Here is a parable telling a story
concerning a king, renowned for his glory,
related to two fables from days of yore
in the Lotus Sutra, chapters eight and four.
This legend, recounted in chapter fourteen,
begins with that potentate's adamant mien
in wishing the lesser chiefs to obey him,
honor with reverence and homage pay him.
When they wouldn't do it, he opted for force,
raising all sorts of warriors as his recourse
in order to subjugate opposition
and make other monarchs bow in submission.
Of powerful armies he was at the helm,
and a pearl beyond price, supreme in the realm,
in his topknot this sovereign always wore
as the jewel he kept with him evermore.
When the king saw how bravely his soldiers fought,
he was filled with delight and felt that he ought
to reward his warriors with lands and treasure
according to each one's merits and measure.
Clothing, chariots, assets material
were conferred by this ruler imperial.
Yet the singular gem to which he hung on
was the peerless pearl hidden in his chignon.
What is the reason he would not bestow it?
The king knew if he were even to show it
his troops would be shocked and would not realize
that the pearl they were seeing before their eyes
was unique— the most brilliant jewel by far,
of which no other pearl could be on a par.
In the same way, the essential far-reaching
profoundest superlative Buddhist teaching
could not be divulged when the time wasn't right
or else all the followers would have made light
of the greatest gift they could ever receive—
the one total truth that would never deceive—
a practice that permeates cause and effect
of existence, complete in every respect,
containing all virtues and recompenses,
purifying both the mind and the senses—
the title and theme, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo,
that the true Buddha Nichiren long ago
revealed to the world as the Utterness pearl
Dharma Flower Sutra and so did unfurl
the path to enlightenment by reciting
that single phrase, in this manner igniting
the flame of enlightenment in each being,
thus all humankind from delusion freeing.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem