The Buddha's secret

"Answer: This is a matter of the utmost importance that I keep in my mind. But since you have an unmatched aspiration, I will explain it in brief.

The object of devotion as set forth in the 'Life Span' chapter is Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, eternally endowed with the three bodies, who since the beginning of numberless major world system dust particle kalpas in the past has had deep and abiding affinities with this land of ours.

The “Life Span” chapter speaks of “the Thus Come One’s secret and his transcendental powers.”Volume nine of the commentary [by T’ien-t’ai] says: “The single body is none other than the three bodies, a statement that is secret. The three bodies are none other than the single body, a statement that is secret. Also, because from ancient times this has never been expounded, it is called secret. And because only the Buddha can understand this, it is called secret. The Buddha consistently possesses the three bodies throughout the three existences. But in the various teachings [other than the Lotus Sutra], he kept this secret and did not transmit it.”