How does the Lotus Sutra portray the Buddha’s enlightenment and lifespan?

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha is portrayed not as a historical figure who attained enlightenment under a tree, but as an eternal, divine being who achieved perfect enlightenment innumerable billions of aeons ago.12

The text explains that the Buddha’s lifespan is effectively limitless and inconceivable to those of limited understanding. To guide beings toward liberation, the Buddha employs "skillful means" (upaya), feigning human experiences—such as renouncing his royal life, practicing austerities, and eventually passing into nirvana—to create a sense of urgency and inspire his disciples.13

These actions are described as pedagogical devices rather than literal events. For instance, the Buddha compares his apparent death to a physician who spreads a rumor of his own passing to encourage his sick children to take the medicine they had previously refused. By presenting himself as a mortal who undergoes birth, struggle, and death, the Buddha adapts his teachings to the needs of his followers, even though his true nature as an eternal Buddha remains constant across myriad worlds.12