法華玄論 7.41

7.41

Question: There should not be five vehicles, but only two: humans and devas as the mundane vehicle, and the remaining three as the supramundane vehicles. Alternatively, there should be two vehicles: the Buddha as the real vehicle, and the other four as provisional vehicles; the Buddha is the vehicle of ultimate truth, and the other four vehicles are all vehicles of conventional truth, as explained in the Śrīmālādevī-sūtra. Furthermore, the Buddha is the fruit vehicle, and the other four are causal vehicles. Alternatively, there should be three vehicles: the vehicle of humans and devas as the lower vehicle, the two vehicles as the middle vehicle, and the Buddha vehicle as the upper vehicle. Furthermore, the vehicle of humans and devas is the vehicle that escapes the three evil destinies, the two vehicles are the vehicle that escapes the three realms, and the Buddha vehicle is the vehicle that escapes the five hundred yojanas. Furthermore, humans and devas are called the vehicle of not cutting off afflictions, the two vehicles are called the vehicle of cutting off afflictions, and the Buddha vehicle is the vehicle of neither cutting off nor not cutting off. It is not like ordinary beings, hence not 'not cutting off'; it is not like the two vehicles, hence not 'cutting off'. As the Vimalakīrti says: 'Neither cutting off afflictions nor dwelling together with afflictions'—originally non-existent, there is nothing to dwell together with; currently not non-existent, there is nothing to be cut off. Both the Mahāyāna teachings prior to the Lotus Sūtra and the Lotus Sūtra have this meaning, whereas the Tripiṭaka does not have this teaching. Furthermore, ordinary beings are called the vehicle of not cutting off, and the Buddha is called the vehicle of cutting off; the two vehicles both cut off and do not cut off: relative to ordinary beings, they have cut off a small portion; compared to the Buddha, they have not yet cut off. This applies to both past and present. Furthermore, humans and devas are called the vehicle of ordinary beings, the two vehicles are called the vehicle of sages, and the Buddha is called the vehicle of neither ordinary nor sage. Furthermore, ordinary beings are the vehicle of existence, the two vehicles are the vehicle of emptiness, and the Buddha vehicle is the vehicle of the middle way; this is the purport of the Mahāyāna teaching. Furthermore, ordinary beings are the vehicle of clinging to saṃsāra, the two vehicles are the vehicle of clinging to nirvāṇa, and the Buddha is called the vehicle of non-clinging; this is also the purport of the Mahāyāna teaching. Furthermore, there should be four vehicles, such as the four kinds of heavy burdens, the four hundred billion classes of continents, and the four great treasuries in the Śrīmālādevī-sūtra. These are all the purport of the Mahāyāna teaching, because in the Mahāyāna teaching there is separately the great earth that can support the four treasuries. Now, for what reason are five vehicles established instead of two, three, or four?