法華玄義釋籤 1.29

1.29

初文者，妙法不出權實，故蓮以譬實、華以譬權。次意者，「良」者發起之端，何以立華譬法？為難解法故。「假」謂假藉，彰猶顯也。若非蓮華無以顯於妙法故也。譬之所顯曰「況」，具顯本迹十妙十麁，總含因果體宗用三，故云「乃多」。今此序文未暇廣述，略況本迹以攝多途，擬亦譬也。所對前後，秖是本迹二門各十四品，前三後三故云「合六」。

Regarding the first text: the subtle Dharma does not go beyond the provisional and the real; therefore, the lotus fruit is used to metaphorize the real, and the lotus flower to metaphorize the provisional. Next, regarding the meaning: "truly" (liang) marks the incipit of the arising; why set up the flower as a metaphor for the Dharma? It is because the Dharma is difficult to understand. "Relying" (jia) means borrowing; "manifesting" (zhang) means making evident. If not for the lotus, there would be no way to manifest the subtle Dharma. What is manifested by the metaphor is called "illustrating" (kuang); it completely manifests the ten subtleties and ten crudenesses of origin and traces, and collectively subsumes the three: substance, gist, and function, along with cause and effect, hence it says "so many". In this preface text, there is no leisure to expound at length; it merely briefly illustrates the origin and traces in order to subsume many approaches; "likening" (ni) is also metaphorizing. What corresponds front and back is simply the two gates of origin and traces, each having fourteen chapters; with the first three and the latter three, it says "combining to make six".