Overall Teaching 

As an example of the purity of the six faculties, the Buddha gives an example from his past life as the Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta. 

Summary 

• 1. The Buddha explains to Mahāsthāmaprāpta (He who Obtained Great Strength) that those who revile bodhisattvas who are upholders of the "Lotus Sūtra will sow a bitter harvest.” (50b) 

  2. The Buddha tells of a past age when, after the parinirvāṇa of the Buddha at that time, monks became excessively proud and overbearing. At that time the Buddha the Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta (Never Despising/literally: Always Not-Slighted) who would praise and pay homage to any monk, nun, layman, or laywoman, saying that they will become Buddhas – even though people disparaged him, hence how he got his name. (50b-c) 

  3. As Sadāparibhūta died, he heard countless verses of the Lotus Sūtra and after perfecting the six faculties as discussed previously, his lifespan increased to an immeasurable length and he taught the Lotus Sūtra far and wide. Those who formerly disparaged him, now became his followers. After dying he encountered Buddhas, and continued to teach the sūtra in accordance with their teachings. (51a) 

  4. After having met more buddhas and continuing to teach in accordance with their teachings, Sadāparibhūta attained buddhahood. Those who disparaged him in the past, after having suffered in Avīci, were born again as humans and heard the Lotus Sūtra from him. (51a-b) 

  5. The Buddha reveals that he was Sadāparibhūta, and the disciples he taught in the past are those who are hearing it now. (51b) 

  6. Since propagation of the Lotus Sūtra results in the purification of the faculties in this way, the Buddha instructs his disciples to propagate it and reiterates in verse. (51b-c) 

Analysis 

According to Tao-sheng, this chapter is a concrete example of someone who upholds and propagates the Lotus Sūtra, and who has purified the six faculties as a result. The spirit of this chapter is that we should respect all people equally, and be patient with them, because they can all attain the same goal, even though they may disparage and disrespect it and disrespect you. Also, the theme of the consequence of arising in Avīci as a result of slandering this sūtra, from chapter three, is here repeated. Note also that those who are then bodhisattvas in the assembly of the Buddha, hearing the Lotus Sūtra in person, were once slanderers of the same text, and ended up in Avīci as a result – what more to speak of us, who are now encountering it likewise? Thus, respecting each other, we must understand that through infinite past lives, we have been in the shoes of those who disrespect us today, countless times.