法華遊意 1.232

1.232

Next, the collective simile briefly clarifies ten meanings. First: this flower is born from a seed, which illustrates that the single vehicle must have its seed. A verse says: "Honoured Two-legged One among gods and humans, / knowing that dharmas are ever devoid of nature, / the buddha-seed arises from conditions; / therefore he expounds the single vehicle." Second: this flower progresses from tiny to coarse, which illustrates that the buddha-vehicle grows gradually. A verse says: "Gradually accumulating merit and virtue, / fully endowed with the mind of great compassion, / such persons as these / have all already realised the buddha-way." Third: this flower grows to fullness and emerges from muddy water, which illustrates that the Buddha's virtues are completely perfected and his defilements fully exhausted, emerging free from all the muddy water of saṃsāra. A verse says: "The Tathāgata has already departed the burning house of the triple world, / residing serenely in secluded ease, peacefully dwelling in the forest wilds." Fourth: although this flower emerges from the muddy water, it does not abandon the muddy water, which illustrates that although the Buddha has stepped beyond the four currents, he does not abandon those within the triple world. A verse says: "At that time the elder stood outside the gate; / alarmed, he entered the burning house, seeking what is fitting to rescue them." Fifth: this flower is supreme in wondrous purity and freshness, just as the buddha-vehicle is supreme among the five vehicles. A verse says: "This vehicle is subtly wondrous, pure, and supreme; / in all worlds it is without superior." Sixth: this flower is praised, loved, and revered by ordinary beings and sages alike; the buddha-vehicle is likewise praised, loved, and revered by ordinary beings and sages both worldly and transworldly. A verse says: "That in which the buddhas rejoice, / which all sentient beings should praise, make offerings to, and revere." Seventh: this flower is fully endowed with receptacle and petals, which illustrates that the myriad virtues of the buddha-vehicle are all complete and round. A verse says: "Immeasurable thousands of kotis of powers, liberations, / dhyānas, wisdom, and the other qualities of a buddha." Eighth: the buddhas and bodhisattvas sit atop this flower; the great vehicle is likewise that wherein the buddhas and bodhisattvas abide. A verse says: "The Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle; / in accordance with the Dharma he has attained, / adorned with the power of samādhi and wisdom, / he uses this to cross sentient beings over." Ninth: the opening and closing of this flower have their proper times, which illustrates that the concealment and manifestation of the Dharma of the single vehicle have their proper times: in former days it was concealed, while today it is manifest. A verse says: "The reason it has not yet been spoken / is that the time for speaking had not yet arrived; / now is precisely the right time, / and I definitively speak the Great Vehicle." Tenth: when the kalpa first formed, the Great Brahmā King sat on a lotus seat and became the father of all sentient beings; the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka is likewise the root of all the buddhas of the three periods of time. The "Medicine King Chapter" says: "Just as the Great Brahmā King is the father of all worldly realms, this sūtra is likewise: it is the father of all wise ones, sages, learners, those beyond learning, and those who have generated the bodhisattva-mind." The Samantabhadra-dhyāna-sūtra says: "The vaipulya sūtras are the eyes of all buddhas; because of them the buddhas come to possess the five eyes. The three bodies of the Buddha are born from the vaipulya; it is the Great Dharma Seal that seals the ocean of nirvāṇa." As for why the vaipulya generates the three bodies: because of the vaipulya, one awakens to the dharmatā and cuts off all afflictions; because one cuts off all afflictions, the dharmakāya appears; because the dharmakāya appears, there is the sambhogakāya; because there is the sambhogakāya, there is the nirmāṇakāya; because there are the three bodies, they preach the dvādaśāṅgadharmapravacana; because they preach the dvādaśāṅgadharmapravacana, the Dharma jewel exists; because the Dharma jewel exists, the Saṅgha jewel exists, and thus the Three Jewels exist; and because of this, the three wholesome destinies of the world exist. Therefore we know that the Lotus Sūtra is the root of both the mundane and the supramundane.