[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [法華玄論](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720) › 4.6 # 法華玄論 4.6 法華玄論 4.6 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [4.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720.4.6) 答：經云「佛以方便力，示以三乘教。」既以三為方便，即以一為真實，即會昔三乘歸今一實也。又云「願賜我等三種寶車」，昔既索三，今便賜一，故索所不與、與所不索，即知別有大車異昔三小。以文理推之，即有四車也。評曰：三車諍論紛綸，由來久矣。了之即一部可通，迷之即七軸皆壅。今以八文徵之，方見此釋為謬。第一文云「如來但以一佛乘故為眾生說法，無有餘乘若二若三。」此文次第列三乘也。但以一佛乘者，謂佛乘為第一也。無有餘乘若二若三者，無有緣覺為第二、聲聞為第三。以此文詳之，即唯有三車，即執四為謬矣。問：經常列三乘，不作此之次第。今何以說三？次云唯一是實餘二非真者，唯一佛乘，欲引導眾生故方便說三。考實而言，唯一佛乘是實，餘二非真，是故說三說二猶一意耳。請設近喻以況遠旨。如父手中唯有一菓，欲引諸子說一菓為三菓。考實而論，唯有一菓無二菓。是故二文無相違也。以三二既明，會義可領。晚見《法華論》釋十方佛土中尚無二乘何況有三，與今意同。論云「此是遮義」。是遮者，明無二乘涅槃，唯佛究竟無上菩提，有大涅槃耳。此但明無有二乘唯有佛乘，不言無偏行六度菩薩乘，故光宅失旨也。 > Answer: The sūtra states: "The Buddha, through the power of skillful means, indicated the teaching of the three vehicles." Since he took the three as skillful means, he took the one as the real, which means converging the past three vehicles into the present one reality. It also says: "May you bestow upon us the three kinds of precious carriages." Since they sought three in the past and are now bestowed one, what was sought was not given, and what was given was not sought; thus we know there is distinctively a great carriage different from the three lesser ones of the past. Deducing from text and principle, there are then four carriages. Assessment: The dispute over the three carriages has been tangled and contentious for a long time. If one understands it, the entire work is unobstructed; if one is confused by it, all seven scrolls are blocked. Now, examining it through eight textual passages, one only then sees that this interpretation is erroneous. The first passage states: "The Tathāgata preaches the Dharma to sentient beings solely through the single Buddha vehicle; there are no other vehicles, neither a second nor a third." This passage lists the three vehicles in sequence. "Solely through the single Buddha vehicle" means the Buddha vehicle is the first. "There are no other vehicles, neither a second nor a third" means there is no pratyekabuddha as the second, nor śrāvaka as the third. Examining it by this passage, there are solely three carriages, and clinging to four is erroneous. Question: The sūtras usually enumerate the three vehicles without adopting this sequence. Why does it speak of three here? It next says that "only this one is real; the other two are not true"; there is solely the one Buddha vehicle, and wishing to guide sentient beings, he expediently spoke of three. Investigating reality, only the one Buddha vehicle is real, and the other two are not true; therefore, speaking of three and speaking of two still share a single intention. Let us provide a proximate analogy to illustrate this distant purport. Just as a father has only a single fruit in his hand, and wishing to attract his sons, speaks of the single fruit as three fruits; investigating reality, there is only a single fruit and no two fruits. Therefore, the two textual passages do not contradict each other. Since the three and two are clarified, the meaning of convergence can be understood. Later, seeing that the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkopadeśa explains that in the Buddha lands of the ten directions there are not even two vehicles, let alone three, it agrees with our present view. The treatise states: "This is the meaning of exclusion." As for exclusion, it clarifies that there is no nirvāṇa of the two vehicles, and that only the Buddha's ultimate unsurpassed bodhi has great nirvāṇa. This merely clarifies that there are no two vehicles and solely the Buddha vehicle; it does not say that there is no bodhisattva vehicle that partially practices the six perfections. Therefore, \[Master\] Guangzhai missed the point. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 4.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720.4.5) - [Next: 4.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720.4.7) - [Up: 4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720.4) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720~en-mt.4.6) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720.4.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1720.4.6) · Pramāṇa