妙法蓮華經玄義 5.82

5.82

Chapter Thirty-Two states: "Ordinary beings are like milk mixed with blood; srotaāpannas and sakṛdāgamins are like pure milk; anāgamins are like curd; arhats are like raw curd-butter; pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas are like cooked curd-butter; buddhas are like ghee." This is an analogy for the five stages of the shared teaching. Ordinary beings do not sever delusions, so their milk is still mixed with blood. For the second fruit, thoughts are not yet diminished much, so together with the first fruit they are like milk. For the third fruit, desire thoughts are already exhausted, so they are like curd. For the fourth fruit, both views and thoughts are exhausted, so they are like raw curd-butter. Pratyekabuddhas, whose wisdom is sharp, diminish habitual tendencies, slightly excelling śrāvakas, so together with bodhisattvas they are like cooked curd-butter. The tenth ground is called the buddha ground, which is ghee.