Tales from the Lotus Sutra

King Suzudan and Ashi the Hermit 

This parable was preached by the Buddha in the Devadatta  (twelfth) 
Chapter of the Lotus Sutra utilizing an evil person and the Buddha to 
demonstrate the magnificence of the teachings of Myoho-Renge-Kyo 
through the relationship of master and disciple.In it, a person who 
was the master in the past finds himself as the disciple in the 
present.
Long ago, a monarch called King Suzudan, in his search for the true 
and correct teachings of Buddhism, abdicated his throne to the prince 
and traveled about. The king cried out as he beat a drum, "Isn't there 
anyone who will teach me the Law of Mahayana Buddhism? If I 
could find such a person, I will serve that person with all my might 
and for the rest of my life!"
A hermit named Ashi came up to the king and said, "I know the 
teachings of the Law of Mahayana Buddhism. It is called Myoho-
Renge-Kyo. If you serve me diligently, then I will preach the Law to 
you."
With joy, King Suzudan exclaimed, "Please make me your disciple! I 
will serve you throughout my entire life." The king, true to his word, 
faithfully and diligently served the hermit. The king picked fruits 
from the trees and gave them to the hermit to eat, he drew water 
from the stream and gave it to the hermit to drink, he gathered 
firewood and prepared food to eat. When it turned cold, King 
Suzudan built a fire to warm his master the hermit and when it was 
hot he fanned the hermit to keep him cool. He prepared a place for 
the hermit to sleep every evening, assiduously serving the hermit in 
any way he could, day and night, for a thousand years.
During that entire period, King Suzudan never once allowed himself 
to become lazy, and faithfully served his master with the feeling 
that, "One day I will, without a doubt, be able to hear the revered 
teachings of Myoho-Renge-Kyo." So no matter how arduous the 
Buddhist austerities became, he never complained or regretted his 
decision. The king had given up a life in which he had never lacked a 
single thing, but one in which he had constantly suffered deep within 
his heart from the selfish desires of greed for fame, material things 
or words of praise from the people around him. However, he now 
found himself without a single horse, retainer or riches, and without 
any feelings of attachment. His mind had become purely earnest, 
seeking nothing but the Law of Buddhism. He felt that the long time 
of one thousand years was but a mere trifle.
One day, the king said to the hermit, "I have grown old and my life is 
about to draw to a close. You have allowed me to serve you so that I 
may learn with my body and soul, the joys of carrying out Buddhist 
austerities in search of the Law of Buddhism. Will you now preach to 
me the revered teachings of Myoho-Renge-Kyo?" The king lowered 
his forehead upon a rock as he pleaded with the hermit. The hermit 
beamed and replied, "King Suzudan! There is not a single thing left 
for me to teach you." Shocked at the hermit's reply, the king asked, 
"Didn't you tell me that if I devoted my entire life to serving you, 
you would then preach the Law of Myoho-Renge-Kyo to me?" The 
hermit explained, "King Suzudan, the Lotus Sutra is a teaching for 
which you must devote your entire body. This is called 'reading the 
sutra with one's life' which means physically devoting one's life to 
the revered teaching of the Buddha. King, you have for the longest 
period of time, physically devoted your life to this teaching with 
pure sincerity. This means that you have read the Lotus Sutra with 
your body. Therefore, there is nothing left at this point, for me to 
teach you." The hermit continued, "You have been able to achieve the 
state of Buddhahood through the benefit of practicing the True Law 
of Buddhism for a thousand years."
Shakyamuni Buddha discussed this particular point in the Devadatta 
Chapter of the Lotus Sutra in the following fashion:
King Suzudan is my present self (Shakyamuni Buddha) and the 
hermit Ashi has now become Devadatta. Through the benefit of 
Myoho-Renge-Kyo which the hermit Ashi protected and embraced, I 
have become a Buddha and have been endowed with all the thirty-
two aspects and eighty characteristics [of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, 
Taishaku, Bonten and the Wheel Turning King], divine and other 
powers so that I may teach and save every single living being. This is 
the power of the benefit of the law of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. My old 
master, Ashi the hermit, then became Devadatta who slandered and 
told lies about me, the Buddha, and attempted to entrap me and 
destroy the unity of the priests. He also attempted, on several 
occasions, to kill me.
Nichiren Daishonin further stated in the Gosho, "Reply to Lord Ueno": 
Long ago, Devadatta was once Shakyamuni's master. That is to say 
that the master of the past became the disciple (because Devadatta 
had been a disciple of Shakyamuni); stated in an opposite manner, 
the former disciple had become the master. The profound 
significance of the Devadatta Chapter of the Lotus Sutra is that past 
and present, master and disciple, and the opposite order of people 
(those who are believers and those who oppose Buddhism) will all 
become enlightened.(For reference, see M.W., Vol. 2, p. 303)
The top of the Third High Priest, Nichimoku Shonin's head was 
depicted in an ancient painting slightly flattened. It is said that this 
indentation resulted from the time Nichimoku Shonin served 
Nichiren Daishonin at Mt. Minobu, by carrying a bucket of water on 
his head everyday as he ascended the mountain after drawing water 
from a river in the valley below. In addition to this, it has been said 
in Nichiren Shoshu since long ago that, "if one has the desire to 
embrace faith in the Lotus Sutra, one must first use one's own body 
to serve the master by picking fruit, carrying water and gathering 
firewood."

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