法華文句記 4.161

4.161

此約二乘鈍菩薩說，初於華嚴而不聞，次於鹿苑而入證，後於二味而不取，今始得聞則成稀也。諸利菩薩何甞不聞？但以增進為今經益耳。若約本門非此中歎。

This is spoken in reference to the two vehicles and dull bodhisattvas: first, in the Avataṃsaka, they did not hear it; next, at the Deer Park, they entered realization; later, in the two flavors, they did not grasp it; only now do they finally get to hear it, and thus it becomes 'sparse.' How could the sharp bodhisattvas ever have failed to hear it? It is merely that advancing further is the benefit of the present sūtra. If spoken in terms of the gateway of the origin, it is not praised here.