法華義疏 7.197

7.197

「即自宣言」下，第三、會於父子正說《法華》也。文有三句：一、明初為父子時，二、辨中途相失時，三、明父得於子時。此略舉十譬始終三事也。「此是我子」者，明聲聞人本是佛子也。「我之所生」者，昔日為說大乘教，生其大乘之解，即以後句釋上是子之言也。「於某城中」下，第二、明中途相失時。跉跰（跉零音跰破寧），行不正貌也。「五十餘年」者，流浪五道及修羅也。「其本字某」者，昔受化時之稱名謂也。「我名某甲」者，能化之時名字也。「昔在本城懷憂推覓」者，第三、明得子時也。初句舉不得昔大乘理法，稱為本城，猶是故鄉耳。推覓大機猶未熟也。「忽於是間會遇得子」，正明得子。「此實我子我實其父」者，

From "He then proclaimed of his own accord" onward: third, uniting the father and son and directly preaching the Lotus Sūtra. The text has three phrases: first, explaining the time when they were originally father and son; second, distinguishing the time when they were separated mid-journey; third, explaining the time when the father recovered the son. This briefly presents the three matters from start to finish among the ten parables. "This is my son": clarifies that the śrāvakas were originally sons of the Buddha. "Begotten by me": formerly, preaching the Mahāyāna teaching for them gave birth to their Mahāyāna understanding; this uses the later phrase to explain the statement "is my son" above. From "In a certain city" onward: second, explaining the time when they were separated mid-journey. Lingping (ling has the sound of ling, ping the sound of po and ning): the appearance of walking unsteadily. "More than fifty years": wandering through the five destinies and the asuras. "His original name was so-and-so": refers to his designation at the time he received conversion long ago. "My name was so-and-so": the name at the time he was able to convert him. "Formerly, staying in my original city, I anxiously searched for him": third, explaining the time of recovering the son. The first phrase mentions not attaining the principle and Dharma of the former Mahāyāna; calling it the "original city" is just like one's hometown. Searching for him means that the great capacity was not yet mature. "Suddenly, in this place, I met with and found my son": directly explains recovering the son. Regarding "This is truly my son, and I am truly his father":