法華玄論 6.10

6.10

Answer: The explanatory passage cited just now serves as proof. Furthermore, Śāriputra previously said, 'Only now have I myself awakened to the fact that it is not true extinction.' From this one knows that prior to that, none had awakened. Also, during the three requests, all [practitioners of] the two vehicles gave rise to doubt; if they already knew they would become Buddhas, what would they doubt? And for what purpose would the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra have arisen? Furthermore, the subsequent 'Parable of the Conjured City' chapter clearly states: 'After my extinction, there will again be disciples who do not hear this sūtra, neither knowing nor perceiving the practice of bodhisattvas, but generating the notion of extinction regarding their own merit and entering nirvāṇa. When I become a Buddha in another land, I will preach this sūtra for them, and only then will they attain spiritual convergence and gradually know they will become Buddhas.' Furthermore, the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa, in explaining the chapter on 'Certainty,' also makes this statement, explaining that arhats are born in pure lands outside the three realms, where they get to hear the Lotus Sūtra, practice, and seek buddhahood. Thus we know that if [practitioners of] the two vehicles do not hear the Lotus Sūtra, they do not know of the common convergence. Furthermore, if [practitioners of] the two vehicles already knew they would become Buddhas, how could it be said that [the Buddha] expounded the Wonderful Lotus Sūtra for the sake of the śrāvakas?