法華玄論 2.107

2.107

答：從十信至十地位，行既深則壽亦無量，況法身之齡而可竭盡耶？又必是無常而說是常者，此依道理則應獲福無邊，以佛說教本為顯理故也。若是常住而言無常，得無量罪。如《釋論》云「實無十方佛，敬言有者則得福也。實有十方佛，而言無者則獲大罪也。」今明是經究竟法身，百非不非、百是不是，與《大經》及《華嚴》不異，尚不可言常，豈可言是無常耶？故名果妙。以此因果妙故，名為妙法。

Answer: From the stages of the ten faiths up to the ten bhūmis, since the practice is profound, the lifespan is also immeasurable; how much less could the longevity of the dharmakāya be exhausted? Furthermore, if it were certainly impermanent and yet one said it was permanent, then according to principle one should obtain boundless merit, because the teaching spoken by the Buddha is fundamentally for revealing principle. If it were permanently abiding and yet one spoke of it as impermanent, one would incur immeasurable sin. As the *Treatise* says: "If in reality there are no Buddhas of the ten directions, one who reverently says they exist still gains merit. If in reality there are Buddhas of the ten directions, but one says they do not exist, one incurs great sin." Now, to clarify that this sūtra is the ultimate dharmakāya, which does away with the hundred negations and transcends the hundred affirmations, and is not different from the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* and the *Avataṃsaka*: it cannot even be spoken of as permanent, so how could one say it is impermanent? Therefore it is called wonderful fruit. Because these cause and fruit are wonderful, it is called the wonderful Dharma.