法華經義記 7.25

7.25

Regarding the first, the parable of guiding: this provides a parable for the two stages in directly explaining the past establishing of conditions above, corresponding to the first general parable of the master of the house in the burning house. In the burning house above, there were originally six meanings; now, following the meaning in this parable, there can be four meanings, omitting the single gate and the five hundred people. 'Suppose there is a [frightful way] of five hundred yojanas': this corresponds vaguely to the meaning of the burning house; the desire realm is like one hundred, the form realm is like two hundred, the formless realm is like three hundred, the remaining habit energy of the three realms severed on the seventh stage is like four hundred, and the afflictions of the ground of abiding ignorance severed from the eighth stage upward up to the vajra-mind are like five hundred. 'A perilous, bad road, desolate, without people, and a place of terror': this corresponds to the meaning of fire being in the house; these are all places of birth and death, hence it is called 'a perilous, bad road'. We visibly observe that among the remnants of the aggregates of sentient beings within birth and death, they cannot simply be absent; why then does it now say 'without people'? The explicator says: 'The reason it says without people is that within birth and death, those who go against the flow are hardly worth mentioning; it is not that there are not one or two people capable of going against the flow, but these cannot be designated by ordinary words, hence it says without people.' 'If there is a great multitude' and so on: this is the meaning of the thirty sons; that is, it illustrates the third stage above, the words 'each and every one was saved' downward, explaining the audience who obtained benefits. 'There is a guide': this is the meaning of the elder; that is, it illustrates the master of the repeat exposition in the second [stage] above; knowing that sentient beings hear the dharma, attain understanding, and subdue afflictions is the meaning of knowing what is open; losing correct understanding and giving rise to afflictions once again is the meaning of what is blocked; at that time causing the multitude not to sink into birth and death and to seek the buddha fruition from afar is guiding the multitude wishing to cross this hardship.