法華義疏 8.102

8.102

五乘之教並以果義標乘，故〈譬喻品〉云「三車在門外」，即以三果為三乘，菩薩為求佛果故還屬佛乘攝也。人天樂果名之為乘，為求人天樂果故修人天兩行，故以果標乘，為欲引物令修因趣果，所以五乘明義，開淺合深也。三草二木開深合淺者，合前四乘為小中二草，以人天為小草，以二乘為中草。開深者，開大乘為三品，即上草及二木也。所以爾者，為扶此經讚揚大乘教菩薩法，明人天猶在三界火宅、二乘未度五百由旬，是故合淺而開深也。又五乘明義即有佛果之乘，三草二木但取因乘不明佛果。所以然者，五乘為欲將五果以引物，故說佛果為乘；今明三草二木受潤增長之義，故但說因也。又昔教明開義，故開世間為人天二乘，開出世為三乘，故成五乘；今欲顯合義，故合世間為一，合二乘為一，故合彼四乘歸於一乘。但一乘中自開三位：一者、地前四十心為上草；二者、初地已上為小樹；三者、八地已去為大樹也。

The teachings of the five vehicles all designate vehicles in terms of the meaning of fruition. Therefore the "Parable Chapter" says: "The three carriages are outside the gate"—that is, taking the three fruitions as the three vehicles; because bodhisattvas seek the Buddha fruition, they are still subsumed within the Buddha vehicle. The pleasurable fruition of humans and devas is termed a vehicle; because they seek the pleasurable fruition of humans and devas, they cultivate the two practices of humans and devas. Thus vehicles are designated by fruition in order to guide beings to cultivate causes and head toward fruitions; hence the five vehicles explain the meaning by opening the shallow and combining the deep. As for the three grasses and two trees opening the deep and combining the shallow: they combine the former four vehicles into the small and middle grasses, taking humans and devas as the small grass and the two vehicles as the middle grass. Opening the deep means: opening the Mahāyāna into three grades, namely the upper grass and the two trees. Why is this so? To support this sūtra's praise of the Mahāyāna teaching and the bodhisattva Dharma, and to clarify that humans and devas are still within the burning house of the three realms, and the two vehicles have not yet crossed the five hundred yojanas; therefore, it combines the shallow and opens the deep. Furthermore, the explanation of the five vehicles includes the vehicle of the Buddha fruition, whereas the three grasses and two trees take only the causal vehicle and do not explain the Buddha fruition. Why is this so? The five vehicles intend to use the five fruitions to guide beings, and hence speak of the Buddha fruition as a vehicle; here, it clarifies the meaning of the three grasses and two trees receiving moisture and growing, and hence speaks only of the cause. Furthermore, former teachings explained the meaning of opening, and therefore opened the worldly into the two vehicles of humans and devas, and opened the supramundane into the three vehicles, thus making five vehicles; now, wishing to reveal the meaning of combining, it combines the worldly into one, and combines the two vehicles into one, thus combining those four vehicles to return to the ekayāna. However, within the ekayāna it naturally opens three stages: first, the forty minds prior to the bhūmis are the upper grass; second, from the first bhūmi onward is the small tree; third, from the eighth bhūmi onward is the large tree.