Lavender fields in France

Shakyamuni’s Mission

as told in The Threefold Lotus Sutra

  With all its grand “other-worldly” tales of treasure towers and Great Bodhisattvas rising from the earth, magic cities, stories of fabulous, larger-than-life enlightened beings (buddhas), as well as stories of extraordinary deeds of ordinary living beings, including persons of learning and those of self-attained enlightenment, it’s clear nevertheless that the Buddha’s supreme intent described in the sutra is to “cause all the living to enter the way supreme and speedily accomplish enlightenment.”
  For those of you who are following the thread "Buddhahood in Three Dimensions" by Thich Nhat Hahn in 9 parts linked at my timeline: here is a significant view of "its grand other-worldly tales . . . :
  Chapter 1 of the Lotus Sutra takes us to Vulture Peak, near the city of Rajagriha in the kingdom of Magadha (present-day northeast India), where the Buddha has gathered with a large assembly of disciples . . . This vast multitude of many different kinds of beings is present in the assembly when the Buddha is about to deliver the Lotus Sutra. This not only sets the stage for the delivery of the sutra in the historical dimension, but also reveals the ultimate dimension. The vast numbers of shravakas and bodhisattvas, the presence of gods and mythical beings, give us our first taste of the ultimate dimension and show us that the opportunity to hear the Lotus Sutra delivered by the Buddha is something very special, a great occurrence not to be missed. / / /

  The Threefold Lotus Sutra is one of the world’s great religious classics representing the culmination of the Buddha’s ageless teaching of wisdom, compassion and liberation, a significant resource for all those today whose hearts are longing to discover peace of mind and their place in the world.

  Also, the Sutra contains many “threads” following the Buddha’s life, and the dynamic, sometimes dramatic tale of a how he became motivated to go out into the world revealing his experience of attaining enlightenment to men and women of all classes and religions, so that all could attain the same enlightenment as he after “long sitting” under the Bodhi tree in the City of Gaya.

To give peace to all creatures I appear in the world,
and for the hosts of the living
preach the Law pure as sweet dew,
the one and only Law of emancipation and nirvana.
With one transcendent voice I proclaim this meaning,
constantly taking the Great-vehicle as my subject.
I look upon all everywhere with equal eyes,
without distinction of persons, or mind of love or hate.
I have no predilections nor limitations or partiality;
ever to all I preach the Law equally;
as to one person, so to all.