法華義疏 4.244

4.244

經出不同。一云迦葉佛時有同學九人，四人利根前得道，五人鈍根，自誓釋迦出世要先得道。又經云，釋迦過去於饑饉世作大魚，身自誓云：前食我肉者當先度之。五人前來食之，故前度也。又經云，過去世有六人，五人取稻華供養佛，一人云待之稻熟供養，故五人前悟、須跋後悟也。「是名轉法輪」下，第六句，結說教名字。若據自他而言，佛初成道自轉法輪謂初自轉也。今為他說法則他轉之初也。「便有涅槃音」下，第七句，結教旨歸也。雖轉四諦宗歸一滅，故大乘有四諦與一諦，小乘亦明四諦一諦。說三乘法要，具上來七章也。

The sūtras account for this differently. One says that in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha there were nine fellow students; four of them had sharp faculties and attained the Way earlier, while five had dull faculties and made a vow that when Śākyamuni appeared in the world they would be the first to attain the Way. Another sūtra says that in the past, in a time of famine, Śākyamuni took the form of a great fish and vowed: "Those who eat my flesh first shall be saved first." The five men were the first to come and eat it, so they were saved first. Another sūtra also says that in a past life there were six men; five men took rice blossoms to make offerings to the Buddha, while one man said he would wait until the rice ripened to make an offering; hence the five men awakened first, and Subhadra awakened later. From "This is called turning the wheel of the Dharma" onward is the sixth phrase: concluding with the name of the preached teaching. Speaking in terms of oneself and others: when the Buddha first attained the Way, his own turning of the Dharma wheel was the initial self-turning; now, preaching the Dharma for others was the beginning of turning it for others. From "Then there was the sound of nirvāṇa" onward is the seventh phrase: concluding with the ultimate aim of the teaching. Although he turned the four truths, the essential principle resolves into the one cessation; hence, the Mahāyāna has four truths and one truth, and the Hīnayāna also clarifies four truths and one truth. Preaching the essentials of the Dharma of the triyāna is completely contained in the above seven sections.