妙法蓮華經文句 10.39

10.39

文有問、答，各長行、偈頌。前品已格四人不說初者，彌勒承機問出，此義如文。佛答，為二，初、答內心隨喜人，二、直明外聽法人。初為五：一、展轉相教，二、格量本，三、問，四、答，五、正格量。南方解五十人為三：一、展轉勝，二、展轉平，三、展轉劣。勝者難得、平者亦希、劣者比是，格劣況出平、勝。北方人解，最初妙覺為第十地人說，十地人為第九地人說，如是展轉至于十信，格後況初。今謂不爾，佛明言初品於會中聞傳傳相教，展轉五十格後況初。後非十信之始，初非妙覺之終，何用此解？此解窮深不會經旨。今為二：一、橫約諸教四眾，二、直約圓教數之。三藏有四門，一一門有四眾，更開沙彌、沙彌尼合六人，四門則二十四人，約信行、法行，則四十八人，最初、最後合五十人；通別四門亦如是。直就圓門數者，數法有小七、大七，大七有七七四十九，皆是師弟具自行化他之德，最後一人但是自解、無教他德，故格下以顯上耳。格量中先與世樂、拔果苦，後與涅槃樂、拔生死苦，此是略舉梵福。今更廣之，滿閻浮人福，不及西瞿耶尼一人福；滿西瞿人福，不及東弗婆提一人福；滿三天下人福，不及北欝單越一人福；滿四天下人福，不及一四天王；四天王不及一釋；乃至第六天，不及一梵福。梵福有定散，散者無塔處作塔，塔壞者治之，和合僧眾請轉法輪，眾散者還合之是為四福。與梵天等，故言梵福也。聖福者，謂阿羅漢住最後身得有餘涅槃者是也。又有體法三乘人，同學無生斷煩惱盡，如燒木成炭。又薩埵聖福自行化他，俱以無言說道斷煩惱入無餘。又薩埵福謂從初發心次第化人入大涅槃。如是格量，梵福不及聖福，聖福不及體聖福，體聖福不及小薩埵福，小薩埵福不及大薩埵福，大薩埵福不及聞《法華經》初隨喜福。何以故？彼非佛法故、非實故、非圓故，雖住後果不及我初心，其義如是。私謂勸人聽法，從與陀羅尼菩薩共生一處，至人相具足，合有五十功德，將功德目人亦成五十，但上五十論內解隨喜，今唯論外事為異也。又此文亦有六根功德，利根智慧是意功德，不瘖瘂舌功德，鼻修高直鼻功德，見佛眼功德，聞法耳功德，餘是身功德，前是相似位功德，今是相似位前功德耳。聽經，文為四：一、自往，二、分座，三、勸他，四、具聽修行（云云）。

The text contains a question and an answer, each having prose and gāthās. The previous chapter already evaluated four persons without mentioning the first; Maitreya, seizing the opportune moment, questioned it forth, and this meaning is as in the text. The Buddha's answer has two parts: first, answering about the person who rejoices with joy in their inner mind; second, directly clarifying the person who externally listens to the Dharma. The first has five parts: first, successively teaching one another; second, the basis for evaluation; third, the question; fourth, the answer; fifth, the actual evaluation. Masters of the South explain the fifty persons in three ways: first, successively superior; second, successively equal; third, successively inferior. The superior are hard to find, the equal are also rare, and the inferior are ordinary; evaluating the inferior demonstrates the equal and the superior. Masters of the North explain that the initial wondrous enlightenment preaches for a person of the tenth bhūmi, the person of the tenth bhūmi preaches for a person of the ninth bhūmi, successively descending in this way to the ten faiths, evaluating the latter to demonstrate the former. Now I say this is not so: the Buddha clearly says that the first grade, hearing in the assembly, transmits the teaching one to another, successively reaching fifty, evaluating the latter to demonstrate the former. The latter is not the beginning of the ten faiths, and the former is not the end of wondrous enlightenment; what use is this explanation? This explanation strains for depth but fails to meet the purport of the sūtra. Now I provide two explanations: first, horizontally in terms of the four assemblies of the various teachings; second, directly enumerating in terms of the perfect teaching. The Tripiṭaka has four gates, and each gate has four assemblies; further opening novice monks and novice nuns makes six persons in all; the four gates thus make twenty-four persons; in terms of the follower of faith and the follower of Dharma, this makes forty-eight persons; adding the first and the last makes fifty persons in total. The four gates of the shared and distinctive teachings are also like this. Directly enumerating in terms of the perfect gate: the enumeration method has the lesser seven and the greater seven; the greater seven is seven sevens, making forty-nine, all being masters and disciples possessing the virtues of own practice and converting others; the last person has only their own understanding and lacks the virtue of teaching others, hence evaluating the lower serves to reveal the higher. In the evaluation, it first grants worldly pleasure to eradicate the suffering of retribution, and later grants the bliss of nirvāṇa to eradicate the suffering of saṃsāra; this is a brief presentation of the merit of Brahmā. Now expanding it further: the merit of filling Jambudvīpa does not equal the merit of a single person in Aparagodānīya; the merit of filling Aparagodānīya does not equal the merit of a single person in Pūrvavideha; the merit of filling the three continents does not equal the merit of a single person in Uttarakuru; the merit of filling the four continents does not equal a single Cāturmahārājakāyika heaven; the Cāturmahārājakāyika heaven does not equal a single Śakra; up to the sixth heaven, it does not equal the merit of a single Brahmā. The merit of Brahmā has meditative and diffuse types: the diffuse type refers to building a stūpa where there is none, repairing it when broken, harmonizing the Saṅgha to request the turning of the wheel of the Dharma, and reuniting the assembly when scattered—these are the four merits. Because they are equal to Brahmā Heaven, they are called the merit of Brahmā. The merit of the sage refers to an arhat dwelling in their final body who has attained nirvāṇa with residue. Furthermore, there are practitioners of the three vehicles who embody phenomena, together learning unarising and completely severing defilements, like burning wood into charcoal. Furthermore, the merit of a sattva sage involves both own practice and converting others, both severing defilements and entering nirvāṇa without residue through the path beyond words. Furthermore, the merit of a sattva refers to sequentially converting people from the initial aspiration to enter great nirvāṇa. Evaluating in this way: the merit of Brahmā does not equal the merit of the sage; the merit of the sage does not equal the merit of the sage who embodies phenomena; the merit of the sage who embodies phenomena does not equal the merit of the lesser sattva; the merit of the lesser sattva does not equal the merit of the greater sattva; the merit of the greater sattva does not equal the merit of initially rejoicing upon hearing the Lotus Sūtra. Why is this? Because those are not the Buddha-dharma, are not real, and are not perfect; although they dwell in the final fruit, they do not equal our initial mind; such is the meaning. Personally I consider that exhorting people to listen to the Dharma, from being reborn in the same place with dhāraṇī bodhisattvas up to possessing complete human characteristics, contains fifty merits in all; designating people by these merits also makes fifty, but the fifty above discussed internal understanding and joyful acceptance, whereas this discusses only external matters, which is the difference. Moreover, this text also contains the merits of the six sense faculties: sharp faculties and wisdom are the merit of the mind faculty; not being mute is the merit of the tongue faculty; a nose high and straight is the merit of the nose faculty; seeing the Buddha is the merit of the eye faculty; hearing the Dharma is the merit of the ear faculty; the rest are the merits of the body faculty. The former were merits of the stage of resemblance, whereas these are merits prior to the stage of resemblance. On listening to the sūtra, the text has four parts: first, going oneself; second, sharing one's seat; third, exhorting others; fourth, listening completely and practicing (and so forth).