法華文句記 3.55

3.55

「駟馬」者，四匹共乘故云駟也。「俠」字胡帖反，豪也。「文殊」下《經》云「往詣」等者，表往非餘故指佛所，所問尊極云無上道，所棄不輕故云樂土，身心俱離故云剃除。如是消釋世所共有，凡諸解說貴在教宗，顯理之精息其繁芿。「五王經」者，此是一卷小經。經云：「昔有五王隣國無競互為親友，有一大王名曰普安，習菩薩行，以餘四王邪見熾盛，普安愍之呼來殿上，七日七夜娛樂受樂，四王曰：國事眾多請退還家。大王自送并命左右而隨送之。至於半道而問之言：各何所樂？一云：願春陽之日遊戲原野。一云：願常作王種種嚴飾，人民侍從道路傾目。一云：願得好婦兒端正無雙。一云：願父母常在多有兄弟，美食音樂共相娛樂。各各說已，迴白大王：王何所願？答：我先說卿所願不長。若樂春遊冬先彫朽，若樂為王福盡相伐，若樂婦兒一朝疾病受苦無量，若樂父母常在等，一旦有事為他所執。四王又問：大王如何所樂？答言：我所樂者，不生不滅不苦不樂，不飢不渴不寒不熱，存亡自在。四王問曰：如此之樂何處有耶？何處有師？大王曰：吾師號佛，近在祇洹。諸王歡喜各詣佛所，却坐一面白佛自責。佛說八苦，王及侍從百千萬人得須陀洹，捨國入道，大相略同。」既云問無上道，非關小果，且據捨土出家事同，故今引之。光中所見亦可八苦以為助行，諸教共之故捨國事同，觀行須別以分諸教。又如《長含》有四輪王，分於一國雇人剃頭，既云諸王機亦不一。下去「又見」等亦通諸機故也。

"Four-horse team": four horses drawing [a carriage] together, hence called a team. The character xia is pronounced hu-tie; it means brave and powerful. From "Mañjuśrī" downward, the Sūtra says "went to…" and so forth: this indicates that they went to nowhere else and therefore points to the Buddha's dwelling; the question asked was supremely revered, called the "unsurpassable path"; what was abandoned was not trivial, hence called "delightful lands"; both body and mind were abandoned, hence called "shaved their heads." Such explanations are common to the world; in all interpretations, value lies in the doctrinal tenet, manifesting the essence of the principle and eliminating burdensome proliferation. "Sūtra of the Five Kings": this is a small sūtra in one scroll. The sūtra states: "In the past there were five kings of neighboring lands without rivalry, who were mutual friends. There was one great king named Pu'an, who practiced the bodhisattva deeds. Because the other four kings had blazing wrong views, Pu'an pitied them and summoned them to his palace, where they enjoyed pleasures for seven days and seven nights. The four kings said: 'State affairs are manifold; we ask to take our leave and return home.' The great king saw them off in person and commanded his attendants to accompany them. Halfway along the path, he asked them: 'What does each of you take delight in?' One said: 'I wish on spring days to roam the fields for pleasure.' One said: 'I wish always to be a king with various adornments, with the people and attendants along the road looking up in admiration.' One said: 'I wish to have a fine wife and children, handsome and peerless.' One said: 'I wish my parents to live forever with many brothers, enjoying delicious food and music together.' Having each spoken, they turned and addressed the great king: 'What is your wish, O King?' He answered: 'I will first tell you that what you desire does not last long. If you delight in spring outings, winter will first wither [the blossoms]; if you delight in being a king, when blessings are exhausted you will be attacked; if you delight in wives and children, one morning of sickness brings immeasurable suffering; if you delight in parents living forever and so forth, once an incident occurs you will be seized by others.' The four kings further asked: 'What does the great king take delight in?' He answered: 'What I delight in is neither arising nor ceasing, neither suffering nor pleasure, neither hunger nor thirst, neither cold nor heat, being autonomous in life and death.' The four kings asked: 'Where does such pleasure exist? Where is there a teacher?' The great king said: 'My teacher is named the Buddha; he is nearby in the Jetavana.' The kings rejoiced, each went to the Buddha's dwelling, stepped back to sit on one side, addressed the Buddha, and reproached themselves. The Buddha preached the eight sufferings; the kings and hundreds of thousands of millions of their attendants attained srotāpanna, abandoned their kingdoms, and entered the path. The general features are broadly the same." Since it speaks of asking about the unsurpassable path, it does not concern the lesser fruit; it is merely cited here on the grounds that the affair of abandoning their lands and leaving home is the same. What was seen in the light may also take the eight sufferings as auxiliary practice; this is common to all teachings, and therefore the affair of abandoning the kingdoms is identical, but the practice of contemplation must be distinguished to differentiate the teachings. Furthermore, as in the Dīrghāgama there are four wheel-turning kings who divided a single kingdom and hired people to shave their heads; since it says "kings," the capacities are also not uniform. Below, "also seeing" and so forth also applies to the various capacities.