法華義疏 8.289

8.289

「說此經已」下，第四、明說經竟入定。就文亦三：第一、正明入靜室；「住於」下，第二、明住定；「八萬四千」下，第三、明在定時節。所以入定者，欲令十六沙彌覆述《法華》故也。但諸佛化儀不同，此經始末略有三種：一者、燈明佛說《法華》竟即便涅槃，此明於佛結緣所應度者皆已度竟。二者、今文明於佛結緣度之有盡不盡，利根者度之已盡，鈍根者未盡，須佛起定稱歎沙彌勸物親近，故佛未得入滅也。三者、釋迦佛說《法華》竟不更再說，以應聞《法華》得了悟已竟，故不更說《法華》，仍別說《涅槃》。

From "having preached this sūtra" onwards is the fourth [part], explaining that after preaching the sūtra [the Buddha] entered samādhi. In terms of the text, there are also three [sections]: first, directly explaining his entry into the quiet room; from "dwelling in" onwards, second, explaining his abiding in samādhi; from "eighty-four thousand" onwards, third, explaining the period of time spent in samādhi. As for why he entered samādhi: it was because he wished to have the sixteen novice monks reiterate the Lotus Sūtra. However, the teaching modalities of the various buddhas differ; from beginning to end, this sūtra briefly exhibits three kinds: First, Buddha Dīpaṅkara, having finished preaching the Lotus Sūtra, immediately entered nirvāṇa; this explains that those who had formed karmic connections with the Buddha and were to be liberated had all already been completely liberated. Second, the present text explains that among those who formed karmic connections with the Buddha, their liberation was either exhaustive or non-exhaustive: for those of sharp faculties, their liberation was already complete, while for those of dull faculties, it was not yet complete, and it was necessary for the Buddha to arise from samādhi, praise the novice monks, and encourage beings to associate closely with them; therefore, the Buddha could not yet enter extinction. Third, Buddha Śākyamuni, having finished preaching the Lotus Sūtra, did not preach it again; because those who ought to hear the Lotus Sūtra had already attained awakening, he therefore did not preach the Lotus Sūtra again, but subsequently separately preached the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra].