法華玄論 9.156

9.156

答：以是義故，文中明祕密神通之力。昔日說近而密為開遠，言雖在近，昔在於遠，乃至今日言雖在遠，意為開不近不遠無始無終。而惑者聞近遂守近不能悟遠，乃至聞遠不能悟不遠不近，故名迷也。又雖聞非近非遠，不能悟近遠雙遊，皆失佛旨也。又昔說近者，此是因緣遠近，義近遠無礙。昔以遠為近，今以近為遠，以不遠近為近遠，近遠為不近遠。如來是無礙之人，故有無礙之身、無礙之說。以眾生乖道，不能有無礙之悟，故皆失佛旨。又如來非近非遠，昔能結為近用，乃至非遠非近，今結為遠用。昔結以為近用，故此近於佛。欲開非近非遠，而眾生執近，乃覆非近非遠也。近義既爾，遠義亦然。若能悟如此近遠義者，方識一化始終意也。

Answer: Because of this meaning, the text clarifies the power of secret supernatural penetration. Formerly he spoke of the recent while secretly opening the long past; although the words were on the recent, the meaning was on the long past. Even up to today, although the words are on the long past, the intention is to open what is neither recent nor long past, without beginning and without end. Yet confused beings, hearing of the recent, cling to the recent and cannot awaken to the long past; and even hearing of the long past, they cannot awaken to what is neither long past nor recent; hence it is called delusion. Furthermore, although they hear of what is neither recent nor long past, they cannot awaken to the concurrent journey of the recent and the long past; all of these miss the Buddha's intention. Moreover, formerly speaking of the recent was the conditioned long past and recent; the principle of the recent and the long past is unobstructed. Formerly he took the long past as the recent; now he takes the recent as the long past; he takes what is neither long past nor recent as the recent and long past, and the recent and long past as neither long past nor recent. The Tathāgata is an unobstructed person, and therefore possesses an unobstructed body and unobstructed teaching. Because sentient beings deviate from the path and cannot have unobstructed awakening, they all miss the Buddha's intention. Furthermore, the Tathāgata is neither recent nor long past: formerly he was able to conclude it as the recent function; even so with neither long past nor recent, now he concludes it as the long past function. Formerly he concluded it as the recent function, so this recent [aspect] in the Buddha wished to open what is neither recent nor long past; yet sentient beings grasped the recent, and thus concealed what is neither recent nor long past. As with the meaning of the recent, so too with the meaning of the long past. If one can awaken to such meanings of the recent and the long past, only then will one recognize the intention of the beginning and end of a single teaching period.