Lotus Sutra

I found several passages in the Lotus Sutra to be of particular interest, which brought about a few questions. One of my questions is in regards to the “assembly” which is referred to in the section on Devadatta. Who makes up this assembly? Is this assembly composed solely of Buddhas? Or is the assembly comprised of Bhodisattvas as well as Buddhas? Also in the section in Devadatta is the story of the King’s eight-year-old …

…section of the Lotus Sutra containing the parable about the poisoned children, it is said that the physician had “many sons, perhaps ten, twenty, or even a hundred”. Where in the burning house parable found in the Simile and Parable section described the rich man as having “ten, twenty, perhaps thirty” sons in the house. Is this reference to such a large number of children a Buddhist ideal or yet another social commentary? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**