妙法蓮華經玄義 8.103

8.103

Third, revealing through analogies: this is, for instance, like one person named Goldsmith, who can forge gold, and whose body is yellow; this illustrates the dharma of the first proposition. It is like one person named Blue, who can make lacquer, and whose body is white and pure; and another person named Crow, who can grind cinnabar, and whose body is purple—in this way, through countless hundreds and thousands [of examples], their names, skills, and bodies differ; this illustrates the second proposition. It is like a hundred people who share the same surname and same given name, and who understand the same single skill, yet their bodies are each different; this illustrates the third proposition. It is like a single person who, encountering turmoil and misfortune in his family, changes his surname from place to place and alters his given name from place to place, like Zhang Yi and Fan Li and their kind; he traverses many official posts and his single body occupies manifold ranks. If he receives names according to his many skills, he is a master of calligraphy, painting, gold, iron, and the like; if according to civil posts, he is in the forest of scholars or a grand master of palace leisure; if according to military posts, he is a Xiongqu or Cifei warrior. Changing his name according to place illustrates the difference of names; gaining titles according to skill illustrates the difference of meanings; yet his substance is one, not at all a different person. A sūtra says: 'A champion of the royal house, one man matches a thousand.' This person might not necessarily possess strength that can physically rival a thousand, but simply because through manifold skills and arts he can overcome a thousand, he is therefore called matching a thousand. His craftsmanship encompasses all skills, with no skill he does not master; his official career completes all ranks, with no post he has not held. He is an indestructible person, a person of wonderful technique, a person of physical vitality, a person without flaws, a person of pervasive comprehension who can overcome enemies, a person of noble clan, a person wealthy in goods and skills, a person of vast knowledge, an upright and trustworthy person among the common folk, and a person who serves as an overarching canopy; this illustrates the dharma of the fourth proposition. The revelation through analogies being clear and distinct, one therefore knows that the former three propositions pertain to the distinctive meaning, and the latter single proposition pertains to the perfect meaning.