妙法蓮華經玄贊 8.286

8.286

三者論中有七喻、三平等，十無上第十示現勝妙力無上故，餘殘脩多羅說，即是論云「已下示二種力：一法力。二修行力。法力有五：一證、二信、三供養、四聞法、五讀誦持說。初四俱〈彌勒品〉，即〈分別功德品〉及〈隨喜功德品〉是，俱告彌勒故。後一〈常精進品〉，即〈法師功德品〉是，告常精進故。修行力有七：一持力，二說力，三行苦行力，四教化眾生行苦行力，五護眾生諸難力，六功德勝力，七護法力。持力有三品，〈法師〉、〈安樂行〉、〈持品〉。初〈法師品〉總明能持、所持人之與法，次〈安樂行〉明持經者所修行法，後〈持品〉明能持者，故三皆名持力。」上辨權實正逗二乘之機，未說能持所持可尊可重，今明此義故此品來。

Third, in the treatise there are seven parables and three equalities. Because the tenth of the ten unexcelled qualities is the unexcelled manifestation of superior and wondrous power, the remainder of the sūtra expounds it. That is to say, the treatise states: "Below, two kinds of power are shown: first, the power of the Dharma; second, the power of cultivation. The power of the Dharma has five aspects: 1. realization, 2. faith, 3. offering, 4. hearing the Dharma, 5. reading, reciting, upholding, and expounding. The first four are all in the 'Maitreya Chapter'—that is, the 'Discrimination of Merits Chapter' and the 'Merits of Joyful Accord Chapter'—because both address Maitreya. The latter one is the 'Constant Vigour Chapter'—that is, the 'Merits of the Dharma Teacher Chapter'—because it addresses Constant Vigour. The power of cultivation has seven aspects: 1. power of upholding, 2. power of expounding, 3. power of practicing austerities, 4. power of teaching and transforming sentient beings through austerities, 5. power of protecting sentient beings from various difficulties, 6. superior power of merit, 7. power of protecting the Dharma. The power of upholding has three chapters: 'Dharma Teacher', 'Comfortable Practices', and 'Upholding Chapter'. First, the 'Dharma Teacher Chapter' broadly clarifies both the persons capable of upholding and the Dharma that is upheld; next, 'Comfortable Practices' clarifies the practices cultivated by those who uphold the sūtra; after that, the 'Upholding Chapter' clarifies those capable of upholding; hence all three are termed the power of upholding." Above, it differentiated the provisional and the real, directly addressing the capacity of the two vehicles, without yet stating that what can uphold and what is upheld are venerable and weighty; now, to clarify this meaning, this chapter occurs.