法華玄論 6.131

6.131

答：文云「若十二十或至三十」，若以定有三乘根性，何事稱或耶？以初有二性，後方有一機，故稱或至也。此望〈方便品〉意也。二者初一乘化不得，後以三乘化得者，此約總別為論，明長者本有三十子，佛初出世時已有三乘根性。若但以一乘化三乘根性者，有三種機唯有一教，無從化理，是故息一乘之化於一佛乘分別說三化得三人。

Answer: The text states: 'ten, twenty, or up to thirty.' If they definitively had the capacities for the three vehicles, why would it say 'or'? Because initially there were two capacities, and only later was there the one spiritual capacity; thus it says 'or up to.' This is in view of the meaning of the 'Skillful Means' chapter. Second, regarding the point that initially they could not be converted through the one vehicle, but were subsequently converted through the three vehicles: this is discussed in terms of the general and the particular, explaining that the elder originally had thirty sons, and when the Buddha first appeared in the world, there were already capacities for the three vehicles. If he had only converted those with capacities for the three vehicles through the one vehicle, there would have been three kinds of spiritual capacities but only one teaching, leaving no principle by which to convert them. For this reason, he ceased converting [them] through the one vehicle, and within the one Buddha vehicle made distinctions to expound the three, thereby converting the three kinds of persons.