妙法蓮華經文句 7.11

7.11

“All these living beings, having heard this Dharma” is sixth, matching the sixth metaphor above, that of flourishing growth. “At ease in the present life, and reborn in good places in later lives” is retribution causes evoking retribution fruits, matching the flourishing growth of flowers blooming. “Also hearing the Dharma” up to “entering the path” is habitual causes drawing forth habitual fruits, matching the flourishing growth of fruits above. “Having heard this Dharma” matches the cause of flourishing growth above; “at ease in the present life” directly matches flourishing growth; and “reborn in good places in later lives” matches the marks of flourishing growth. The Buddha is like a great cloud everywhere covering all; the three miserable destinies also receive moisture and grow, just as the Prajñā and Vaipulya [sūtras] explain that the hells gain benefit. Moreover, various sūtras also explain that nāgas, birds, ghosts, and spirits hear the Dharma and attain the path. If the fire is quenched and the water cools, that is being at ease in the present life; if they are reborn in the heavens or among humans, that is being reborn in good places in later lives; cultivating the path among gods and humans is enjoying happiness by means of the path. If humans and gods hear the Dharma, uphold the precepts, and have merit upholding their bodies so that ghosts and dragons do not molest them, that is being at ease in the present life; if gods are reborn again as gods and humans again as humans, or gods and humans are mutually reborn, that is being reborn in good places in later lives; if upon being born they are able to awaken and understand, that is enjoying happiness by means of the path. The two vehicles hearing the Dharma and attaining nirvāṇa with remainder is being at ease in the present life, as a later passage says: “This person gives rise to the thought of extinction with respect to the merit attained,” and “In another land I become a buddha with yet another name.” This person in that land attains the hearing of this sūtra: it points to the land of expedience with remainder as a good place, and hearing the sūtra there is attaining the path and enjoying happiness. If a bodhisattva in a physical body hears Vairocana Buddha preaching the Dharma and attains the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas, that is being at ease in the present life; later being born in the Pure and Complete World to be a dependent of the Dharmakāya is being in a good place and enjoying happiness by means of the path; being free from all hindrances is being at ease in the present life. “According to the power they can bear, gradually attaining entry into the path” is enjoying happiness by means of the path in future lives. As for the five vehicles: the vehicle of the five precepts transcends the suffering of the three miserable destinies; the vehicle of the ten virtues transcends the eight sufferings of the human realm; the śrāvaka vehicle transcends the suffering of impermanence in the three realms; the pratyekabuddha vehicle transcends the suffering of hearing the Dharma from others; the bodhisattva vehicle transcends the suffering of having no sharp wisdom within and no major and minor marks without: these are the five vehicles. Question: One should only take humans and gods as worldly vehicles, and the rest as supramundane vehicles. Also, the Buddha is the real vehicle, and the rest are expedient vehicles. Also, the Buddha is the fruit vehicle, and the rest are cause vehicles. Also, there should be three vehicles: humans and gods as the lower, the two vehicles as the middle, and the Buddha as the superior. Also, humans and gods are called the vehicle that does not sever afflictions; the two vehicles are called the vehicle that severs afflictions; the Buddha is called the vehicle that neither severs nor does not sever. Also, humans and gods are called non-severance; the Buddha is called severance; the two vehicles are called both severance and non-severance. Also, ordinary beings, worthy ones and noble ones, neither ordinary beings nor noble ones; existence, emptiness, neither existence nor non-existence, and so forth (and so forth). The Da zhidu lun clarifies five good roots, and the Śrīmālā-sūtra distinguishes four treasuries; how do these relate to the three grasses and two trees? Humans and gods are two goods, the two vehicles are one, and buddhas and bodhisattvas make five, opening the great and combining the small; the five vehicles open the small and combine the great; the four treasuries combine the ordinary and open the noble; the five vehicles open both ordinary and noble; they merely differ according to conditions.