Can the Buddha travel back in time?

On page 252 of the Lotus Sutra*, Shakyamuni Buddha introduces to the Great Assembly a group that suddenly appears, having emerged from the earth. About these, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth (BOTE), the Buddha has this to say: “[They are as numerous as] the sands of sixty-thousand Ganges Rivers, and each of these bodhisattvas has a retinue [of bodhisattvas] equal to the sands of sixty-thousand Ganges Rivers.”

Page 260 has this statement by Shakyamuni Buddha about the BOTE, which I personally find to be the most amazing in this entire sutra:

QUOTE:

Ajita, you should understand this.

These great bodhisattvas

for countless kalpas

have practiced the buddha wisdom.

All have been converted by me;

I caused them to set their minds on the great way.

…

When I was in the vicinity of the city of Gaya,

seated beneath the bodhi tree,

I attained the highest, the correct enlightenment,

and turned the wheel of the unsurpassed Law.

Thereafter I taught and converted them,

caused them for the first time to set their minds on

the way.

Now all of them dwell in the stage of non-regression,

and all in time will be able to become buddhas.

What I speak now are true words -

with a single mind you must believe them!

Ever since the long distant past

I have been teaching and converting this multitude.

:UNQUOTE.

The three highlights above illustrate my concern:

In the first: The Buddha was “in the vicinity of the city of Gaya” about 40 years prior to him speaking these words.

In the second: Referring to his Gaya enlightenment (again 40 years prior), he says (“Thereafter”) that he “caused them for the first time to set their minds on the way.”

In the third: The Buddha says he's been “teaching and converting” the BOTE “ever since the long distant past” - which is far greater than 40 years ago, according to the sixteenth chapter.

In response to the above quote, on page 261, appear these words:

QUOTE:

Thereupon Maitrea said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, when the Thus Come One was crown prince, you left the palace of the Shakyas and sat in the place of enlightenment not far from the city of Gaya, and there attained supreme perfect enlightenment. Barely forty years or more have passed since then. World-Honored One, how in that short time could you have accomplished so much work as a buddha? Was it through the authoritative powers of a buddha, or through the blessings of a buddha, that you were able to teach and convert such an immeasurable number of great bodhisattvas and enable them to achieve supreme perfect enlightenment?

:UNQUOTE.

Maitreya misses the point. He doesn't point out the contradiction I detailed in the first, second, and third highlights I described above. As I've progressed in my career of reciting (so far, over 150 times) and pondering the Lotus Sutra, I've had many questions pop into my mind. I'm amazed that Maitreya didn't ask what I am asking. Instead, he shows a willingness to settle for any crumb of an answer from the Buddha. When Maitreya asks “Was it through the authoritative powers...or the blessings of a buddha, that you were able to teach...?”, what would he have said if the Buddha had simply said, “Yes?”

Would he have had any follow up questions? If Maitreya would have remained silent, would any of the other members of the Great Assembly spoken up?

The last words of chapter 15 comprise this question which the Buddha never answers:

     These immeasurable bodhisattvas -

     how in such a short time

     did you teach them, cause them to have aspiring minds,

     and to dwell in the stage of no regression?

My speculation

There are only two ways the Buddha could have converted the BOTE after he attained enlightenment near the city of Gaya as well as since the long-distance past.

The first way

The Gaya enlightenment of 40 years ago was different from the enlightenment in the long-distance past – which also occurred near a city called Gaya. What happened 40 years ago was just a story (an untrue story) the Buddha told his disciples because they weren't ready for the truth. In chapter 16, the Buddha tells us that he did not first attain enlightenment 40 years ago but had done so trillions of years ago in the past. Furthermore, during those trillions of years he never died and is still alive today, even though he gave the appearance of his demise 2,500 years ago in ancient India.

And maybe that's the most important concept – the Buddha's life span, a life span that we too can acquire. At the end of chapter 16, Shakyamuni states:

     This life span of countless kalpas

     I gained as the result of lengthy practice.

     You who are possessed of wisdom,

     entertain no doubts on this point.

     Cast them off, end them forever...

The Second Way: A Tale of Two Gayas (continued)

Maybe something truly profound happened 2,500 years ago in Gaya, India. The sixteenth chapter tells us of the long duration of the Buddha's life. But it doesn't tell us that maybe the enlightenment he gained acquired another feature – one not possessed by Shakyamuni until then. And that is, the ability to travel back in time. How many times do we wish we could turn back the hands of time and do things differently? Maybe Shakyamuni was able to go back in time in order to convert and teach the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, something he had not yet even started to do when he was born on earth 2,500 years ago.

Only then would the part I highlighted in yellow (above, from the Lotus Sutra) make any sense. The Lotus Sutra speaks of even unenlightened bodhisattvas having the ability to expand and compress time – to make a kapla seem like a day, or make a day seem like a kalpa. I guess the meaning of the word “seem” would be a good place to start our meditation on this possibility.

On practice and impatience

What's so odd about the Bodhisattvas of the Earth isn't their appearance – it's how quickly they are ignored! After chapter 15, in which the BOTE are introduced, chapter 16 does not mention them even once! And they are scarcely mentioned at all thereafter. In fact, this question somewhat humorously occurred to me: Did any (or all!) of the trillions of buddhas present when the BOTE made their appearance – all emanations of Shakyamuni – also have their own groups of BOTE they'd taught and converted? And if they did, were those emanations of the BOTE Shakyamuni introduced to us in Chapter 15?

Given how suddenly Shakyamuni Buddha drops the subject of the BOTE, it occurs to me that they don't really matter. What does matter are the two major concepts presented in chapter 16: Shakyamuni's “lengthy practice” and the amazing duration of his life span.

Meanwhile, we're stuck here in this modern world, trying to think of ways to save human beings and attract them to the practice of Buddhism. It seems rather pointless to reflect on the BOTE and how, or if, they fit into how we go about preaching the Law to a world which so desperately needs salvation. The Lotus Sutra speaks so matter-of-factly of periods of time that boggle the imagination. As if we have all the time in the world to convert and save human beings in a world that seems to be rushing toward disaster.

This sense of pending disaster disturbs the tranquility of my mind. But I have to keep reminding myself of the importance of tranquility – that without it, we cannot become enlightened. For encouragement in this area, I look to the last four lines of chapter 16:

     At all times I think to myself:

     How can I cause living beings

     to gain entry into the unsurpassed way

     and quickly acquire the body of a buddha?

[Side Note: the highlight says living beings; it doesn't say “people.”]

The Buddha can “think to [him]self” without losing his tranquility. But I only become agitated with impatience. Then I start to think of others who are impatient – such as the partisans on both sides of the Ukrainian divide. There are, for example, Russian-speaking natives of Ukraine who are willing to do Vladimir Putin's bidding in the name of reclaiming the glory of Mother Russia. Or at least to contain or even reverse subtle and relentless CIA plots against Russian influence in that part of the world.

So many hotblooded patriots out there. So few Seekers of the Way to whom Truth is a glorious god to be served, and to whom efforts to relieve the suffering of others assume paramount importance.

For my own part? All I can do is continue to recite the Lotus Sutra, to meditate as the Lotus Sutra guides me, and to share my thoughts on this blog. Oh, and to pray for inspiration on how to attract and guide living beings so they too will become Seekers of the Way.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Steven Searle, just another member of the

Virtual Samgha of the Lotus and

former candidate for President of the USA (in 2008 & 2012)

Contact me at bpa_cinc @ yahoo.com

Footnote:

Lotus Sutra* - In today's post, all of my citations from this highly-esteemed text of Mahayana Buddhism come from the version translated into English by Burton Watson, and published and copyrighted by the Soka Gakkai in 2009, bearing the title:

The Lotus Sutra and its opening and closing sutras