At this time Manjusri spoke to the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Maitreya and all of the great sages.

The Lotus Sutra
Chapter One - The Introduction
Text, Part Three

At this time Manjusri spoke to the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Maitreya and all of the great sages.

Good sons: In my considered opinion, the Buddha, the World Honored One, now desires to :
     Teach the Great Dharma,
     Rain the rain of the Great Dharma,
     Blow the conch of the Great Dharma,
     Beat the drum of the Great Dharma, and
     Expand on the meaning of the Great Dharma.

Good sons: I have seen these signs before in the Buddhas of the past. After they issued forth a light like this, they taught the Great Dharma. Therefore you must understand that when this Buddha manifests a radiance like this, he will do so as well. He manifests signs such as these because he desires to make all living beings get to hear and understand the Dharma that is difficult for all in the world to believe.

Good sons: It is the same as it was in the past, limitless, boundless and unimaginably countless eons ago. At that time there was a Buddha named Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon, One That Has Come, Worthy of Offerings, Truly Omniscient, Perfect in Illumination and Conduct, Well Departed, Understander the World, Great Leader, Tamer of Men, Teacher of the Gods and People, and World Honored One.

His broad teaching of the True Dharma was excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle and excellent in the end. Its meaning was deep and far reaching, its language was skillful and subtle, and it was simple and without adulteration. It was complete, it was pure and it had all the characteristics of a Brahma practice.

For those that sought to be spiritual disciples, he taught of the Four Truths, deliverence from birth, old age, sickness and death, and the ultimate Nirvana.
For those that sought spiritual self-awakening, he taught of the twelvefold wheel of causality and conditions.
For the Bodhisattvas, he taught of the six perfections, making them attain the supreme universal enlightenment and the wisdom of all kinds.

Then there was another Buddha, also called Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon, then then yet another and, like this, there were twenty thousand Buddhas, all with the same name, Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon. And they were all from the same clan called Bharadvaja. Maitreya you must know that from the first Buddha to the last, they all had the same name. They all perfectly possessed the ten titles of honor and their teachings of the Dharma were excellent at the beginning, excellent in the middle and excellent at the end.

Before leaving home, the very last of these Buddhas had eight royal sons. Their names were:

Having Resolve
Good Resolve
Measureless Resolve
The Treasure of Resolve
Increasing Resolve
Resolve that Abolishes Doubt
Echoing Resolve
Resolve of the Dharma

With mastery of dignity and virtue, each of them ruled the four quarters below heaven. All these royal sons heard that their father had left home and attained the supreme universal enlightenment. They all forsook their royal stations and followed him by leaving home and inspiring the mind of the Great Vehicle. Always cultivating the Brahma practice, they all became Masters of the Dharma, having planted good spiritual roots before millions of Buddhas.

At this time the Buddha Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon taught the Great Vehicle Sutra called Limitless Meanings, explaining the spirituality of the Bodhisattvas that is protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas.
Having taught the Sutra, he sat among the great assembly with his legs locked in lotus position and he entered into a Samadhi called The Sphere of Limitless Meanings, his mind and body unmoving.
The heavens then rained down mandarava blossoms, maha-mandarava blossoms, manjushaka blossoms and maha-manjushaka blossoms, scattering them over the Buddha and the great assembly.
Everywhere the world of the Buddha shook and trembled six ways.
Then, having experienced that never before seen, the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, the gods, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras and mahoragas, those human and not human, the petty kings, the noble wheel turning king and all the others in the great assembly rejoiced and pressed their palms together, observing the Buddha with a single mind.
A ray of light then issued forth from the white whorl of hair in the middle of the Buddha's brow, illuminating eighteen thousand Buddha worlds in the east. There was nowhere that the light did not penetrate, just like you have seen it illuminate the Buddha lands now.

Maitreya you should understand that at this time there were twenty million Bodhisattvas in the assembly wishing to enquire into the Dharma. All these Bodhisattvas saw this light illuminating the Buddha lands everywhere, and experienced that never before seen. They all desired to understand the reason for this light.

At this time there was a Bodhisattva named Wonderful Light who had eight hundred disciples. Because of the Bodhisattva Wonderful Light the Buddha Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon rose up from Samadhi and taught the Great Vehicle Sutra called The Lotus Blossom of the Wonderful Dharma, explaining the spirituality of the Bodhisattvas that is protected and kept in mind by the Buddhas. For sixty small kalpas he did not rise up from his seat, and those in the assembly that listened also sat in one place for sixty small kalpas, their bodies and minds motionless. The time that they listened to the Buddha's teaching seemed like the same as that for taking a meal. During this time not a single person in the assembly grew tired or weary in body or mind.

Having taught this Sutra for sixty small kalpas, the Buddha Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon spoke the following words to Brahma, Mara, the Sramaneras, the Brahmans, as well as the gods, the people, and the asuras in the assembly:

"Tonight at midnight The One That Has Come will enter into the Nirvana that is without a trace."

At this time there was a Bodhisattva named Treasury of Virtue. The Buddha Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon bestowed a prophecy of enlighenment upon him.:

"This Bodhisattva Treasury of Virtue will become the next Buddha and be named Pure Life, Tathagata, Arhat, and Samyak-Sambuddha."

Having bestowed the prophecy, he entered into the Nirvana that is without a trace.

After the extinction of the Buddha, the Bodhisattva Wonderful Light embraced The Sutra on the Lotus Blossom of the Wonderful Dharma, teaching it to people for a full eighty kalpas. The eight children of the Buddha Bright Lamp of the Sun and Moon all took the Bodhisattva Wonderful Light as their teacher, who instructed and influenced them, making them firm and strong in the supreme universal enlightenment. Having offered service to hundreds, thousands and millions of Buddhas, these royal children all attained the path of enlightenment. The very last of these children to attain enlightenment was named Steady Burning Lamp.

Of the eight hundred disciples of the Bodhisattva Wonderful Light, there was one person named Seeker of Fame who was greedily attached to benefits and comforts. Although he read and recited the Sutras over and over, he did not keenly penetrate their meaning, forgetting much of what he read. For this reason he was called Seeker of Fame. However, because this person also planted the seeds for many good spiritual roots, he got to meet countless Buddhas and offer service to them, revere them and honor them with praise

Maitreya you must know now that the Bodhisattva Wonderful Light was none other than me and the Bodhisattva Seeker of Fame was you.

Now, in seeing these signs, it is no different than before. Therefore, in my considered opinion, The One That Has Come today will teach the Great Vehicle Sutra called The Lotus Blossom of the Wonderful Dharma, teaching of the spirituality of the Bodhisattvas which the Buddhas protect and in keep in mind.

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