法華遊意 1.161

1.161

凡有三義：一者、經有妙文而無正稱，如云「我法妙難思」，又云「是乘微妙清淨第一」，即其證也。二者、妙是精微深遠之稱，立妙名則稱歎義便，以我法微妙凡夫二乘及以始行菩薩不能思量義。若云我法正難思義，則方言不巧、於義不便也。三者、次就義推，夫正以形耶受稱，妙以待麁得名，宜以九十六法為邪，如來五乘之法稱正，故正在五乘之法也。五乘雖正，正而猶麁，唯一乘之法乃稱為妙，故妙主於一也，不得云外道為麁、五乘為妙，亦不得云五乘為邪、一乘為正。外道之形佛法，其猶石之與玉；五乘之與一乘，同皆是玉，但玉有精麁，故以五乘為麁、一乘為妙也。

There are three meanings altogether: First, the sūtra text has the word 'sublime' (miao) but lacks the designation 'correct' (zheng), as when it says, 'My Dharma is sublime and difficult to conceive,' and also says, 'This vehicle is subtle, sublime, pure, and foremost,' which is its proof. Second, 'sublime' is an appellation for the subtle, profound, and far-reaching; establishing the title 'sublime' facilitates praise, expressing the meaning that my Dharma is subtle and sublime, beyond the conception of ordinary beings, the two vehicles, and newly initiated bodhisattvas. If one were to say 'My Dharma is correct and difficult to conceive,' the phrasing would not be felicitous and would not suit the meaning. Third, next deducing it from the meaning: 'correct' receives its appellation in contrast to the perverse, while 'sublime' gains its name in contrast to the coarse. It is proper to take the ninety-six doctrines as perverse and the Tathāgata's doctrine of the five vehicles as correct; thus 'correct' applies to the doctrine of the five vehicles. Although the five vehicles are correct, though correct they are still coarse, and only the doctrine of the ekayāna is called sublime; hence 'sublime' is primary to the one. One cannot say that non-Buddhists are coarse and the five vehicles are sublime, nor can one say that the five vehicles are perverse and the ekayāna is correct. The contrast of non-Buddhists to the Buddha-Dharma is like that of stone to jade; the five vehicles and the ekayāna are both alike jade, but jade has fine and coarse quality; therefore, the five vehicles are coarse and the ekayāna is sublime.