法華遊意 1.403

1.403

世人云，良藥口苦、美言逆耳，此經廢五種乘之異執、立一極之玄宗，故斥凡呵聖、排大破小，指天魔為毒虫、說外道為惡鬼，貶執小為貧賤、挫菩薩為新學，故天魔惡聞、外道逆耳，二乘驚愕、菩薩怯弱。如此之徒喜為留難。世間多怨嫉，言豈可虛哉。又一切眾生無始已來，多起十惡業、小有人天之因，起人天之因尚少，求二乘者轉希，學佛道者彌復難得。所以然者，若不起凡見聖見，捨小心發大心，種中道善根，然後始得聞一乘極教耳。但眾生皆有凡聖大小之障，聞說一乘，不能信受，故憙為留難。

As worldly people say, good medicine is bitter to the mouth, and honest words offend the ear. This sūtra abolishes the divergent attachments to the five kinds of vehicles and establishes the profound purport of the single ultimate; hence it denounces worldlings and scolds sages, sets aside the great and breaks down the small, points to heavenly Māras as venomous insects, speaks of non-Buddhists as evil spirits, devalues those attached to the small as poor and base, and chastens bodhisattvas as novices. Therefore heavenly Māras hate to hear it, non-Buddhists find it offensive to their ears, those of the two vehicles are astounded, and bodhisattvas feel timid and weak. Such people take pleasure in creating impediments. There is much enmity and jealousy in the world—how could these words be in vain? Furthermore, from the beginningless past, all sentient beings have mostly initiated the ten unwholesome karmas, while few possess the causes for [rebirth as] humans or devas. Those who initiate the causes for [rebirth as] humans or devas are already few; those who seek the two vehicles are even rarer; and those who study the Buddha's path are still more difficult to find. Why is this so? Only if one does not give rise to mundane views or sagely views, casts off the small mind and arouses the great mind, and plants the wholesome roots of the Middle Way, can one then for the first time hear the ultimate teaching of the One Vehicle. But sentient beings all have the obstacles of worldling and sage, of great and small; upon hearing the One Vehicle expounded, they are unable to faithfully accept it, and hence take pleasure in creating impediments.