法華玄論 8.100

8.100

答：深有旨也。明佛道雖長，若能度凡夫地及離二乘地者，後進修行不復為難，故名為近佛。如萬里之行，唯五百里多難，若過此道則前進為易也。

Answer: It has a profound purport. It clarifies that although the Buddha path is long, if one can cross over the stage of ordinary beings and leave the stage of the two vehicles, advancing in practice thereafter will no longer be difficult; hence it is called 'close to the Buddha.' It is like a journey of ten thousand li, where only five hundred li are full of difficulties; if one passes this road, then advancing forward is easy.