法華文句記 2.20

2.20

In explaining “Gavāṃpati,” the opening text contains all four siddhāntas, so it is not divided; at the end, it summarizes them. “Ruminating like an ox”: in a past life, he was once a monk; passing by another’s millet field, he plucked [the grain] to see whether it was raw or ripe; for five hundred years thereafter, he became an ox to repay this debt; now, having attained the stage of an arhat, he still retains the residual habit. The summary of the names of the four siddhāntas is in the middle, broadly explaining both the preceding and following passages. Therefore, from “It is also said” onward, it re-explains the intention of the four siddhāntas. Next, from “the Buddha entered extinction” onward, it separately re-explains the ultimate truth. Regarding “uttering verses over the water,” the treatise says: “Gavāṃpati bows his head in homage / to the saṃgha of great virtues, foremost among the wondrous assembly. / Hearing that the Buddha has entered extinction, I shall follow and depart, / just as when a great elephant departs, the calf follows.” In the classification according to the teachings, all [passages] employ “showing”: if interpreted as manifestation, it combines both origin and traces; if interpreted as teaching and pointing out, it pertains precisely to the teachings. Under the contemplation of mind, it directly employs the bull-king among men, while generally taking the white ox pulling the carriage.