妙法蓮華經文句 7.51

7.51

「諸比丘我今語汝彼佛」下，第三，明今日還說《法華》。此文復二：先會古今，後明還說《法華》。先會古今復二：一、結師之古今，二、會弟子古今。十六沙彌是古，八方作佛是今也。「諸比丘我等為沙彌各各」下，次會弟子，復二：一、會現在，二、會未來。現在復四：一、不退者，住三菩提也；二、此諸眾生退轉者，今住聲聞；三、「所以者何」下，釋退住意；四、「爾時所化無量」下，正結古今也。「及我滅度未來」下，第二，會未來弟子，復二：一、正會，二、「我滅度後復有」下釋疑。疑者云，現在者，得聞佛說《法華》得入一道，可是結緣之流；未來者，不聞《法華》而入滅度，此豈能捨小得入一乘？釋云，雖滅度之，終會得聞，我於餘國作佛得聞是經。「餘國」者，三乘通教有餘國也。「除諸如來方便說」者，斷疑也。三是方便說，其實無三也。

From "Bhikṣus, I now tell you: that Buddha..." onward is the third, clarifying that today [the Buddha] again expounds the Lotus Sūtra. This text again has two: first, bringing together past and present; and later, clarifying that he again expounds the Lotus Sūtra. In bringing together past and present, there are again two: first, concluding the past and present of the teachers; second, bringing together the past and present of the disciples. The sixteen śrāmaṇeras are the past; their becoming buddhas in the eight directions is the present. Next, from "Bhikṣus, when we were śrāmaṇeras, each of us..." onward brings together the disciples, again with two: first, bringing together the present; second, bringing together the future. The present again has four: first, those who do not fall back abide in sambodhi; second, those living beings who fell back now abide as śrāvakas; third, from "What is the reason?" onward explains the intention of their falling back and abiding; fourth, from "At that time, those who were transformed, immeasurable..." onward directly concludes the past and present. From "And in the future after my parinirvāṇa" onward is the second: bringing together the future disciples, which again has two: first, directly bringing together; second, from "After my parinirvāṇa there will again be..." onward resolves doubts. The doubter says: "Those of the present, being able to hear the Buddha expound the Lotus Sūtra and entering the single Way, may well be of the stream that established affinity; but those of the future, who enter parinirvāṇa without hearing the Lotus Sūtra—how could these discard the Small and enter the One Vehicle?" The explanation states: "Although they pass into nirvāṇa, ultimately they will be able to hear it; when I become a buddha in other lands, they will be able to hear this sūtra." As for "other lands," in the shared teaching of the three vehicles there are other lands. As for "except for the expedient expositions of the Tathāgatas," this cuts off doubt: the three are expedient expositions; in reality there are no three.