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

To elaborate on this subject in more depth, the Lord recited the subsequent verses:

In times to come, dreadful and vast,
The Bodhisattva, firm and steadfast,
Wishes to share this Sūtra’s lore,
Undaunted, unabashed, forevermore.

His course and sphere he must embrace,
With purity and retired grace,
Kings and princes he must evade,
His spiritual path must not be swayed.

No company with jugglers keep,
Nor Kāndālas^⁠, nor servants’ sweep,
Tîrthikas too he must decline,
His focus on the path divine.

Conceited men he shuns with care,
Those true to faith deserve his share,
Monks and immoral men aside,
In righteousness, he must abide.

Nuns of chatter, loose devotees,
He avoids with steadfast ease,
Constant in his virtuous stride,
From worldly whims, he must not slide.

Those who seek joy in transient things,
He shuns the emptiness it brings,
This conduct marks his noble way,
The Bodhisattva’s path each day.

For enlightenment, if one seeks to know,
He speaks freely, his wisdom to bestow,
Firm and undaunted, night or day,
The truth he shares, come what may.

No company with women keep,
Nor hermaphrodites, nor young wives’ sweep,
In families, his speech is rare,
His spiritual focus, his only care.

He asks not after health or cheer,
His path is pure, his vision clear,
Vendors of meat he must avoid,
Their violent means he can’t abide.

Those who slay for profit’s sake,
With meat-sellers, no bond to make,
His course is set, his vision true,
The Bodhisattva’s path he’ll pursue.

Avoid the company of sensual souls,
Whores and pleasure-seekers, distant goals,
Exchange not civilities nor glance,
Keep to the path, give not a chance.

Should he preach to a woman alone,
Enter not an apartment, banter not shown,
With purpose clear and mind devout,
The sage’s integrity leaves no doubt.

When seeking food in village near,
Another monk or Buddha’s thought sincere,
Must guide his way and guard his heart,
In this, the sage plays a mindful part.

Herein the first sphere of conduct true,
Wise are those who follow through,
Keeping this Sūtra in memory bright,
Living its wisdom, day and night.

Observing no law, low or high,
Composed or not, real or awry,
Seeing beyond gender’s simple mark,
The wise man’s path is a noble spark.

Searching and finding no laws to bind,
For they’ve never existed in heart or mind,
This is the Bodhisattvas’ view,
A universal truth, eternally true.

Listen now to the proper sphere,
Of those who walk this path sincere,
All laws, all things, not produced, void,
Immovable, everlasting, never destroyed.

The wise see laws as non-existing,
Misconceptions others are resisting,
Wrong notions divide what’s real and not,
Permanency, birth, all wrongly sought.

These false ideas, these worldly claims,
Lead many astray, play deceptive games,
But the Bodhisattva sees with clarity,
Beyond illusion, to truth’s sincerity.

Let the Bodhisattva’s mind be focused, clear,
Firm as Mount Sumeru’s peak, void of fear,
Seeing all laws, all things, in space’s embrace,
Void and empty, in unending grace.

Equal to space, without essence, still,
Without substance, these laws fulfill,
The eternal truth, the wisdom divine,
This is the wise one’s proper line.

Observing this rule with heart sincere,
After my passing, he’ll hold it dear,
Share this Sūtra with courage and might,
Feel no depression, no shadowy fright.

First, let the sage his thoughts restrain,
Meditate deeply, spiritual gain,
Then rise and preach with mind so bold,
Unquailing, fearless, wisdom unfold.

Earth’s kings and princes, all who hear,
Will protect him, hold him dear,
Laymen, Brahmans, gathered around,
In his congregation, truth is found.