[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [妙法蓮華經文句](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718) › 8.25 # 妙法蓮華經文句 8.25 妙法蓮華經文句 8.25 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [8.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.8.25) 法者軌則也，師者訓匠也，法雖可軌，體不自弘，通之在人，五種通經皆得稱師，舉法成其自行，皆以妙法為師，師於妙法自行成就，故言法師。又五種人能以妙法訓匠於他，故舉法目師，故稱「法師品」也。若自軌法、若法匠他，俱名法師者，則因緣釋品也。凡多種解，皆約圓教法門而釋品也。前三周是迹門，正說領解受記竟，此下五品是迹門流通，非止蔭益當時，復欲津洽來世，故有五品流通。〈法師〉、〈寶塔〉兩品，明弘經功深福重，流通未聞利益巨大；〈達多〉一品，引往弘經彼我兼益，以證功德深重；〈持品〉八萬大士忍力成者，此土弘經，新得記者他土弘經；〈安樂行〉一品，舊云，接退流通，或當如此未必全然。外凡初心欣斯勝福，見聲聞畏憚，聞菩薩擯辱，顧己力弱，無益自他，便生退沒，佛為此人說安樂行，依之法弘不慮危苦。又〈法師品〉，釋尊自說弘經功福命覓流通；〈寶塔品〉多寶分身，且證且助勸覓流通，〈法師品〉初長行偈頌，歎美五種法師能持法人，後長行偈頌，歎美所持之法。又示通經方軌，初復二：一、就稟道弟子門功深福重，二、授道師門功深福重。弟子門又二：一、佛世弟子，二、滅後弟子。初「因藥王告八萬」者，因者憑寄也，欲以妙法憑寄藥王，使其領受告語八萬，皆流通也。指人問其見不者，的示持經得福之人也。佛世又二：一、從「告藥王」下，揀出人類；二、從「咸於佛前」下，揀出得記之緣。苦於佛前當機妙悟者，是多聞深解二千五百者是也，皆已現前與總別記竟，今所揀類或是八部之類，或是四眾三乘之類，絓法華座席。「咸於佛前」者，明其時節，值佛在座也。「一句一偈」者，聞法極少也。「乃至一念」者，時節最促也。「皆與記當得菩提」者，明其聞極少、時極促，隨喜之功遂得佛果，何況具足得聞、盡形受持，五種流通三業供養（云云）。「聞一句一偈」者，聞少解淺之類今皆與記，少者尚記況復多深？以少況多普廣若此。下周既爾，中上亦然，可以意知不俟更說。《見實三昧經》別與四天王記同名火持，三十三天同名因陀羅幢王，拘翼同名無著，焰天同名淨智，兜率同名釋法王，上兩天亦通與記不顯別名，梵天名大智力，此是聞多解深之類，今與聞少解淺之類耳。舊云，支佛菩薩無受記，此文三乘皆記，不須疑也。「一偈一句」者，《增一集》云「隨取經中要偈，如四諦之流者是也」，《十住毘婆沙》云「惡賤名厭，不求名無欲，心無垢名解脫，捨檐名涅槃；惡賤於集，不求於苦，無垢是道，捨檐是滅」。又云「佛語滿宿，我有四句，所謂四諦四念處」等是也。觀心者，以一一句、以一一偈，無句無偈而不一者（云云）。若取迹門中要句開示悟入，乘是寶乘遊於四方，四安樂行勸發四意等是也。「一念隨喜」者，自未有行但隨喜法及人，功報尚多，況行到耶？隨喜喜心有二：若聞開權顯實，即於一念心中，深解非權非實之理信佛知見，又能雙解權實事理圓融，雖具煩惱性，能知如來祕密之藏，此即豎論隨喜；又若聞開權顯實之意，即於一心廣解一切心，及一切法皆是佛法無有障礙，若欲分別辯說無窮，月四月至歲旋轉不盡，雖未得真隨喜心能如此解，法既如此人亦如是，此約橫論隨喜。即橫而豎、即豎而橫，故《大經》云「寧願少聞多解義味」即此意也，後當更說。 > 'Dharma' means a rule or model; 'teacher' means an instructor or guide. Although the Dharma can serve as a model, its substance does not propagate itself—its transmission depends on human beings. Those who transmit the sūtra through these five kinds may all be called teachers: taking up the Dharma accomplishes their own practice; they all take the Wonderful Dharma as their teacher, and by taking the Wonderful Dharma as their teacher their own practice is fulfilled; hence they are called dharma teachers. Furthermore, these five kinds of people can instruct and guide others with the Wonderful Dharma; therefore the Dharma is cited to name the teachers, and so it is called the 'Dharma Teacher Chapter.' If guiding oneself by the Dharma and guiding others by the Dharma are both called being a dharma teacher, this is an explanation of the chapter by causality. The various explanations are all based on the doctrine of the perfect teaching to explain the chapter. The preceding three cycles constituted the trace section, where the primary teaching, comprehension, and conferring of predictions have been concluded. The five chapters from here down are the transmission section of the trace section: not only to shield and benefit that time, but also wishing to enrich and permeate future ages; hence there are five chapters of transmission. The two chapters 'Dharma Teacher' and 'Precious Stūpa' explain that the merit of propagating the sūtra is profound and the blessings are weighty, and that transmitting it to those who have not heard it brings immense benefits. The 'Devadatta' chapter cites past propagation of the sūtra as benefiting both oneself and others, in order to verify that the merit is profound and weighty. In the 'Encouraging Devotion' chapter, the eighty thousand great beings whose power of forbearance has been perfected will propagate the sūtra in this land, while those who have newly received predictions will propagate the sūtra in other lands. Regarding the 'Peaceful and Joyful Practices' chapter, the old \[commentators\] said that it was for the transmission that receives the retreating; this may be so, but it is not necessarily entirely so. Beginners among external ordinary people rejoice in these superior blessings, but seeing the śrāvakas dread \[the task\] and hearing of the bodhisattvas being rejected and insulted, they look upon their own weak power as bringing no benefit to self or others, and thus give birth to thoughts of retreat and sinking. For such persons, the Buddha spoke the peaceful and joyful practices, so that by propagating the Dharma in reliance upon them, they need not worry about dangers and hardships. Furthermore, in the 'Dharma Teacher Chapter,' Śākyamuni himself speaks of the merit and blessings of propagating the sūtra and calls upon them to seek its transmission. In the 'Precious Stūpa Chapter,' Prabhūtaratna and the emanations both verify and assist, encouraging them to seek its transmission. In the 'Dharma Teacher Chapter,' the opening prose and gāthās praise the five kinds of dharma teachers, the persons who are able to uphold the Dharma; the subsequent prose and gāthās praise the Dharma that is upheld. Furthermore, they reveal the methods and rules for transmitting the sūtra. The first part also has two sections: first, the profound merit and weighty blessings in terms of the disciples who receive the path; second, the profound merit and weighty blessings in terms of the teachers who confer the path. The disciples' section also has two parts: first, disciples in the Buddha's lifetime; second, disciples after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa. First, 'relying on Bhaiṣajyarāja to address the eighty thousand': 'relying' means entrusting. He wished to entrust the Wonderful Dharma to Bhaiṣajyarāja, causing him to accept it and address the eighty thousand so that all would transmit it. Pointing to the persons and asking if he sees them specifically indicates the people who obtain blessings by upholding the sūtra. Disciples in the Buddha's lifetime also has two parts: first, from 'addressing Bhaiṣajyarāja' downward, singling out the categories of people; second, from 'all in the Buddha's presence' downward, singling out the conditions for receiving predictions. Those who in the Buddha's presence directly realized the wonderful awakening were the two thousand five hundred who possessed vast learning and profound understanding; all of them had already been granted general and individual predictions in person. Those now singled out are either of the category of the eight classes of beings, or of the category of the fourfold assembly and the three vehicles who attended the Lotus assembly. 'All in the Buddha's presence' clarifies the timing: encountering the Buddha while he is seated \[there\]. 'A single phrase or a single verse' indicates hearing an extremely small amount of the Dharma. 'Even for a single moment of thought' indicates the shortest duration of time. 'All are conferred predictions that they will attain bodhi' clarifies that although their hearing was extremely little and the time extremely short, through the merit of rejoicing in accord they ultimately attain the fruit of buddhahood; how much more so if they hear it in full, uphold it to the end of their lives, practice the five kinds of transmission, and make offerings through the three karmas (and so on). 'Hearing a single phrase or a single verse' means that those who hear little and have shallow understanding are now all conferred predictions; if predictions are granted for so little, how much more so for what is vast and profound? Using the little to illustrate the much is universally broad like this. Since the lower cycle is thus, the middle and upper cycles are also like this; this can be known by inference without waiting to be explained again. In the Satyasiddhi-samādhi-sūtra, individual predictions are conferred on the Four Heavenly Kings with the shared name Fire Holder; on the Thirty-Three Gods with the shared name Indra Flag King; on Kauśika with the shared name Unattached; on the Yāma Devas with the shared name Pure Wisdom; on Tuṣita with the shared name Śākya Dharma King; the upper two heavens are also universally conferred predictions without revealing individual names; the Brahma Devas are named Great Wisdom Power. These belong to the category of hearing much and understanding deeply; now it is granted to the category of hearing little and understanding shallowly. The old \[commentators\] said that pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas received no predictions; but in this text all three vehicles are conferred predictions, so there is no need to doubt. As for 'a single verse or a single phrase,' the Ekottarika-āgama says: 'Freely taking the essential verses in the sūtras, such as those of the Four Noble Truths, is an example.' The Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā says: 'Abhorring and disdaining is called revulsion; not seeking is called desirelessness; a mind without defilement is called liberation; laying down the burden is called nirvāṇa. Abhorring and disdaining applies to the origin; not seeking applies to suffering; freedom from defilement is the path; laying down the burden is cessation.' It also says: 'The Buddha said to Puṇyavasu, "I have four phrases, namely the Four Noble Truths, the four stations of mindfulness,"' and so forth; this is an example. In contemplation of mind: with every single phrase and every single verse, there is no phrase and no verse that is not the One (and so on). If we take the essential phrases in the trace section, they are 'opening, demonstrating, awakening to, and entering,' 'riding this precious vehicle to roam in the four directions,' 'the four peaceful and joyful practices,' 'encouraging the fourfold resolve,' and the like. Regarding 'a single thought of rejoicing in accord': when one has not yet performed the practices oneself but merely rejoices in the Dharma and the persons, the merit and retribution are already abundant; how much more so when one's practice is fulfilled? The rejoicing mind that rejoices in accord is twofold: If one hears of opening the expedient and revealing the real, then within a single thought-moment one profoundly understands the principle of neither-expedient-nor-real and has faith in the buddha knowledge and vision, and can also understand both the expedient and the real as interpenetrating in phenomena and principle; though possessing the nature of afflictions, one is able to know the Tathāgata's secret treasury—this is the vertical explanation of rejoicing in accord. Furthermore, if one hears the intention of opening the expedient and revealing the real, then in a single mind one broadly understands that all minds and all dharmas are the Buddha Dharma without obstruction; if one wishes to analyze and debate it, it is inexhaustible, revolving without end for a month, four months, up to a year; though one has not yet attained true rejoicing in accord, one's mind can understand like this; since the Dharma is like this, persons are also like this—this is the horizontal explanation of rejoicing in accord. The horizontal is immediately the vertical, and the vertical is immediately the horizontal; therefore the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra says: 'I would rather hear little and understand much of the flavor of the meaning'—this is the meaning here, which will be explained further below. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 8.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.8.24) - [Next: 8.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.8.26) - [Up: 8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.8) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718~en-mt.8.25) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.8.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1718.8.25) · Pramāṇa