妙法蓮華經玄義 9.131

9.131

一、正明用者，諸經不純明佛，智慧不發，佛自應迹，不正破廢二乘果、不斷生身菩薩之近疑，起其遠信不顯本地，增法身菩薩大念佛之道，損界外之生。如此力用，眾經所無，今經具之，所以命章。不論二乘菩薩等智，純顯佛之微妙智慧；不開眾生九法界知見，純開眾生佛之知見。餘經但道佛所變化是迹，不道佛身自是迹；今經自道佛身是迹，其餘變化寧得非迹？今經正破廢化城二乘之果，況其因行耶！又破稟方便教菩薩執迹為極，今皆發廢，悉稱是權迹，及中間諸疑悉斷，起於深遠不思議信。又顯本地真實功德，令法身菩薩得大利益。始自初阿，終隣後茶。抹十方那由他土為塵數增道菩薩，不能令盡。蓋由如來雨權實二智一味之雨，普等四方俱下者，一切諸四門俱破也。充足求於具足道者，斷其深疑，起其大信，令入一圓因。控摩訶衍車，遊於四方，直至道場，大用大力，妙能妙益，猶自未盡。

First, directly clarifying the function: other sūtras do not purely clarify the Buddha; his wisdom does not burst forth; the Buddha himself merely responds with traces; they do not directly destroy and abolish the results of the two vehicles; they do not sever the near doubts of bodhisattvas of the birth-body to arouse their far-reaching faith; they do not reveal the original ground; they do not increase for bodhisattvas of the dharma-body the path of great mindfulness of the Buddha; and they do not reduce births outside the triple realm. Such power and function are absent in all other sūtras, yet this sūtra is fully equipped with them; this is why this section is designated. It does not discuss the wisdom of the two vehicles, bodhisattvas, and so forth, but purely reveals the wondrously subtle wisdom of the Buddha; it does not open the knowledge and vision of the nine dharma realms of sentient beings, but purely opens the Buddha's knowledge and vision of sentient beings. Other sūtras merely say that the transformations performed by the Buddha are traces, but do not say that the Buddha's own body is a trace; this sūtra itself says that the Buddha's body is a trace, so how could his other transformations not be traces? This sūtra directly destroys and abolishes the results of the two vehicles in the conjured city, not to mention their causal practices! Moreover, it destroys the grasping to the traces as ultimate by bodhisattvas who received provisional teachings; now these are all exposed and abolished, all designated as provisional traces, and all intermediate doubts are severed, giving rise to profound, far-reaching, inconceivable faith. Furthermore, it reveals the real merit of the original ground, causing bodhisattvas of the dharma-body to attain great benefit. From the very beginning of the letter A to the end adjacent to the final Ṭha, even grinding nayutas of lands in the ten directions into dust-motes of advancing-path bodhisattvas could not exhaust them. This is because the Tathāgata rains down the single-flavor rain of the two wisdoms, provisional and real, descending everywhere equally in all four directions, destroying all the four gates. Fully satisfying those who seek the complete path, it severs their deep doubts, gives rise to their great faith, and causes them to enter the one perfect cause, driving the Mahāyāna carriage, roaming throughout the four directions, straight to the place of awakening. Its great function and great power, its wondrous capability and wondrous benefit, are still inexhaustible.