Chapter 21: Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One

The Bodhisattvas of the Earth, led by Superior Practices, rise before the Buddha and vow to uphold and propagate the Lotus Sutra in the evil ages to come. In response, the Buddha displays ten supernatural powers of cosmic scale. He extends his broad, long tongue until it reaches the Brahma heaven. From every pore of his body he emits rays of light that illuminate all the worlds in the ten directions. All the Buddhas seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees throughout those worlds extend their tongues and emit light in the same manner. This display continues for a hundred thousand years.

The Buddhas throughout the ten directions cough in unison, and all snap their fingers simultaneously. The sound of these two acts reverberates through every Buddha-land in the universe, and the earth trembles in six different ways. All the beings in those worlds -- gods, dragons, asuras, humans, and every other class -- are able by the Buddha's supernatural power to see the entire assembly gathered on Vulture Peak, and they hear the Buddha's voice encouraging all to take joy in the Lotus Sutra.

The Buddha then declares that all of his supernatural powers, all the secret storehouses of the Tathagata, and all the profound matters of the Tathagata are proclaimed and revealed in this sutra. He formally entrusts the sutra to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, touching their heads with his hand and transmitting the teaching. In Nichiren Buddhism, this moment -- the specific transfer from Shakyamuni to Superior Practices and the Bodhisattvas of the Earth rather than to other bodhisattvas -- is considered the most important event in the entire sutra, establishing the lineage of those who will carry the Dharma into the age of the Latter Day of the Law.