I read today at ‘Buddha’ goes to the hospital: A convergence of science, history and art  CAT scan of a a 17th century Korean statue of Buddha reveals sacred texts hidden in the stomach and head. The retrievable text was translated to be The Lotus Sutra.  “Wiki: The ultimate teaching of the sutra is implied that “full Buddhahood” is only arrived at by exposure to the truths expressed implicitly in the Lotus Sutra via its many parables.  Here are seven parables from the Lotus Sutra:

PARABLE 1. The Burning House (chapter 3)

An old, wise man returns from his travels to his large and crumbling mansion to find that it is on fire and his many sons are trapped inside. He tells them the situation and calls on them to come out, but they do not understand what the statement “the house is on fire” means, and they are absorbed with their playthings. So the father tells them that he has presents outside: goat carts for some, deer carts for others, and bullock carts for the rest. The children then hurry to come out and ask for the carts, but the father does not have them. Instead, he gives each child an enormous and magnificent cart, of a type far beyond any splendor they could have imagined, drawn by white oxen. In modern terms, it is as if the children had expected to receive push-bikes, motor bikes, and automobiles, and each was then presented with a starship. They forget their former expectations and joyfully ride on the marvelous ox carts. The Buddha explains that the father in the story is himself; the house is samsara, which is subject to decay and death and is on fire with the passions; the children are disciples; the promised carts are the various apparent rewards consequent upon following Buddhist teachings and practices; and the ox carts are true liberation.

PARABLE 2. The Lost Heir (chapter 4)

A boy leaves home and wanders from place to place, taking poorly paid jobs where he can find them. At age fifty, he enters a certain city and sees a millionaire, who is in fact his father who has moved to this same city and built himself a large mansion. The son does not recognize his father, but the father recognizes his son and sends men to capture him. The son is terrified, and the father orders him released, subsequently sending other men who, abandoning force, entice him to accept the job of cleaning the latrines in his father’s house, a work that the son finds appropriate to his low sense of self-worth. Occasionally, the father disguises himself and works alongside his son. He frequently sends servants to encourage him and gradually promotes him to chief steward. On his deathbed the father reveals that his faithful servant is in fact his true son and bequeaths to him all his estate. It is explained that the Buddha is the father; the son is a disciple; wandering in poverty is living in samsara; the menial jobs are the teachings and practices of Buddhism; and the inheritance is the Buddha Nature.

PARABLE 3. The Plants (chapter 5)

The rain from the monsoon cloud (megha) falls equally on grasses, shrubs, and trees, and they grow to their respective heights. Just so, the monsoon cloud of Buddhist teachings (dharma-megha) is offered impartially to all beings, and they receive it and grow, according to their various capacities.

PARABLE 4. The Phantom City (chapter 7)

A group of people are being led by a knowledgeable guide through a wilderness to a place where, they are told, they will find great treasure. After some time, the group become weary and disheartened and wish to turn back. The guide tells them that, just a short distance ahead, there is a city where they can lodge and refresh themselves. They enter the city, and, when they feel better, the city vanishes. The guide explains that he had created it by magic to satisfy their needs, and, now that it has fulfilled its purpose, he has made it disappear. The treasure, he says, is near, and if they make one more effort, they will find it. We are then told that the guide is the Buddha; the group of people are disciples; the phantom city is Buddhism; and the treasure is the Buddha Nature.

PARABLE 5. The Concealed Gem (chapter 8)

A poor man visits a rich friend, gets drunk, and passes out. The rich man, who has to leave on business, gives his poor man a priceless gem, which he sews into the lining of his friend’s clothes. When the poor man comes to, he resumes his life as a vagrant, unaware of the treasure he received during his blackout. Later, he meets the rich man again, who shows him where the gem is concealed, and the poor man realizes his wealth. In the story, the rich man is the Buddha; the poor man is a sattva, drunk with the passions; and the jewel is the truth about the Buddha Nature.

PARABLE 6. The Crest Jewel (chapter 14)

A mighty king gives lavish gifts of all kinds to his victorious soldiers, holding back only his crest jewel, which is his personal symbol. At length, however, after their repeated victories, he gives his crest jewel to the entire army. The king, then, is the Buddha; the soldiers are disciples fighting the passions; the gifts are the preliminary teachings of Buddhism; and the crest jewel is the supreme teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

PARABLE 7. The Physician’s Sons (chapter 16)

The sons of a wise and competent physician get into his medicine cabinet while he is away and make themselves ill by taking drugs. The physician returns and begins to prepare antidotes. The children who are mildly affected take them and are cured, but the seriously ill children are deranged and will not accept the treatment. The physician goes away again, leaving the remedies with his children, with instructions on how to take them. Later, he sends word that he has died, and the children, shocked with grief and feeling abandoned, take the medicine and are cured. The physician returns, and his children welcome him. Here, the physician is the Buddha; the mildly ill children are disciples; the seriously ill children are nonpractitioners; the drugs are the passions; the antidotes are the Buddhist teachings; and restoration to health is liberation.

Original article at http://zennist.typepad.com/zenfiles/2011/11/seven-parables-from-the-lotus-sutra.html