法華經義記 4.30

4.30

From “Having had this thought, in accordance with what he had considered, he told all the children in full: ‘You all come out quickly!’” onwards properly explains that the elder tentatively adapts using the teaching of admonition, internally applied to properly explain that the Tathāgata tentatively adapts sentient beings using the Great Vehicle teaching of admonition. From “Although the father was compassionate” onwards is the second part, explaining that sentient beings have no capacity capable of receiving the teaching of admonition. It naturally has two parts: first, “although the father was compassionate and used good words to entice and guide them” registers and quotes the preceding sentence; second, from “yet the children were unwilling to believe and accept it, and were neither alarmed nor afraid” onwards properly explains the lack of capacity for the Great [Vehicle], which is the parable for [the statement] above: “Sentient beings’ faculties are dull, attached to pleasures and blinded by folly; such kinds as these, how could they be crossed over?” They have no capacity for the Great Vehicle. Neither is a parable made here for citing proof. “Only running east and west in play, looking at their father and nothing more”—this is the third part, which ceases the teaching of admonitory command. North and south are vertical; east and west are horizontal. If sentient beings’ mental functioning conformed to the ultimate principle of the Great Vehicle, it would be like the vertical of north and south; it is only because sentient beings do not accord with true principle within birth and death that their mental functioning in crooked ways is compared to east and west. Galloping about within the five sense-objects is called ‘running’; although they activate the three karmas, no good can be expected, which is called ‘play.’ They only have the capacity to resonate to seeing the sixteen-foot [body], hence it says ‘looking at their father.’ They have no capacity to resonate to preaching the Great Vehicle, hence it says ‘and nothing more.’”