of good character, hears this chapter from the Lotus Sutra, and believes in its teachings, will be freed from uncertainty and doubt. Their minds will become pure, and they will fully trust these teachings. Such a person will be protected from the three worst fates: being reborn in hell, as an animal, or in the realm of the dead. Instead, they will be reborn in the blessed lands of the Buddhas, no matter where they are in the universe. In each new life, they will hear this very Sutra; if born as a god or human, they will hold a high position. And in the land of the Buddha where they are reborn, they will magically appear on a lotus flower made of precious jewels, coming face-to-face with the Enlightened One.