Könchok Chödrak wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 11:07 pm
Well it’s clear in the text of the Burton Watson translation:
"The way of the bodhisattva is the same as this. As long as a person has not yet heard. Not yet understood. And not yet been able to practice this Lotus Sutra, then you should know that person is still far away from anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Why? Because all bodhisattvas who attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi in all cases do so through this sutra. This sutra opens the gate of expedient means and shows the form of true reality. This storehouse of the Lotus Sutra is hidden deep and far away where no person can reach it. But the Buddha, teaching, converting and leading to success the bodhisattvas, opens it up for them.
"Medicine King, if there are bodhisattvas who, on hearing this Lotus Sutra, respond with surprise, doubt and fear, then you should know that they are bodhisattvas who have only newly embarked on their course. And if there are voice-hearers who, on hearing this sutra, respond with surprise, doubt, and fear, then you should know that they are persons of overbearing arrogance.
https://nichiren.info/buddhism/lotussut ... hap10.html
In a sense the Buddha is saying that everything He teaches comes from the Lotus Sutra, even the entirety of Buddhism and vice versa, conceptually we can understand this because everything in Buddhism brings one closer to Enlightenment.
I understand you believe that everything the Buddha taught comes from the Lotus Sutra. But I do not find support for that position in the text you’ve cited. See section 10.31 in the 84000 version. There is no mention of all bodhisattvas attaining buddhahood based on this sūtra. Just to be clear, I do not have doubt, surprise, or fear of what the Buddha taught in the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha’s Dharma is a many faceted gem. The Lotus is one of those facets, but it is only a facet, not the whole gem, not for me. YMMV.
All this section says is:
"It is because this Dharma teaching is the supreme elucidation of the teachings that have an implied meaning of the secret aspect of the Dharma taught by the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas so that the bodhisattva mahāsattvas may attain complete accomplishment."
In other words, in this sūtra, the implied meaning that is revealed is the ekayāna. That's it. This is how it is understood by Maitrya, Śantideva, and other great Indian masters, who are the ones in whom I place my faith when it comes to accurately portraying the meaning of Mahāyāna Dharma.
Moreover, in my tradition, there is a text called the
Tantra of the Sole Heir of All Buddhas. This text arises as the sound of dharmatā, the very sound of reality itself, which is self-originated; and it is the text, according to my tradition, that is explicitly responsible for buddhahood of all buddhas. All Dharma teachings come from this tantra alone. I don't expect you to believe this, but this is what this text states.