Overall Teaching

Bodhisattvas are entrusted with teaching the Lotus Sūtra to beings, and this is how they can repay their indebtedness to the Buddha.

Summary

1. The Buddha touches the heads of the innumerable bodhisattvas and entrusts them with the teaching of it.

2. As the Buddha spent countless aeons practicing the Lotus Sūtra, and now teaches it, bodhisattvas repay their indebtedness to the Buddha by doing the same.

   1. The bodhisattvas vow to do as he entreated them.

3. The Buddha then invites all of the bodhisattvas and the Buddha Prabhūtaratna to return to their own worlds. They, in turn, rejoice greatly.

Analysis

Tao-sheng points out that this section wraps up the causal and effectual section of the sūtra. As the third section, beginning here, deals with practitioners of the three vehicles and one vehicle, it is appropriate that here the Buddha should entrust it to bodhisattvas and entreat them to practice it.