妙法蓮華經玄義 7.221

7.221

他解蓮華有十六義：蓮華從緣生，譬佛性從緣起；蓮華能生梵王，譬從緣生佛；蓮華生必在淤泥，譬解起生死；蓮華是瑞見者歡喜，譬見者成佛；蓮華從微之著，譬一禮一念皆得作佛；蓮華必俱，譬因果亦俱；華必蓮，譬因必作佛；蓮華，譬引入蓮華世界；蓮華是佛所踐，譬眾聖託生。此十譬秖是今家譬行妙中片意耳。

Other explanations assign sixteen meanings to the lotus flower: The lotus grows from conditions, illustrating that the Buddha-nature arises from conditions; the lotus can produce a Brahmā king, illustrating the production of a Buddha from conditions; the lotus necessarily grows in mud, illustrating that understanding arises within saṃsāra; the lotus is an auspicious omen making onlookers joyful, illustrating that those who see it become Buddhas; the lotus grows from subtle to manifest, illustrating that a single bow or a single thought can all lead to becoming a Buddha; the lotus [flower and fruit] are necessarily simultaneous, illustrating that cause and effect are also simultaneous; the flower necessarily produces a lotus fruit, illustrating that the cause necessarily results in Buddhahood; the lotus flower illustrates being led into the Lotus World; the lotus is trodden upon by the Buddha, illustrating the rebirth of the holy beings. These ten metaphors are merely partial aspects of what our school terms the subtlety of practice.