法華文句記 2.6

2.6

"Kṣetra" should be kṣetramā; here it is translated as "field," which is the land ruled by one buddha. Now calling it a "kṣetra pillar" is because it represents the territory; hence in various sūtras it is often called "representing the kṣetra." If one wishes to clarify the four siddhāntas: first is the mundane siddhānta, because the family clans and dwelling places are different; from "Vipaśyin" downward is the siddhānta for persons, because they jointly erected the kṣetra pillar as a wholesome cause; from "the Buddha performed" downward is the remedial siddhānta, because seeing the Buddha can eliminate evil; from "the Buddha then said" downward is the primary truth, because one can see the true principle through the Lesser Vehicle. "The Buddha performed ten spiritual transformations": in the text, as an initial pass, ten matters are listed provisionally; however, the texts of the Vinaya and treatises are not restricted to these ten. Furthermore, although they are listed in the text, the events are not described in detail; the Zengyi [Ahan jing] and the Ruiying [benqi jing] explain the matters extensively, and now they are briefly set forth so that the text can be understood. The Zengyi states: "The Buddha entered Kāśyapa's cave. The poisonous dragon emitted fire and so forth, but the Buddha collected the poisonous dragon and kept it inside his bowl, coming to where Kāśyapa was. Kāśyapa invited him to stay and made offerings for three months. When the time arrived to invite him for a meal, the Buddha said, 'Go ahead.' He then went to the jambu tree to take jambu fruit. This extends to [Kāśyapa] saying, 'Although the śramaṇa is spiritual, he is not as true as my way.' Next, [the Buddha] went to Eastern Pūrvavideha to take bibhītaka fruit; next he went to Godānīya to take harītakī fruit; next he went to Uttarakuru to take naturally growing non-glutinous rice (all with [Kāśyapa] saying as before, 'the śramaṇa' and so forth). Again, in Jambudvīpa he took āmalaka fruit. [Kāśyapa] wished to perform a great sacrifice, but when the five hundred disciples wished to split the firewood, the axes once raised would not come down. Kāśyapa asked the Buddha, and the Buddha said, 'Do you want them to come down?' The axes immediately came down. Once down, they could not be raised again (as before). When they wished to light the fire, the fire would not burn; when they wished to extinguish the fire, the fire would not go out (as before). Kāśyapa thought: 'I wish to perform a great sacrifice, and kings and nobles will surely come. Gautama is handsome; if people see him, it will cause me to lose profit. If he does not come tomorrow, it will be my great good fortune.' Knowing this, the Buddha went provisionally to the north to take non-glutinous rice, to Godānīya to take milk, and went to Lake Anavatapta to eat. In the evening he returned to the rock cave. Kāśyapa asked, 'Why did you not come yesterday?' The Buddha said, 'I knew your thoughts, so I did not come.' He explained the previous matters in detail for him. Furthermore, because the four heavenly kings came to hear the Dharma, there was radiant light at night; the next day [Kāśyapa] asked the Buddha, and the Buddha explained it in detail for him. Next, when Śakra and the Brahmā king came, it was also like this. Kāśyapa asked, 'Can you make my ancestors come to hear the Dharma?' The Buddha then made them come (and so forth). The Ganges river suddenly rose; Kāśyapa feared the Buddha would be drowned by the water and sent disciples to go and look: the water did not submerge his feet, and he was walking upon the water (as before). The Buddha said, 'You are a blind man, your eyes seeing nothing of such spiritual transformations, yet you stubbornly say your way is true.' The Buddha said, 'Can you walk upon the water? Only now can we walk upon the water together' (and so forth). 'If you do not relinquish wrong views, it will cause you to suffer for long kalpas.' Having heard this, he bowed his head and face to the Buddha's feet, seeking repentance, and then told his disciples: 'We should follow what is appropriate; the World-Honoured One is my teacher.' He spoke to his disciples, saying: 'When I saw him subdue the dragon, my mind had already turned in refuge to the Buddha.' This extends to all five hundred disciples hearing 'Welcome [monk]' and attaining the fruition of a śramaṇa; they cast their ritual implements into the water together, and these flowed downstream. The two younger brothers also had five hundred disciples; seeing the fire implements floating down (and so forth), they were also all welcomed [with 'Welcome monk'] and became śramaṇas. The Buddha wished to go to Kapilavastu. [Kāśyapa] asked the Buddha, 'Why go there?' The Buddha said, 'All buddhas together have five matters: first, turning the wheel of the Dharma; second, preaching the Dharma for the father; third, preaching the Dharma for the mother; fourth, guiding ordinary persons to establish bodhisattva practices; fifth, bestowing prophecies on bodhisattvas. Therefore I am going there to preach the Dharma for my father.' The father-king accordingly caused a thousand Śākyas to leave the household to surround [the Buddha] themselves."