法華義疏 8.6

8.6

As for the title 'Medicinal Herbs Parable Chapter' (Yaocao yu pin): 'medicine' is a general term for curing disease among plants, and 'herb' is a specific term for plants as distinguished from trees; speaking of 'medicinal herbs' combines both the general and the specific. The reason it mentions only medicinal herbs without mentioning medicinal trees is that 'trees' are two and thus few, while 'herbs' are three and thus many; hence it omits the few and adopts the many. Furthermore, it now directly confirms the comprehension of people of intermediate faculties; therefore, the title uses 'medicinal herbs' and not 'medicinal trees.' The reason medicinal herbs are adduced to illustrate people of intermediate faculties has three meanings: First, receiving the teaching and gaining understanding—the arising of understanding inevitably eradicates afflictions, which is analogous to the function of medicinal herbs in curing illnesses. Second, medicinal herbs can heal the sicknesses of others, which illustrates that upon hearing the teaching and gaining understanding, one becomes a bodhisattva and inevitably possesses the merit of universally delivering others. Third, medicinal herbs are noble among plants, which reveals that a bodhisattva is the most venerable among people, contrasting with the śrāvakas above who had not yet achieved comprehension and were like the base, impoverished son.