法華義疏 8.348

8.348

「若眾生住於二地」合第三、後還說大譬。上文有二：一、知機；二、說教。今具合之。初文即是合後知機，兼合前第三得益義也。又稱「住於二地」者，上合度三百由旬竟，今餘有二百，故稱二地。此文分明以三界為三百、以二地為二百，舊經師不熟審其文，故有諸異釋也。「如來爾時」下，合第二、正說教也。初合即滅化城。「汝所住地近於佛慧」合上汝等去來寶處在近。「當觀察籌量所得涅槃非真實也」合上向者大城我所化作。然二乘有近佛慧、遠佛慧義，自謂所得涅槃為極，不受大乘，故經言「高原陸地不生蓮華，五無間罪猶能發意」，此即二乘人遠佛慧不及凡夫也。今言近者，以二乘斷麁煩惱勝於凡夫，故言近也。

"If sentient beings dwell in the two stages" matches the third, afterward returning to state the Mahāyāna parable. The text above had two parts: first, knowing their capacities; second, expounding the teaching. Here they are matched together. The initial text directly matches afterward knowing their capacities, while encompassing the meaning of gaining benefit in the third above. Furthermore, speaking of "dwelling in the two stages": above, having crossed three hundred yojanas was completed, and now two hundred remain; hence they are called the two stages. This text clearly takes the three realms as three hundred and the two stages as two hundred; former exegetes did not thoroughly examine its text, which is why there were various differing explanations. From "The Tathāgata at that time" onward matches the second, properly expounding the teaching. The initial part matches immediately making the conjured city vanish. "The stage where you dwell is near to the Buddha's wisdom" matches "Come, let us go, the treasure abode is near" above. "You should observe and evaluate that the nirvāṇa you have attained is not real" matches "The previous great city was conjured by me" above. However, the two vehicles have meanings of being near to the Buddha's wisdom and far from the Buddha's wisdom. They consider the nirvāṇa they attained to be ultimate and do not accept the Mahāyāna; thus the sūtra says, "On high plateaus and dry land, lotuses do not grow; those with the five deeds of immediate retribution can still generate the aspiration"—this is the two vehicles being far from the Buddha's wisdom, inferior to ordinary beings. Saying "near" now is because the two vehicles have severed gross afflictions and surpass ordinary beings; hence it says "near".