法華經義記 1.40

1.40

今就此同聞眾中自有三段：第一人先列聲聞眾；第二從「菩薩摩訶薩」以下，即列菩薩眾也；第三從「爾時釋提桓因下」訖退坐一面，列凡夫眾也。但眾來之始未必如此，黑白前後無的次第，蓋是出經者比次前後令條然可視。又欲分別高下目銘凡聖，致使有此次第也。

Now, within this assembly of fellow hearers, there are naturally three sections: the first list begins by enumerating the śrāvaka assembly; the second, from "bodhisattva mahāsattvas" onward, lists the bodhisattva assembly; and the third, from "At that time Śakra Devānām-Indra..." down to "withdrew and sat to one side", lists the assembly of ordinary beings. However, when the assembly initially arrived it was not necessarily like this; monastic and lay, before and after, lacked any definite order. It was simply that the redactor of the sūtra arranged the order before and after to make it clearly distinguishable. Furthermore, wishing to differentiate the superior from the inferior and to distinguish ordinary beings from the noble, he brought about this sequence.