法華經義記 3.54

3.54

第三「我始坐道場」此下六行半偈，此間詺為佛以大乘化眾生不得，即為下火宅中第三長者救諸子不得譬作本，下言「舍利弗是長者作是思惟，我身手有力」下是也。今就此六行半偈中自有三：第一半行明化眾生不得之處，第二半行明化眾生不得時節，第三五行半正明化眾生不得也。「我始坐道場」下半行是第一佛以大乘化眾生不得之處。觀樹者，一解言樹立天下眾生，經行者必為此事，亦言念報樹四枝覆蔭之恩為眾生作軌，樹木無心猶尚報恩，豈況於人乎！「於三七日中思惟如是事」此半偈是第二明佛以大乘化眾生不得之時節也。從「我所得智慧」下有五行半，是第三正明佛以大乘化眾生不得，自有三重：第一從「我所得智慧微妙最第一」下半行明佛用大乘擬宜也；第二從「眾生諸根鈍」下有三行偈，此明佛見眾生無大乘機，第三兩偈明息化。就第二無機中自有三，「眾生諸根鈍」半行明有人天小機，「如斯之等類」下半行正明無大機，「爾時諸梵王」下兩行證成無機也，只由梵王請故住世，驗知無大機也。「我即自思惟若但讚佛乘」以下兩行偈，是第三明佛息大乘化，自有二：第一一偈半明增畏其患，若無大乘機但為說大乘者，容生誹謗之心入三途，故言沒在苦也。第二「我寧不說法」下半行正明息化。

Third, from "When I first sat at the place of awakening" downward, there are six and a half verses, designated here as the Buddha being unable to transform beings through the Great Vehicle, which then serves as the basis for the third parable in the burning house below, the elder being unable to rescue his children, as below it says: "Śāriputra, this elder then thought: 'In my body and hands there is strength…'" and so forth. Now, within these six and a half verses, there are themselves three parts: first, half a line explains the place where he was unable to transform beings; second, half a line explains the period when he was unable to transform beings; third, five and a half verses directly explain his inability to transform beings. From "When I first sat at the place of awakening" downward, half a line is the first, the place where the Buddha was unable to transform beings through the Great Vehicle. Regarding "contemplating the tree": one interpretation says that it means establishing all beings in the world, and that walking around it was surely for this purpose; it is also said to mean remembering and repaying the debt of kindness for the four branches of the tree providing sheltering shade, thereby establishing a model for beings—if insentient trees still receive repaid kindness, how much more so people! "For three times seven days I contemplated such matters": this half verse is the second, explaining the period when the Buddha was unable to transform beings through the Great Vehicle. From "The wisdom I have obtained" downward, there are five and a half verses, the third, directly explaining that the Buddha was unable to transform beings through the Great Vehicle, which itself has three levels: first, from "The wisdom I have obtained is subtle, wondrous, and foremost" downward, half a line explains the Buddha tentatively adapting by means of the Great Vehicle; second, from "Beings' faculties are dull" downward, there are three verses, which explain that the Buddha saw that beings lacked the capacity for the Great Vehicle; third, two verses explain the cessation of teaching. Within the second, the lack of capacity, there are themselves three parts: "Beings' faculties are dull"—half a line explains that they possess the small capacity of humans and devas; from "Such classes as these" downward, half a line directly explains that they lack the great capacity; from "At that time all the Brahmā kings" downward, two verses attest to their lack of capacity: only because the Brahmā kings petitioned did he remain in the world, which proves that they lacked the great capacity. From "I then reflected: 'If I only praise the Buddha Vehicle'" downward, two verses are the third, explaining the Buddha's cessation of teaching the Great Vehicle, which itself has two parts: first, one and a half verses explain an increase in dreading the peril—if they lack the capacity for the Great Vehicle and one merely preaches the Great Vehicle to them, they may give rise to thoughts of slander and enter the three bad paths, hence it is said they would "sink into suffering"; second, from "Rather than that, I will not preach the dharma" downward, half a line directly explains the cessation of teaching.