明三七日行法華懺法勸修第一
A Three-Week Seven-Day Practice of the Lotus Repentance Ritual, Encouraging Practice, Part One
如來滅後。後五百歲濁惡世中。比丘比丘尼優婆塞優婆夷。誦大乘經者。欲修大乘行者。發大乘意者。欲見普賢菩薩色身者。欲見釋迦牟尼佛多寶佛塔分身諸佛及十方佛者。欲得六根清淨入佛境界通達無閡者。欲得聞十方諸佛所說。一念之中悉能受持通達不忘。解釋演說無障閡者。欲得與文殊師利普賢等諸大菩薩共為等侶者。欲得普現色身一念之中不起滅定遍至十方一切佛土供養一切諸佛者。欲得一念之中遍到十方一切佛剎。現種種色身作種種神變。放大光明說法度脫一切眾生。入不思議一乘者。欲得破四魔。淨一切煩惱。滅一切障道罪。現身入菩薩正位。具一切諸佛自在功德者。先當於空閑處。三七日一心精進入法華三昧。若有現身犯五逆四重失比丘法。欲得清淨還具沙門律儀。得如上所說種種勝妙功德者。亦當於三七日中。一心精進修法華三昧。所以者何。此法華經是諸如來祕密之藏。於諸經中最在其上。行大直道無留難故。如轉輪王髻中明珠不妄與人。若有得者隨意所須種種珍寶悉皆具足。法華三昧亦復如是。能與一切眾生佛法珍寶。是故菩薩行者應當不計身命。盡未來際修行此經。況三七日耶。問曰。佛道長遠。三七日修行當有何益。答有三種益。在下當說。
After the Tathagata has passed into nirvana, in the evil and turbid age of the latter five hundred years, there will be monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen who recite the Great Vehicle scriptures, who wish to practice the Great Vehicle, who have aroused the intention for the Great Vehicle, who wish to see the physical body of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, who wish to see Shakyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Buddha, the stupa, the transformation bodies of the Buddhas, and the Buddhas of the ten directions, who wish to attain purity of the six sense faculties and enter the Buddha's realm with unobstructed understanding, who wish to hear what all the Buddhas of the ten directions teach and in a single thought-moment be able to receive, uphold, understand, and never forget it, and expound and explain it without obstruction, who wish to become companions equal to great bodhisattvas such as Manjushri and Samantabhadra, who wish to universally manifest physical bodies and in a single thought-moment, without arising from the cessation-concentration, reach all Buddha lands of the ten directions and make offerings to all Buddhas, who wish in a single thought-moment to reach all Buddha lands of the ten directions, manifest various physical bodies, display various supernatural transformations, emit great radiance, teach the Dharma, and liberate all living beings, and enter the inconceivable One Vehicle, who wish to destroy the four maras, purify all afflictions, extinguish all karmic offenses that obstruct the path, personally enter the correct position of a bodhisattva, and possess all the Buddhas' sovereign merits and virtues—
They should first, in a quiet and secluded place, for twenty-one days, single-mindedly and diligently enter the Lotus Sutra Samadhi.
If there are those who in their present bodies have committed the five heinous offenses or the four grave offenses, have lost the monastic precepts of a monk, and wish to become pure again and restore the full monastic discipline, and to attain the various supreme and wondrous merits described above, they too should, within twenty-one days, single-mindedly and diligently cultivate the Lotus Sutra Samadhi.
Why is this? Because this Lotus Sutra is the secret treasury of all Tathagatas. Among all scriptures, it stands supreme. It is a great direct path, without obstacles or difficulties. Like the pearl in the topknot of a wheel-turning king, it is not given away carelessly. But whoever obtains it will, according to their every need, be fully provided with all kinds of precious treasures. The Lotus Sutra Samadhi is likewise: it can give all living beings the treasures of the Buddha Dharma. Therefore, bodhisattva practitioners should not begrudge their bodies or lives, and should practice this scripture until the end of the future, so how much more so for twenty-one days?
Question: The Buddha's path is long and distant. What benefit could twenty-one days of practice bring?
Answer: There are three kinds of benefit, which will be explained below.