The Prose & Verse of The Lotus Sutra

Chapter 25
The Universal Door of the Bodhisattva
Observing the Sounds of the World

Page 11

The Coda:

From "At this time the Bodhisattva Guardian of the Earth...":
This is hearing of this chapter's merits and virtues.

At this time the Bodhisattva Guardian of the Earth arose from his seat and spoke to the Buddha, saying:
"World Honored One - If there are living beings that hear this chapter on the Bodhisattva Observing the Sounds of the World and master its practice, its manifestation of the universal door and its power of spiritual penetration, one must know that the merits and virtues of these people will not be few."

When the Buddha finished teaching this Chapter on the Universal Door, there were eighty-four thousand living beings among the multitude that inspired the unequalled Supreme Universal Enlightenment."

"Unequalled" -

The nine spiritual realms¹ are unable to equal the principle, but the mind of the spiritual realm of enlightenment is able to equal this principle. Therefore it is unequalled but equal.
And the ultimate principle is unequalled. Upon first connecting to the ultimate principle and inspiring the mind one is able to be equal to the principle, and so we speak of that which is unequalled but equal.
And the mind and the principle are both impossible to grasp, just as what two different things are truly equal. Therefore we speak of being unequalled but equal. The mind and the principle are both inexpressible. They are inexpressible and yet they are taught. In teaching that mind is equal to the principle, we speak of that which is unequalled and yet equal.

• The first is the horizontally broad explanation.
• The second is the vertically deep explanation
• The third is the explanation that is neither horizontal nor vertical.

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Footnotes:

1. The Nine Spiritual Realm: see The Spiritual Realms of the Dharma

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