法華文句記 8.45

8.45

Regarding "Only in the presence of the present Buddha" and so forth: this explains the meaning. Regarding "Also like people today" and so forth: this is not the primary meaning of the text, but is stated tentatively in contrast to those who backslide from the Mahāyāna; in full, it should be as in the text below from "From the present onwards." Regarding "The present time" and so forth: this refers to before the Buddha opened the provisional. Thus we know that in the final age, to hear it all at once and, upon hearing, give rise to faith, necessarily requires past seeds. Regarding "Like the intent in the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra]": that is, up to the Lotus Sūtra, the teaching and transformation of the ten ṛṣis and others was already complete; therefore, in the manifest teaching of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, those who attain the lesser fruition all know the real truth. Regarding "The three passages in the Great Scripture": however, while the words of these three passages differ slightly, their intent is largely the same. If one reaches the bodhi-mind, one will certainly reach bodhi and nirvāṇa. The first is the cause, and the latter two are the fruition. In the fruition, there are both the virtue of wisdom and the virtue of severance; therefore, a bodhisattva of initial aspiration can refer to one at the initial abodal stage who partially attains wisdom and severance. However, the three passages of the sūtra all speak of eight, six, four, and two [kalpas]; how could cause and fruition both take that same amount of time? This is merely a tentative statement; hence, bodhi and nirvāṇa apply to both cause and fruition. If the teaching remains provisional, it only reaches the initial abodal stage; even if it reaches the ultimate fruition, its teaching is still provisional. Why must it take eight, six, and so forth before reaching the ultimate fruition? For that would contradict attaining forbearance in a physical body in one lifetime at the eighth ground.