妙法蓮華經玄義 7.6

7.6

Furthermore, traversing the five flavors: the milk teaching has only the four benefits of cause, result, great tree, and the real matter, but does not explain the three herbs and one tree, because the Mahāyāna sūtras do not enter the hands of persons of the two vehicles, who are like the deaf and the mute. The curd teaching has only four benefits, such as the three herbs. Raw ghee fully possesses the seven benefits. Ripened ghee lacks the three herbs of analytical dharma, but possesses the seven benefits of embodying dharma and so forth. Ghee has only the benefit of the real matter. The previous benefits are all coarse, whereas the present benefit is subtle. Recently, from tranquil extinction up to the Lotus Sūtra, for bodhisattvas in the physical body, they only obtain the benefits of the eight turns, not obtaining the ninth and tenth benefits. Yet in the sense of obtaining them, it is when bodhisattvas come from the dharma-nature body into the realm of delimited life, serving as retinues who take responsive birth through vows and supernormal powers, advancing to break through fundamental ignorance and severing residual grades; then they can clarify the benefits of the ninth and tenth turns. From tranquil extinction to the Lotus Sūtra, summarily speaking, there are ten benefits.