妙法蓮華經文句 5.50

5.50

從「其年衰邁」下，三、歎德業。德有內外，內則智略，外則貲財。年高博達今古，譬佛智德；衰邁根志純熟，譬佛斷德。「財富」譬外德，「無量」總譬萬德也。「田宅」別譬也，田能養命，譬禪定資般若；宅可棲身，譬實境為智所託，略則十八空門，廣則無量空門。若論福德，無行而不修；若論智慧，無境而不照，故云「多有田宅」也。「僮僕」者，給侍使人，譬方便知見皆已具足，和光六道曲順萬機，即實智之僮僕也。二、「其家廣大」者，家宅譬上，安隱對不安隱。不安隱譬三界也，眾生穴穴皆宅三界，如來應化統而家之，故言「廣大」也。三、「唯有一門」者，譬上種種法門宣示於佛道。道場觀云：「實相理不異，慧亦宜一，出無異路故言一門。」光宅雲曰：「三界雖曠、九十雖多，論於出要唯是佛教，故言一門。」今明若單理為門，理無通塞，何門之謂？單教為門，得經者眾，何意不出？今取理為教所詮，文云「以佛教門出三界苦得涅槃證」。門又二：宅門、車門。宅者生死也，門者出要路也，此方便教之詮也。車者大乘法也，門者圓教之詮也。若宅門是車門，初三車救子，亦應即是等賜大車；若所出門非所入門，驗車宅異也。四、「五百人」者，譬上眾生，即五道也。五、「堂閣」下，譬上安隱對不安隱法五濁也。先出所燒之宅相，譬六道果報；次明能燒之火，譬八苦五濁。「堂」譬欲界，「閣」譬色、無色界，「牆壁」譬四大，「頹落」譬減損，「傾危」譬遷變，「柱根」譬命，「梁棟」譬意識，「腐敗」譬危殆不久。欲令易解，作觀釋之。堂譬身之下分，閣譬頭等上分，牆壁譬皮肉，頹落譬老朽，柱根譬兩足，腐敗譬無常，梁棟譬脊骨，傾危譬大期，周障屈曲譬大小腸，又云譬心（云云）。「周匝」下，明能燒之火，八苦遍在四大、四生故言「周匝」，並皆無常故云「俱時」，「炊然」譬本無今有，本無此苦，無明故有。六、「長者諸子」下，三十子，譬上知眾生性欲，曾習佛法天性相關則子義；性欲有異，若十是菩薩子，二十、三十是二乘子，此機俱得出宅故名為子，無此機是五百人。或者，支佛出沒不同，或小乘攝或中乘攝，皆言十者，悉有十智之性，故云內有智性，但無如實智性耳。上三偈先頌實、後頌權，今總譬中先實後權（云云）。

From "advanced in years and decrepit" onwards is, thirdly, praising his virtues and deeds. Virtues are internal and external: internally they are wisdom and strategy; externally they are wealth and property. Being advanced in years, broadly conversant with the past and present, allegorises the Buddha's virtue of wisdom; being decrepit, with faculties and intention fully ripened, allegorises the Buddha's virtue of eradication. "Rich in wealth" allegorises external virtues; "boundless" comprehensively allegorises the myriad virtues. "Fields and houses" are specific allegories: fields can nourish life, allegorising dhyāna-concentration sustaining prajñā; houses can shelter the body, allegorising the real realm relied upon by wisdom—in brief, the eighteen gates of emptiness, and in full, the boundless gates of emptiness. In terms of merit, there is no practice that is not cultivated; in terms of wisdom, there is no realm that is not illumined; hence it says "possessing many fields and houses." "Servants" are attendants and laborers, allegorising that expedient knowledge and vision are already fully equipped, softening the light to the six destinies and accommodating the myriad capacities, which are the servants of real wisdom. Second, "his house was broad and large": "house" allegorises the above, ease versus lack of ease. Lack of ease allegorises the triple world; sentient beings dwelling in their respective dens all inhabit the triple world, and the Tathāgata's responsive transformation gathers them together into a household, hence it says "broad and large." Third, "it had only one gate": this allegorises the aforementioned various dharma gates proclaimed to reveal the Buddha path. The Bodhimanda Contemplation says: "The principle of true reality is not distinct, and wisdom should also be unified; because there is no other way out, it is called one gate." Guangzhai Fayun says: "Although the triple world is vast and the ninety[-six heterodox teachings] are many, when speaking of the essential means of escape, it is only the Buddha's teaching; hence it is called one gate." Now it is clarified: if the gate were purely the principle, the principle has neither obstruction nor passage, so how could it be called a gate? If the gate were purely the teaching, many have obtained the sūtras, so why do they not escape? Now we take the principle as what is expressed by the teaching; the text says, "Using the gate of the Buddha's teaching, they escape the sufferings of the triple world and attain the realization of nirvāṇa." Furthermore, there are two gates: the house gate and the carriage gate. The house is birth and death, and the gate is the essential path of escape; this is what is expressed by the expedient teaching. The carriage is the Mahāyāna dharma, and the gate is what is expressed by the perfect teaching. If the house gate were the carriage gate, when first rescuing the children with the three carriages, it should also have been bestowing the great carriages equally; if the gate exited is not the gate entered, this proves the carriage and the house are different. Fourth, "five hundred people" allegorises the sentient beings above, namely the five destinies. Fifth, from "halls and pavilions" onwards allegorises the above ease versus the lack of ease, the five turbidities. First, the aspects of the burning house are presented, allegorising the fruit retributions of the six destinies; next, the burning fire is explained, allegorising the eight sufferings and the five turbidities. "Halls" allegorises the desire realm; "pavilions" allegorises the form and formless realms; "walls" allegorises the four great elements; "decaying and falling" allegorises diminishments; "tilting and perilous" allegorises flux and change; "bases of the pillars" allegorises life-force; "beams and rafters" allegorises conscious mind; "rotted and ruined" allegorises being perilous and short-lived. To make it easy to understand, an explanation via contemplation is made: the hall allegorises the lower part of the body; the pavilion allegorises the upper part, such as the head; the walls allegorise skin and flesh; decaying and falling allegorises decrepitude; the pillar bases allegorise the two feet; rotted and ruined allegorises impermanence; the beams and rafters allegorise the spine; tilting and perilous allegorises the great deadline [of death]; the surrounding walls and windings allegorise the small and large intestines, or it is said they allegorise the heart (and so forth). From "on all sides" onwards explains the fire that can burn: the eight sufferings pervading the four great elements and four modes of birth is why it says "on all sides"; all being impermanent together is why it says "all at once"; "blazing" allegorises not existing originally but existing now—originally there was no such suffering, but due to ignorance it exists. Sixth, from "the elder's sons" onwards: the thirty sons allegorise the above knowing sentient beings' natures and desires; having formerly practiced the Buddha Dharma, their natural relatedness constitutes the meaning of "sons." Their natures and desires differ: if ten, they are bodhisattva sons; if twenty or thirty, they are two-vehicle sons. Because these capacities all escape the house, they are called sons; those lacking this capacity are the five hundred people. Alternatively, pratyekabuddhas appear and disappear differently, being subsumed under the Hīnayāna or under the middle vehicle. All being spoken of as ten means that all possess the nature of the ten knowledges; hence it says internally they have the nature of wisdom, only lacking the nature of real wisdom. The three gāthās above first praised the real and later praised the expedient; now, in this general allegory, the real comes first and the expedient later (and so forth).