法華義疏 5.315

5.315

「爾時長者」下，第四、三車救子得譬。所以有此譬來者，既一乘化之不從，無容捨而不救，故於一佛乘分別說三，則從實起權，亦是隱實顯權。又上即是衣裓机案，以有物出子不得；今虛指門外，以無物出子得也。然如來所得法無虛無實，以無虛無實故能說虛實並實，不得云無實無虛，故虛實並虛也。有物者，道理唯有一乘也；無物者，道理無二乘也。又衣裓机案以父物救子不得，謂一乘是如來所行。《涅槃經》云「復有一行，是如來行，所謂大乘大涅槃」。今明三車是子物，救子得。三車是眾生所乘，故名子物。《釋論》及《攝大乘論》云「佛乘是自乘，二乘是他乘」，即此經云「佛自住大乘」，故知二乘是子所住也。若就身而言者，見火譬謂法身也，救子不得譬謂舍那報身也，三車引子譬即釋迦化身也。此譬上三乘化眾生得也。上文有三：一、念欲起三乘之化；二、說三乘教；三、明得益。今轉勢說法，開文有四：一、知子宿好譬；二、為說三車譬；三、諸子信受出宅譬；四、見子免難歡喜譬。

From "At that time the elder" below is the fourth part: the parable of successfully rescuing the children with the three carriages. As for why this parable appears: since they did not comply when converted with the ekayāna, he could not bear to abandon and not rescue them; therefore, within the one Buddha vehicle he discriminatively spoke of three, which means arising the provisional from the real, and also concealing the real to reveal the provisional. Furthermore, above was the garments and low tables, where, using something existent, he failed to bring the children out; now, emptily pointing outside the gate, using nothing existent, he succeeds in bringing the children out. However, the Dharma attained by the Tathāgata is neither empty nor real; because it is neither empty nor real, he is able to speak of the empty and the real as both real, and one cannot say that without the real there is no empty, so the empty and the real are both empty. "Possessing something existent" means that in principle there is only the ekayāna; "possessing nothing existent" means that in principle there are no two vehicles. Furthermore, with the garments and low tables, using the father's possessions, he failed to rescue the children, meaning the ekayāna is the practice of the Tathāgata. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: "There is another single practice, which is the practice of the Tathāgata, namely the Mahāyāna, the Great Nirvāṇa." Now it clarifies that the three carriages are the children's possessions, and by them he succeeds in rescuing the children. The three carriages are what sentient beings ride, hence they are called the children's possessions. The Śāstra [on the Great Perfection of Wisdom] and the Mahāyānasaṃgraha say: "The Buddha vehicle is one's own vehicle; the two vehicles are other vehicles." This sūtra also says: "The Buddha himself abides in the Mahāyāna." Thus we know that the two vehicles are where the children abide. If spoken in terms of the bodies: the parable of seeing the fire refers to the dharmakāya; the parable of failing to rescue the children refers to the Rocana reward body; the parable of enticing the children with the three carriages is the Śākyamuni transformation body. This parallels the successful conversion of sentient beings above through the triyāna. The text above has three parts: first, thinking of desiring to give rise to the conversion through the triyāna; second, preaching the triyāna teaching; third, showing the attainment of benefit. Now, shifting the momentum to expound the Dharma, the text opens into four parts: first, the parable of knowing the children's former inclinations; second, the parable of speaking to them of the three carriages; third, the parable of the children faithfully accepting and exiting the house; fourth, the parable of rejoicing upon seeing the children escape disaster.