妙法蓮華經玄義 5.77

5.77

According to the coarse, it is the subtle, which is the ten abodes stage; if one advances, one determines the subtle according to the stage. If one resolves the various provisionals, whether it is subtle according to the stage or subtle by advancing, there is no coarse left in relation to which it stands, and together they form a single subtle—its meaning is already apparent. Now let us illustrate it further with an analogy: it is like a high minister of a small state coming to court in a great state; losing his original rank, although he is counted among the ranks, it is an empty office outside the quota. But a petty official of a great state is relied upon as heart and backbone; though his rank is not yet high, he is respected and honored by others. When the coarse of the various teachings and stages is resolved into the subtle, though they enter the flow, compared to the eight subtleties of the perfect teaching, they still come from among the dull. When the mind is first generated in the perfect teaching, though one has not yet entered the stages, being able to know the Tathāgata's secret treasury, one is called a buddha. If the initial mind is already so, how much more so the subsequent stages! And so forth.