Many Treasures ［多宝如来］ (Prabhūtaratna; Tahō-nyorai):
A Buddha depicted in the Lotus Sutra. Many Treasures appears, seated
within his treasure tower, in order to lend credence to Shakyamuni’s
teachings in the sutra. According to the “Treasure Tower” (eleventh)
chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Many Treasures Buddha lives in the World of
Treasure Purity in the east. While still engaged in bodhisattva
practice, he pledges that, even after entering nirvana, he will appear
with his treasure tower in order to attest to the validity of the Lotus
Sutra, wherever it might be taught. In the “Treasure Tower” chapter,
Shakyamuni assembles all the Buddhas from the ten directions. He then
opens the treasure tower and, at the invitation of the Buddha Many
Treasures, seats himself beside this Buddha. Shakyamuni then employs his
supernatural powers to lift the assembly into the air, and the sequence
of events known as the Ceremony in the Air begins.
