法華經義記 7.19

7.19

「是時十六菩薩知佛入室」自此下竟長行，是第二正明結緣。就此中自有二者，第一是法說，第二是譬說。就第一法說中自有三階：第一正明昔日結緣，仍道第三今日相值說《法華》；第二明結緣之後，今日相值之前，結括釋迦如來始終教化大意。又就此三階之中各自有四重。第一正明昔日結緣中有四者：第一「是時十六菩薩沙彌知佛入室寂然禪定」，先明王子得覆講之意，只由大通智勝佛入室經八萬四千劫，于時法座不可令空故；故第二從「各昇法座」以下正明覆講；第三「一一皆度」以下明昔日覆講時聽眾受悟多少；第四明大通智勝佛過八萬四千劫從禪定出，讚歎王子也。

From "At that time, the sixteen bodhisattvas, knowing that the Buddha had entered the room" below to the end of the prose is the second part, which directly clarifies the establishing of ties. Within this there are two: first is the exposition by dharma, and second is the exposition by parable. Within the first, the exposition by dharma, there are three steps: first, directly clarifying the establishing of ties in the past, and proceeding to state thirdly the meeting today and preaching of the Lotus Sūtra; second, clarifying the overarching purport of Śākyamuni Tathāgata's teaching and transforming from beginning to end, after the establishing of ties and before the meeting today. Furthermore, within each of these three steps there are four tiers. Within the first, directly clarifying the establishing of ties in the past, there are four: first, "At that time, the sixteen bodhisattva-śrāmaṇeras, knowing that the Buddha had entered the room and was in tranquil dhyāna-concentration," first clarifies the intention behind the princes being able to repeat the teaching, solely because the Buddha Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū entered the room for eighty-four thousand kalpas, and at that time the Dharma seat could not be left vacant; second, from "each ascended the Dharma seat" below, directly clarifying the repetition of the teaching; third, from "each and every one delivered" below, clarifying the number of listeners who attained awakening during the repetition of the teaching in the past; fourth, clarifying that after eighty-four thousand kalpas had passed, the Buddha Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū emerged from dhyāna-concentration and praised the princes.