妙法蓮華經玄義 6.146

6.146

所言次第者，若無說而已，說必被緣，緣即受道人也。已受道故，即成眷屬。譬如父母遺體，攬此成身，得為天性。天性親愛，故名眷；更相臣順，故名屬。行者亦爾，受戒之時，說此戒法，授於前人，前人聽聞，即得發戒，師、弟所由生也。禪亦如是，授安心法，如教修行，即得發定，是為我師，我是弟子。慧亦如是，說諸法門，轉入人心，由法成親。親故則信，信故則順，是名眷屬也。他土餘根皆利，隨所用塵起之，令他得益。此土耳根利故，偏用聲塵。故二萬佛時，教無上道。十六王子，覆講《法華》，從是已來，恒為眷屬。世世與師俱生，或人天眷屬，或三乘眷屬，或一乘眷屬。故身子云：「今日乃知真是佛子。」昔教五人得真無漏，名佛子。菩薩不發真，名為外人。於《法華》發大乘解，自稱昔日非真佛子。今說一實之道：從聞、悟、解，法身得生。從佛口生，是聞慧中法身生。從法化生，是思慧中法身生。得佛法分，是修慧中法身生。三慧成就，是真佛子，定於天性，得成眷屬。故次說法之後，而明眷屬妙也。

Regarding the sequence: if there were no exposition, that would be all, but exposition must address recipients, and recipients are those who receive the Way. Having received the Way, they become the retinue. For example, taking the physical remains of parents to form a body, one attains an innate nature. Loving one's innate nature is called 'relatives' (juan); yielding and deferring to one another is called 'subordinates' (shu). It is the same for the practitioner: at the time of receiving the precepts, this precept Dharma is expounded and conferred upon the person before one; when that person hears it, they generate the precepts, which is where master and disciple originate. Dhyāna is also like this: conferring the method of settling the mind, practicing according to the teaching, one generates concentration; thus [one recognizes,] 'This is my master, I am a disciple.' Wisdom is also like this: expounding the dharma gates, they penetrate people's minds, becoming intimate through the Dharma. Because intimate, there is faith; because there is faith, there is compliance; this is called the retinue. In other lands, the other faculties are all sharp, so [buddhas] arise through whichever dust (sensory object) is appropriate to benefit others. In this land, because the ear faculty is sharp, they predominantly employ the dust of sound. Therefore, at the time of the twenty thousand buddhas, [the Buddha] taught the unsurpassed Way. The sixteen princes re-expounded the *Lotus Sūtra*, and from then on, they have constantly been the retinue. Lifetime after lifetime they are born together with the master, sometimes as a retinue of humans and devas, sometimes as a retinue of the three vehicles, or sometimes as a retinue of the one vehicle. Therefore Śāriputra said: 'Today I finally know that I am truly a son of the Buddha.' In the past, teaching the five persons to attain the true undefiled state was called 'sons of the Buddha.' Bodhisattvas who had not generated the real [wisdom] were called 'outsiders.' Having generated the Mahāyāna understanding in the *Lotus Sūtra*, he himself stated that in former days he was not a true son of the Buddha. Now, expounding the path of the One Reality: through hearing, awakening, and understanding, the dharma-kāya is born. Being born from the mouth of the Buddha means that the dharma-kāya is born within the wisdom of hearing. Being transformed from the Dharma means that the dharma-kāya is born within the wisdom of contemplation. Attaining a portion of the Buddha's Dharma means that the dharma-kāya is born within the wisdom of cultivation. When the three wisdoms are accomplished, one is a true son of the Buddha, established in the innate nature and able to become the retinue. Therefore, following the exposition of the Dharma, the subtlety of the retinue is clarified.