妙法蓮華經文句 3.28

3.28

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.