妙法蓮華經玄贊 5.174

5.174

贊曰：下第二段正說法喻令其開曉，初長行、後偈頌。長行有三：初陳喻，次合說，後結答。「以是因緣當知諸佛方便力故」下是。喻中有二：初喻昔權，後喻今實。「時諸子等各白父言父先所許」下是。喻昔權中有四：初三界佛有喻，二「多諸人眾」下五趣危亡喻，三「長者見是大火」下見設權方喻，四「爾時諸子聞父所說」下依言免難喻。初文有六：一處所，二家主，三老小，四產業，五宅相，六門戶。此中有三：國、邑、聚落，處所也。既說三乘明知化佛，化佛但王三千國土，國大而寬喻大千界，邑中而次喻中千界，聚落最小喻小千界，從大中小如次喻故。《廣雅》云「聚落，居也。聚，聚也。人所聚居。落亦庭院也。」「有大長者」者，家主也。以下喻說除問答中有八長者，初五喻化身，諸子在宅故；後三喻化及他受用身，三乘諸子並出宅故。其下問答喻中有五長者，並合喻化及他受用，如世長者有三種類：一可稟承長者，平均識達善斷是非，喻佛悲普慧圓妙決疑網；二者可耆敬長者，年邁閭邑尊威莫對，喻佛道高群聖神通罕匹；三可親輔長者，資什華豐隨須精足，喻佛福智俱滿利樂平備，智、斷、恩德各喻如次。「其年衰邁」此老少也。衰猶熟老，邁謂遠歸，喻佛久修智見聖果圓熟，成道老遠方歸涅槃，非說今生通彰前位。

Eulogy: The second section below directly preaches the Dharma and the parable to enlighten them; first prose, then verses. The prose has three parts: first, stating the parable; second, applying the explanation; and third, concluding the reply. From 'By these causes and conditions, you should know that through the expedient power of the Buddhas' down is this. In the parable there are two: first, an allegory for the provisional of the past; second, an allegory for the real of the present. From 'At that time the sons each said to their father: What father previously promised' down is this. Allegorizing the provisional of the past has four parts: first, the parable that the three realms are possessed by the Buddha; second, from 'many people' down, the parable of the peril of the five destinies; third, from 'the elder saw this great fire' down, the parable of seeing and establishing provisional means; fourth, from 'at that time the sons, hearing what their father said' down, the parable of escaping danger by heeding his words. The first passage has six aspects: first, the place; second, the master of the house; third, age; fourth, estate; fifth, appearance of the mansion; sixth, gates. Here there are three: country, city, and village, which are the places. Since three vehicles are mentioned, we clearly know this is a transformation Buddha (nirmāṇakāya); a transformation Buddha rules only three thousand realms: a country is large and broad, allegorizing a great-thousand realm; a city is middling and secondary, allegorizing a medium-thousand realm; a village is the smallest, allegorizing a small-thousand realm; they correspond respectively in size. The Guangya states: 'A village (juluo) is a dwelling. Ju means to gather: where people gather and reside. Luo also means a courtyard.' 'There was a great elder': this is the master of the house. In the parable below, excluding questions and answers, there are eight elders: the first five allegorize the transformation body, because the children are still inside the house; the last three allegorize both the transformation body and the body of enjoyment for others (parasaṃbhogakāya), because the children of the three vehicles have all left the house. In the question-and-answer parable below there are five elders, all combining to allegorize the transformation and other-enjoyment bodies. Just as there are three kinds of elders in the world: first, the elder who can be relied upon, being fair, perceptive, and skilled in deciding right and wrong, allegorizing the Buddha's universal compassion and consummate wisdom that wonderfully resolve webs of doubt; second, the elder worthy of veneration for age, who is elderly in the community with unmatched dignity and awe, allegorizing the Buddha's path surpassing all sages and spiritual powers rarely equaled; third, the elder worthy of intimacy and support, possessing abundant material goods and providing whatever is needed, allegorizing the Buddha's fulfillment of both merit and wisdom and his complete provision of benefit and joy—these allegorize wisdom, abandonment, and benevolence respectively. 'His years were declining and old': this is age. 'Declining' (衰) means ripened age; 'old' (邁) means returning from afar. This allegorizes the Buddha's long cultivation of wisdom and vision, the ripening of the holy fruit, and having traversed a long, old path before returning to nirvāṇa; it does not refer merely to the present lifetime, but broadly reveals earlier stages.