妙法蓮華經文句 3.28

3.28

從「佛授記已」下，第六、通經同。文為五：一、時節，即佛滅後也；二、出其人，即妙光也；三、久近，即八十小劫也；四、所化之眾，即八子八百也；五、結會古今，即求名妙德等也。就所化之人又為二：初、八子行成久已得佛，八百之一方成今住補處。所以引此八子八百者，近則釋疑密開壽量。釋疑者，或謂彌勒補處為大，文殊非補處為小，小不應答，大不應問，故舉八百，宜應有問，妙光昔親對佛，先復為師，故釋疑非謬。密開壽量者，八子最小佛號然燈，然燈是定光，妙光是釋迦九世祖師，孫今成佛，師、祖為弟子，師弟無定，將密顯生非生、滅非滅之意。

From "After the Buddha conferred prophecy" onward, sixthly, correspondence in transmitting the sūtra. The text has five parts: 1. the duration of time, which is after the Buddha's extinction; 2. identifying the person, which is Varaprabha; 3. the length of time, which is eighty minor kalpas; 4. the assembly converted, which are the eight sons and the eight hundred [disciples]; 5. bringing together past and present, which are Yaśaskāma, Mañjuśrī, and the rest. Regarding the persons converted, it is again divided into two: first, the eight sons' practice was fulfilled and they had long since attained buddhahood; one among the eight hundred has just now achieved the present stage of succession to buddhahood. The reason for citing these eight sons and eight hundred is, closely, to resolve doubts, and secretly, to open up the life span. Resolving doubts means: some might consider Maitreya, as one in the stage of succession, to be great, and Mañjuśrī, not being in the stage of succession, to be small, so the small should not answer and the great should not ask; therefore he adduces the eight hundred, indicating it is appropriate that he should have a question, while Varaprabha was formerly directly before the Buddha and was furthermore previously his master, so resolving doubts is not mistaken. Secretly opening up the life span means: the youngest of the eight sons was named the Buddha Dīpaṃkara; Dīpaṃkara is Dingguang. Varaprabha is Śākyamuni's ancestral master of nine generations ago; the grandson has now become a Buddha, and the master and ancestor is his disciple—master and disciple have no fixed status, which is intended to secretly reveal the meaning that birth is non-birth and extinction is non-extinction.