法華義疏 11.159

11.159

「一時謦咳俱共彈指」者，舊云：謦咳表說二權二實暢悅佛心。《法華論》云「現謦咳聲說偈令聞故，聞已如實修行不放逸故。『彈指』者，表覺悟眾生，令修行者得覺悟故。『動地』者，亦令眾生覺悟知佛說法。又示無常相，令速修此法。又表現在十方眾生遙聞此會說《法華經》，隨喜供養，藉此善根後當成佛，是故地動」。依《法華論》意，舌相謦咳屬口業瑞，放光、彈指屬身業瑞，動地謂意業瑞；而經文次第者，初二是色瑞，次兩是聲瑞，此四是謂正果瑞，動地是依果瑞。五瑞次第者，舌為說教之主，故初現之；說教必有滅惑生解之用，並令十方通洞彼此相見，故次放光；既彼此相見故謦咳令聞，令聞為令覺悟，是故彈指。此四是現正果瑞竟，次動地現依果瑞也。

Regarding "at the same time clearing their throats and snapping their fingers together": ancient masters said that clearing the throat signifies that expounding the two provisionals and two reals brought delight to the Buddha's heart. The Fahua lun says, "Manifesting the sound of clearing the throat and speaking verses causes them to hear, so that having heard, they will cultivate in accordance with reality and not be negligent. 'Snapping the fingers' signifies awakening living beings, causing practitioners to attain awakening. 'Shaking the earth' also causes living beings to awaken and know that the Buddha is preaching the Dharma. It also indicates the mark of impermanence, causing them to cultivate this Dharma swiftly. Furthermore, it signifies that when living beings in the ten directions at present hear from afar that this assembly is preaching the Lotus Sūtra, they rejoice in accord and make offerings, and relying on this wholesome root they will later become buddhas; therefore the earth shakes." According to the meaning of the Fahua lun, the mark of the tongue and clearing the throat belong to auspicious signs of verbal karma; emitting light and snapping fingers belong to auspicious signs of physical karma; and shaking the earth refers to an auspicious sign of mental karma. As for the sequence in the sūtra text: the first two are signs of visible form, the next two are signs of sound; these four are called signs of the direct fruit, while shaking the earth is a sign of the environmental fruit. As for the sequence of the five signs: the tongue is the master of expounding the teaching, so it is manifested first; expounding the teaching necessarily has the function of eliminating delusion and generating understanding, and making the ten directions fully transparent so that those here and there see one another, so next he emits light; since they see one another, he clears his throat to cause them to hear, and causing them to hear is to cause them to awaken, so therefore he snaps his fingers. These four complete the manifestation of the signs of the direct fruit; next, shaking the earth manifests the sign of the environmental fruit.