Thereupon those hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of Bodhisattvas equal to the dust-atoms of a macrocosm, who had issued from the gaps of the earth, all stretched their joined hands towards the Lord, and said unto him: We, O Lord, will, after the complete extinction of the Tathâgata, promulgate this Dharmaparyâya everywhere (or on every occasion) in all Buddha-fields of the Lord, wherever (or whenever) the Lord shall be completely extinct [Hence follows that Nirvâna is repeatedly entered into by the Lord]. We are anxious to obtain this sublime Dharmaparyâya, O Lord, in order to keep, read, publish, and write it.
It is difficult not to read "conflict of interest" into this text, from this paragraph, but on the other hand, there is a need that burns throughout existence.
And if you read it Hakuin's way, this passage has a meaning beyond the text itself (which is implicit as I think I've mentioned, in the "skillful means" expounded here):
Thereupon the Lord addressed the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas headed by Visishtakâritra: Inconceivable, young men of good family, is the power of the Tathâgatas, &c. In order to transmit this Dharmaparyâya, young men of good family, I might go on for hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of Æons explaining the manifold virtues of this Dharmaparyâya through the different principles of the law, without reaching the end of those virtues. In this Dharmaparyâya I have succinctly taught all Buddha-laws (or Buddha-qualities), all the superiority, all the mystery, all the profound conditions of the Buddhas. Therefore, young men of good family, you should, after the complete extinction of the Tathâgata, with reverence keep, read, promulgate, cherish, worship it. And wherever on earth, young men of good family, this Dharmaparyâya shall be made known, read, written, meditated, expounded, studied or collected into a volume, be it in a monastery or at home, in the wilderness or in a town, at the foot of a tree or in a palace, in a building or in a cavern, on that spot one should erect a shrine in dedication to the Tathâgata. For such a spot must be regarded as a terrace of enlightenment; such a spot must be regarded as one where all Tathâgatas &c. have arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment; on that spot have all Tathâgatas moved forward the wheel of the law; on that spot one may hold that all Tathâgatas have reached complete extinction.
This Dharmaparyâya, as I said in the last post, is your Dharmaparyâya. That is, the Lotus Law is none other than that which is you awake. Where you are is "where all Tathâgatas &c. have arrived at supreme, perfect enlightenment; on that spot have all Tathâgatas moved forward the wheel of the law; on that spot one may hold that all Tathâgatas have reached complete extinction."
So any benefit the writer of this sutra may have had might be achieved, amplified, and offered for others.
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