法華玄論 2.11

2.11

Answer: Master Yun of Guangzhai said: It is still impermanent. Why is this? The teaching has five periods, and only the fifth, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, is the teaching of permanent abidance; all the four periods are impermanent. The Lotus Sūtra is the teaching of the fourth period, and therefore the Buddha-body is still impermanent. Furthermore, this sūtra itself speaks of impermanence, as the text below says, 'again twice the above number'; although it is called long, it is ultimately limited, so we know it is impermanent. Furthermore, the Chapter on Medicinal Herbs says, 'ultimately returning to emptiness'; since 'ultimately returning to emptiness' is impermanent, it ultimately enters the [nirvāṇa] without remainder.