by Harvey Kraft
This throng was organized into four perfectly symmetrical triangular formations of unimaginable scale. Heading each mind-boggling legion were four venerable leaders called the Vanguard of Superb Demeanors. Extending behind each Demeanor was an inverted triangular formation composed of countless followers. The first line behind the leader was made of trillions or more individual Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas lined up side by side. An immense empty space extended between any two individuals.
Furthermore, behind each person in that front line appeared a retinue composed of a similarly inverted triangle formation. So, while each of the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas followed their predecessors, they were also leaders of those behind them. The spaces surrounding each individual had to accommodate additional inverse triangular formations behind each person.
The result was a nearly unfathomable repeating pattern of individuals, each followed by an inverted triangular formation made of other beings, and everyone within those formations also leading a formation of this sort. This symmetrical progression of triangles inside triangles eventually reduced down to infinitesimal triangles. In addition, the formations decreased in size as the triangular shapes narrowed towards the rear until, finally, the last of the descending triangles culminated with one person and no followers.
These progressive formations of the underworld Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas produced an endless super-symmetrical267 cellular array described as an infinite cellular automaton.268 Its interpenetrating triangles described a fractal pattern269 appearing like a fabulous kaleidoscope. This geometric pattern was an illustration of the infinitely concatenating structure of manifestation. For example, inside of one being were contained countless manifestations, meaning that all potential expressions were inherently possible as beings emerged and evolved.
Imagine looking into the seed of the first tree on Earth and at once seeing in it all the leaves that all the trees to ever exist will bear forth. Similarly, this automaton structure portrayed the origination of life as an organized self-perpetuating system in which all generations of future manifestations were poised to appear.
In mythic terms, the progressive symmetry of interpenetrating triangles was a metaphor for the composite of all future generations, as well as the perpetuation of "composite bodies" over time. This visionary snapshot could be applied as well to the evolution of any grouping across space and time, including the formation of social composites such as kingdoms, tribes, towns, and families; or biological entities such as humans, animals, plants, and organisms—from large to infinitesimally small entities.
Only the Buddhas in attendance immediately recognized the throng of "Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas from Below the Surface of Existence." Among the other attendees, including the 80,000 Celestial Bodhisattva- Mahasattvas, none had ever seen or heard of such a host. The Rewardbody celestial beings appeared puzzled. Although they were able to freely travel for eons to every corner of the Universe, none could say that they had ever encountered these Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas from below.
The reason they were unrecognizable was due to their disguised identities. Whenever they appeared anywhere in the Universe of Form, it was only as ordinary beings born into a mortal world. Sakamuni chose the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas from Below the Surface due to their dedication and drive to overcome all obstacles. They were fearless, willing to tackle any challenge. They were ready to struggle against all odds. Emulating the sacrifice and tenacity of the life force itself, they were ready to risk all in order to accomplish their mission, even willing to take the "poison of the mortal veil," which at birth caused one to lose their memories and thereafter suffer from the madness of sufferings.
Sakamuni said these Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas were ideally suited to carry the banner of the Lotus Cosmology into the future. He did not choose his disciples, nor did he accept the celestial Enlightening Beings. He called only on those with the ability to resurrect again and again, those desiring to reawaken the True Self, their original identity.
The full picture of the Ceremony now featured the three audiences: the audience from Vulture Peak floating in front of the temple doors where the two Buddhas were seated, the Buddhas and Celestial Bodhisattvas surrounding the Treasure Tower in the Air, and the triangular formations of the resurrected Bodhisattva Mahasattvas.
The image of the sun and the four legions assembled on the lapis lazuli surface around the Treasure Tower-Temple echoed a sacred symbol dating back to the origins of the Lion-Sun shaman tradition, as well as Egyptian and Sumerian iconography. This was the four-pointed Sun Disc,270 the ancient predecessor of the four-pointed star symbol. This design was composed of a circle and four triangles pointing at the cardinal directions. It originally depicted a "compass-like" configuration with the sun at its the center. Within the colossal spectacle of the Treasure Tower Ceremony, the sun hovering above the tower was surrounded by the four outward-pointed triangle formations on the ground.
This vision evoked a profound connection with the ancient seers who viewed the Sun Disc symbol as the light of Universal Truth reaching everywhere. In Sumerian times the Sun Disc and the Cosmic Mountain facilitated the emergence of Divine Light.
The Sumerian clergy of Nippur had engraved a series of clay tablets titled the "House That Rose Like a Mountain" (Sum. E.KUR), featuring a square-based ziggurat with wings at its sides and a Sun Disc symbol. The silhouette of a lion often accompanied the image of the flying tower. Here in the Lotus Cosmology the same ingredients were present. The Tower in the Sky was tantamount to an airborne Ziggurat/Cosmic Mountain with the Sun above it and the four point cardinal formations of the host below and the Buddhas representing the lion-roaring visionaries.
The four cardinal triangles symbolized beams of light sent in all directions—a call to action for future Buddhas to assemble in the Lotus Cosmology. In this context the Sun Disc represented the prophesied arising of Perfect Enlightenment in the world sphere.271
From the temple in the tower Sakamuni and Bountiful Treasure Buddhas welcomed the Vanguard of Four Superb Demeanors at the helm of the new arrivals. In turn, the four leaders greeted the two Buddhas with a delighted gaze of recognition, and then bowed, saluted and extolled them with hymns of praise. The names of the four luminaries represented the Four Noble Demeanors of Perfect Enlightenment: Demeanor of Supreme Essence, Demeanor of Boundlessness, Demeanor of Pure Intentions, and Demeanor of Steadfast and Indestructible Happiness.
These Four Demeanors defined the enlightened Universal-Mind as joyful, unwavering, pure, and limitless. They were the head of the Cosmic Buddha-body. The entire Cosmic Buddha-body was composed of all the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas who resurrected from Below the Surface of Existence. Together the Vanguard and the Enlightening Beings behind them personified the Cosmic Buddha-body.
The arrival of the Cosmic Buddha-body along with the already present Manifestation-body of Sakamuni and Wisdom-body of Bountiful Treasures completed the assembly of the Threefold Buddha-body, now present for all to see. Perfect Enlightenment was revealed at that moment.
The Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas emerging from underground reflected the potential resurrection of Perfect Enlightenment in a mortal's present body. Approaching Sakamuni Buddha, the Vanguard of four luminaries pledged to undertake the mission to be born in the mortal world in a future-yet-to-come. They volunteered to manifest as human beings. At the appropriate time during Transmigration, they would be born behind the mortal veil as mortal beings endowed with the hidden imprint of the Lotus Cosmology.
Through countless resurrections the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas would evolve until eventually they would find their way back into the Ceremony in the Air. Their goal was to resurrect their original identity while remaining in mortal form. They would re-awaken the True Self, and manifest its enlightened demeanors. Forthwith, they would lead others by setting an example. As other mortals discovered their original identity by opening the gate of the Treasure Tower, they too would experience the deliverance of Perfect Enlightenment. They assured Sakamuni that he could c
ount on them to transform into Buddhas.
"We are Selfless Volunteers," the Demeanor of Supreme Essence declared, "you can rely on us, World-honored One."
Surveying all these Selfless Volunteers standing before him, Sakamuni declared that they had been his original followers from beginningless time. He asserted that he had "caused these Selfless Volunteers to abide in Perfect Enlightenment."
His disciples were stunned and confused by his claim.
How could this be?
How could Sakamuni claim to be the mentor of the Selfless Volunteers?
To fully instruct such an innumerable multitude would take more time than can ever be counted, an inconceivable feat even for the Buddha.
How could he have instructed this incalculable host of beings?
In addition, the audience could readily observe that the venerable Vanguard of Four Demeanors at the helm of the Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas appeared to be much older and wiser than Sakamuni Buddha. Physically he appeared like a ten-year old boy standing next to four centenarians.
It seemed absurd that Sakamuni could have been their teacher. It would be like a child claiming to be the teacher of his great grandparents.
The disciples implored the World-Honored One to explain the puzzling incongruity.
Sakamuni recalled a tale. Long ago in a past life he was the sixteenth son of Universal Surpassing Wisdom Buddha from whom he first learned of the Lotus Sutra. At that time he began to mentor his first disciples and set them on the course of becoming Bodhisattvas. Ever since those disciples had been traveling together with him across Transmigration. However, his current disciples believed that Sakamuni had not achieved Buddhahood until that auspicious day at Bodh Gaya in his present lifetime.
But now the time had come to update the record.
When he was a Buddha-son, Sakamuni encountered his current disciples and began his relationship with them.
But there was more to the story.
He would now address them to clarify the matter. Not only did he first achieve Buddhahood long before the present lifetime, but even longer than that—before he first met his disciples.
ULTIMATE BUDDHA
Sakamuni addressed this mystery as follows:
Some fifty years earlier Siddhartha Gautama, in his Manifestation- body as the Sage of the Saka, awakened to Perfect Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. But apparently this was not his first time. He had used past life stories to illustrate an important point: that the quest for Buddhahood required a valiant and indomitable effort over numerous lifetimes. No matter how long one's quest for Buddhahood will take, one must always have a burning desire for it, and never give up.
The lesson? Desires can be turned into enlightenment.
But, now it was time to reveal that his achievement of Buddhahood in the present lifetime was not the first time in Transmigration that he had manifested as a Buddha.
How can this be both his first time and not the first time?
Once Sakamuni entered the Lotus Cosmology with all his disciples, a paradigm shift occurred. The audience had been transported into the Perfectly Endowed Reality, a super-elastic, timeless-boundless dimension beyond the laws of relativity essential to the time-space continuum. It transcended both boundaries and boundlessness and simultaneously encompassed the here-and-now and forever-always. In this Perfectly Endowed Reality, the Threefold Buddha-body had come together to address the three assemblies.
The Threefold Buddha-body encompassed: (1) the Manifestation-body of Buddhahood embodied in the present by Sakamuni. But it could also manifest as other Buddhas whenever they preached the Lotus Sutra in other places at other times; (2) Bountiful Treasures Buddha personified the Information- body of Buddhahood. His tower contained in its Wisdom-treasury all the memories, all the blessings and all the potentials of all Buddhas; and (3) the boundless Cosmic-body of Buddhahood was personified in the Selfless Volunteers, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva from Below the Surface of Existence, the original seed-cause of Perfect Enlightenment, and the fountainhead source from which all mortal beings emerge.
Sakamuni was the voice of the Threefold Buddha-body, and when he channeled it the speaker that came to the fore was the identity of the Ultimate Buddha, a composite of all Buddhas. In his aspect as the Manifestation Buddha-body he would speak on behalf of the Ultimate Buddha.
Therefore, when Sakamuni claimed to be the mentor of the Selfless Volunteers and that he had attained Buddhahood before time itself, he was already channeling the voice of the Ultimate Buddha. Yet to the mortal eyes of his disciples the familiar earthly figure of Siddhartha Gautama did not appear to change.
Channeling the voice and thoughts of the divine had been a traditional practice in Gautama's time in Babylon. During the Annual Anointing of the King Ceremony, for example, the Magi High Priest of Esagila would channel the voice of the Supreme Being, Marduk. But those memories faded into a soft smile as the Ultimate Buddha began to speak from the mouth of Sakamuni Buddha:
[All] believe that Sakamuni Buddha came forth from the home of the Saka clan, and seated [under the Cosmic Tree] not far from Gaya, he had attained Perfect Enlightenment. However, my wonderful children, since I truly became Buddha, hundreds of thousands multiplied by millions multiplied by billions multiplied by infinite numbers of Eons have passed.272
With these words the Ultimate Buddha declared that he had attained Buddhahood long before Sakamuni's present lifetime. Now it made sense to the audience why Sakamuni Buddha said he was the teacher of the original Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas from Below the Surface of Existence. It also explained why no one but the Buddhas in attendance had been aware of the Selfless Volunteers before meeting them in this ceremony. Only Buddhas knew that the seed cause of Perfect Enlightenment was endowed within all mortal beings, that all beings originated from Below the Surface of Existence, and that the Ultimate Buddha was their teacher.
The Ultimate Buddha then spoke to illustrate the scope of his presence across time, space, scale, dimension, and Transmigration, as follows:
Suppose you collected 5,000 x 10,000 x 100,000 x 1,000,000 x 1,000,000,000 world systems and multiplied that number times infinity, and, then grinded all those worlds into grains of sand. Then, suppose you traveled eastward across the vastness of space and time, and after you passed over 5,000 x 10,000 x 100,000 x 1,000,000 worlds, you dropped a single grain on one world, after which you continued on until you finished dropping all the grains in this incremental way. Can any among you calculate the total number of worlds you have passed along your route?
[Although this number is incalculable] imagine now that you could go back, but this time collect all the worlds that you crossed from the beginning to the end of your journey, including all those you passed over and those that received one grain. Next, imagine that again you reduced all those worlds into grains of sand. Now, equate each grain in your collection with one Cosmic Eon (4.32 billion years). After counting all the particles in your possession and multiplying them by the number of years, you will arrive at an unimaginably large total. Still the number of years since I actually attained Buddhahood would exceed the total you have calculated by 5,000 x 10,000 x 100,000 x 1,000,000 multiplied by infinity.
This unimaginable span meant that Perfect Enlightenment was timeless and boundless. The Ultimate Buddha was the composite identity of all the Buddhas that ever existed. His Buddha-body, the body shared by all Buddhas, was everywhere. The audience of disciples now recognized that the bringing together of the Threefold Buddha-body had been for a designated purpose. The Ultimate Buddha had arrived in the One Vehicle of the Lotus Cosmology in order to advance the evolution of mortals on Earth.
[Thus I declare that] from beginningless time I have been present continuously throughout the realms of enduring suffering, revealing [the Truth], teaching [the methods], and delivering mortal beings in more than a hundred thousand million billion domains.273
The passage "from beginningless time I have been present continuously" referred to the dedicat
ion of the Ultimate Buddha, the body from which all Buddhas emanated, all Buddhas shared, and all Buddhas embodied, to deliver Perfect Enlightenment everywhere.
All the Buddhas, absent a forked tongue,
answer widely all voices without a word;
although having one body,
they appear in innumerable and numberless bodies.274
Deliverance was a mysterious power that could not be accomplished with words. Therefore, the Buddhas in unison "answered widely all voices without one word," which meant that they had found a way to deliver mortal beings into Perfect Enlightenment 'without the use of words.' That solution was the One Vehicle of Buddhahood, the Lotus Cosmology vision, whose transformative power could transport sincere seekers into the Perfectly Endowed Reality of Perfect Enlightenment.
In the passage "although having one body, they appear in innumerable and numberless bodies," the Ultimate Buddha declared that his body interpenetrated all the bodies of all the Buddhas. In other words, his "composite Buddha-body" was the equivalent of "innumerable Buddha- bodies." Conversely, the Threefold Buddha-body was shared by every Buddha, past, present, and future. This statement articulated the Doctrine of Mutual Interpenetration. It offered the enlightened view that everything was inside everything else.
The Doctrine of Mutual Interpenetration defined a cosmographic configuration wherein One State of Being (i.e., Perfect Enlightenment) pervaded All States of Being (i.e., conditions of Existence) and, conversely, All States of Being formed One State of Being. True to his earlier declaration that there was no absolute, no such thing as a singularly absolute entity on any scale, this doctrine illustrated that any one thing could only be composed of many things although, counter intuitively, this doctrine added that the components of Existence, such as human beings, were endowed with the whole existence.