法華玄論 8.94

8.94

答：下合化城譬中佛自作此說也。如經云「佛知是心怯弱下劣，為止息故說二涅槃。」此合度三百由旬譬也。「若眾生住於二地，如來爾時即便為說，汝所住地近於佛慧。」此合度二百由旬譬也。文既分明，無勞惑也。而經師都不見此文，橫引餘事以釋，故失經旨也。又不以二地為二百，復以何文合二百耶？又責舊經師曰：譬說之中明一化城，今合譬文何故乃明二地？不應一二相違。今明開合皆有其旨，所以合者，略明六義：一同出三界、二同得盡無生智、三同斷正使盡、四同得餘無餘二涅槃、五望波若三慧品同得一切智、六同名小乘。以六義同，故合二乘為一化城也。而開為二地者，略明十義：一行因久近，如百劫六十劫等；二者根有利鈍；三從師與獨悟；四聲聞無大悲、緣覺有小悲，如鹿犀之喻，現《釋論》也；五聲聞不必有相好，緣覺必有，但小多不定；六聲聞觀法略謂四諦，緣覺觀法廣謂十二因緣；七聲聞說法則令人悟於聖道，緣覺不能令至燸法及得賢聖事，出《大經》；八羅漢必在佛世，緣覺不定也。九聲聞或頓證四果或復漸證，緣覺必頓證如三藏佛；十緣覺現通多說法少，聲聞不定。以具十義，故開為二地。是故三百譬三界，二百喻二地也。

Answer: Below, in combining the parable of the conjured city, the Buddha makes this statement himself. As the sūtra states: 'The Buddha knew their minds were timid, weak, and lowly; to let them rest, he spoke of two kinds of nirvāṇa.' This matches the parable of crossing over three hundred yojanas. 'If sentient beings abide in the two stages, the Tathāgata then immediately speaks to them: "The stage in which you abide is close to the Buddha's wisdom."' This matches the parable of crossing over two hundred yojanas. Since the text is clear, there is no need to be confused. Yet sūtra masters did not look at this text at all and arbitrarily cited other matters to explain it, thereby missing the sūtra's purport. Furthermore, if one does not take the two stages as the two hundred [yojanas], what other text would one use to match the two hundred? Furthermore, one may reprove the old sūtra masters, saying: In the parabolic discourse, one conjured city is explained; now, why does the text that matches the parable explain two stages? The one and the two should not contradict each other. Now we explain that both opening and combining have their purposes. The reason they are combined is broadly clarified by six meanings: first, together leaving the three realms; second, together attaining the wisdom of exhaustion and non-arising; third, together severing all manifest defilements; fourth, together attaining the two nirvāṇas, with remainder and without remainder; fifth, regarding the chapter on the three wisdoms in the Prajñāpāramitā, together attaining all-knowledge; sixth, together being named the Small Vehicle. Because the six meanings are identical, the two vehicles are combined into one conjured city. And the reasons they are opened into two stages are broadly clarified by ten meanings: first, the duration of practicing the cause—such as a hundred kalpas versus sixty kalpas; second, faculties are sharp or dull; third, relying on a teacher versus independent awakening; fourth, śrāvakas lack great compassion while pratyekabuddhas have small compassion, as in the parables of the deer and the rhinoceros shown in the Commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā; fifth, śrāvakas do not necessarily possess the marks and signs, whereas pratyekabuddhas definitely do, though few or many is not fixed; sixth, the dharma contemplated by śrāvakas is brief, namely the four truths, while the dharma contemplated by pratyekabuddhas is broad, namely the twelve links of dependent origination; seventh, when śrāvakas preach the Dharma, they cause others to awaken to the noble path, whereas pratyekabuddhas cannot cause others to reach the dharma of heat or attain noble states, which comes from the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra; eighth, arhats must appear during the time of a Buddha, whereas for pratyekabuddhas it is not fixed; ninth, śrāvakas may realize the four fruits either suddenly or gradually, whereas pratyekabuddhas must realize them suddenly, like a Buddha of the Tripiṭaka; tenth, pratyekabuddhas manifest supernormal powers frequently and teach the Dharma seldom, whereas for śrāvakas it is not fixed. Because they possess these ten meanings, they are opened into two stages. Therefore, the three hundred [yojanas] illustrates the three realms, and the two hundred [yojanas] illustrates the two stages.