法華遊意 1.381

1.381

第五者、時節不可思議。燈明佛說此經六十小劫，大通佛所說八千劫，妙光菩薩八十小劫，十六沙彌八萬四千劫，釋迦佛時踊出大士問訊之間五十小劫，說經之時當不可量也。所以辨說經時長，亦為顯文多義廣，是謂時節不可思議也。

Fifth, the time period is inconceivable. The Buddha Candrasūryapradīpa preached this sūtra for sixty small kalpas; at the place of the Buddha Mahābhijñā[jñānābhibhū] it was preached for eight thousand kalpas; Bodhisattva Varaprabha for eighty small kalpas; the sixteen śrāmaṇeras for eighty-four thousand kalpas; and during the time of Śākyamuni Buddha, the interval while the welled-forth mahāsattvas paid their respects was fifty small kalpas, so the time of preaching the sūtra must be immeasurable. The purpose of showing the length of time of preaching the sūtra is also to reveal the multiplicity of the text and the breadth of the meaning; this is called the time period being inconceivable.