妙法蓮華經玄義 10.182

10.182

言四十年後說《法華》一乘，《法華經》中彌勒言佛成道來，始過四十餘年，然不可言《法華》定在《大品》經後。何故？《大智論》云：須菩提於《法華》中，聞說舉手低頭，皆得作佛，是以今問退義。若爾，《大品》與《法華》前後何定也？

They say that after forty years he expounded the one vehicle of the Lotus Sūtra; in the Lotus Sūtra, Maitreya says that since the Buddha attained the Way, barely forty-odd years have passed. Yet one cannot say that the Lotus Sūtra was definitely after the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra. Why? The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: Subhūti, having heard in the Lotus Sūtra that raising a hand or bowing the head all lead to attaining buddhahood, now inquires about the meaning of retrogression. If so, how can the chronological order between the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and the Lotus Sūtra be fixed?