妙法蓮華經玄贊 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

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Composed by the Śramaṇa Kuiji of Dacien Temple.

Now, it is heard that the Utmost Awakened One, adapting the ultimate to the provisional, appeared in the world in response to the capacities of sentient beings; the wondrous axis uniquely manifested marvelous means, raising teachings to guide the various classes of beings. He stirred Mount Rong, rising supremely over the chiliocosm; he surged from the ocean's depths, providing a crossing for the eighty thousand. Gathering clouds of compassion to extend broad shelter, he sent down showers of Dharma rain to bring purification far and wide; he nourished the differing blooms of the two trees and moistened the distinct luxuriance of the three herbs. However, because the young merchants grew weary of the long and perilous journey, he first guided and enticed them with the conjured city; because the children amused themselves with the ram-drawn carts, he ultimately illuminated their advance to the white-bullock carriages. Thereupon, the Holy Sovereign who crushed the ten armies unloosed the bright jewel from his topknot; the King of Physicians who established the eight truths bestowed the marvelous medicine from his palm. Brilliant beyond all metaphors, surpassing all hundred schools, [this teaching] encompasses the seven grounds while singularly glorifying the ninefold divisions; it crowns the five vehicles while uniquely flourishing throughout a thousand ages. How grand it is! Proclaiming the single reality, it embraces the great void; raising the two provisionals, it encompasses the myriad phenomena. How could the vast ocean illustrate its profound tenets, or Mount Meru compare to its lofty path!

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First, the title "Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra" gives expression to the ultimate declaration of the great framework and marks the general name of the entire work. "Introductory Chapter, Chapter One" provides a grand indication mirroring the categories of meanings, revealing the specific rubric of this particular teaching. "Dharma" implies upholding and serving as a model; uniting all auspicious qualities, it is called "marvelous." "Lotus" implies blooming with excellence; gathering all splendors, it manifests the lotus. Both the essence and its function are stated; both the doctrine and the metaphor are presented. The paths of the half-letter and full-letter teachings are now understood, and the course of what to accept and what to reject is now clear. "Sūtra" means constant and means law; it integrates and it strings together. Constant, it serves as a path and guide for hundreds of kings; law, it serves as a moral exemplar for countless generations. Integrating, it collects these marvelous principles; stringing together, it guides those ordinary beings, aspiring to lead them completely away from the ford of suffering and ultimately mount the shore of awakening. "Introduction" (xu) means cause and origin, setting forth the reasons for the arising of the teaching and serving as the gradual beginning for the flourishing of the Dharma. "Chapter" (pin) means category and division, distinguishing the profound tenets into different classes and branching the subtle teachings into diverse categories. "Di" means sequence and position. "First" (yi) means the ultimate and the foremost. The sūtra contains twenty-eight categories that systematically run through the true doctrine; this chapter is situated at the very forefront, hence it is called "Chapter One."

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The sūtra says: "Thus have I heard." Commentary: In explaining the text of the sūtra at the outset, it is analyzed in brief through six headings: first, recounting the intention behind the sūtra's origination; second, clarifying the main theme of the sūtra; third, explaining the derivation of the names of the sūtra's chapters; fourth, revealing the rejection and establishment of the sūtra's chapters; fifth, demonstrating the sequence of the chapters; sixth, interpreting the primary text of the sūtra.

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First, regarding the intention behind the sūtra's origination, it broadly arises from five meanings: first, to respond to causes and respond to requests; second, to destroy doubts and attachments; third, to reveal prophecies and practices; fourth, to benefit present and future beings; fifth, to manifest the right time and capacity. In "responding to causes and requests" there are two aspects: first, responding to causes; second, responding to requests.

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First, responding to causes has six aspects: first, responding to the cause of practice; second, responding to the cause of vows; third, responding to the cause of seeking; fourth, responding to the cause of upholding; fifth, responding to the cause of signs; sixth, responding to the cause of expounding. The fruit of Buddhahood cannot be attained in vain; it must be achieved through deeds and practices. Practice does not arise in isolation; it must be supported and generated by vows. Although practice and vows arise of themselves, without conditions they cannot coalesce on their own; though encountering conditions to seek it earnestly, the fruition is not achieved precipitously. One must rely on upholding and studying to finally attain the fruit; once the fruit is attained in full, one prepares to set it forth to respond to beings. To express the profound marvel of the sūtra's central theme, he first displayed the causes of the great signs; once the great signs were revealed, in principle he had to proclaim it; therefore, it is stated that the Buddha originally appeared in the world for one great matter. Thus, responding to causes is endowed with these six meanings.

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Responding to the cause of practice: in the "Expedient Means Chapter," relying on the treatise, it explains the eight profundities of the sūtra, saying: "The Buddha had formerly drawn close to hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of countless buddhas, fully practiced the immeasurable path and teachings of the buddhas, was brave and diligent so that his fame was universally heard, and accomplished the profound, unprecedented Dharma. What is difficult to understand, the Tathāgata can know; that which is preached in accordance with what is fitting has an intent that is difficult to understand, which none of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas are able to know." As for the eight profundities: first, the profundity of receiving, upholding, reading, and reciting; second, practice; third, fruitional practice; fourth, the mind of increasing merit; fifth, the mind of delightful and wondrous matters; sixth, the unsurpassed; seventh, entry; eighth, the profundity of abiding and sustaining that is not shared with śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. In the sūtra there are only six, lacking the sixth and the eighth, as will be known below. Since he had fully practiced the path and teachings of all buddhas, only by completely practicing the causes of the Single Vehicle and omniscience did he attain the fruit of Buddhahood; therefore, now responding to these causes, he expounded this marvelous Dharma to encourage the cultivation of causal practices.

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Responding to the cause of vows: the "Expedient Means Chapter" says: "Śāriputra, listen well! I originally made a vow, desiring to cause all multitudes to be equal to me without distinction. As I formerly vowed, it has now been fulfilled: transforming all sentient beings, I cause them to enter the Buddha Path." The "Span of Life Chapter" says: "I constantly consider this: By what means can I cause sentient beings to enter the Buddha Path and quickly accomplish the Buddha body?" Whether in the past causal stage or in the present fruitional position, he constantly made vows to cause sentient beings to enter the Buddha Path just like himself; therefore, responding to his fundamental vows, he expounded this sūtra; it was also to cause sentient beings to make this vow, and because practices and vows concorded, it brought about his appearance in the world.

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Responding to the cause of seeking: the "Devadatta Chapter" says: "In the past, I sought the Lotus Sūtra without weariness; over many kalpas, I constantly served as a king, seeking great bodhi without ever turning back. Beating a drum, I proclaimed an order to the four quarters. At that time, a seer came and said to the king: 'I have a Mahāyāna [teaching] called the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra; if you do not disobey me, I will expound it for you.' When the king heard the seer's words, he leaped for joy, and at once followed the seer, supplying what he needed, even using his body as a bed and seat without bodily or mental weariness, serving the seer for a thousand years, ensuring he lacked nothing for the sake of seeking the Dharma. The king of that time was my own person; the seer of that time was Devadatta." Because although the Buddha's past vows and practices were accomplished, they necessarily relied on the convergence of conditions, he constantly venerated this sūtra and devotedly sought it from a kalyāṇamitra. Therefore, now he expounded it to cause beings to give rise to earnest seeking and veneration.

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Responding to the cause of upholding: among the aforementioned eight profundities, the first—that the Buddha had formerly drawn close to hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of countless buddhas—is called the profundity of receiving, upholding, reading, and reciting. A bodhisattva of the first stage of reliance makes offerings to buddhas as numerous as five Ganges sands; a bodhisattva of the second stage of reliance makes offerings to buddhas as numerous as six Ganges sands; a bodhisattva of the third stage of reliance makes offerings to buddhas as numerous as seven Ganges sands; a bodhisattva of the fourth stage of reliance makes offerings to buddhas as numerous as eight Ganges sands; encountering many kalyāṇamitras, they receive and uphold it for a long time. Furthermore, Śākyamuni Tathāgata in the past was himself Sadāparibhūta Bodhisattva; after the extinction of Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja Buddha, he practiced the conduct of never disparaging; when approaching the end of his life, he heard twenty thousand myriads of koṭis of verses of the Lotus Sūtra expounded in empty space, all of which he was able to receive and uphold. He immediately attained the purification of the six sense faculties as described above, further increased his lifespan by two hundred myriads of koṭis of nayutas of years, and extensively expounded this sūtra. After his life ended, he encountered two thousand koṭis of buddhas all named Candrasūryapradīpa, constantly upholding this sūtra. Due to these causes and conditions, he also encountered two thousand koṭis of buddhas all named Meghasvarapradīparāja, and in the teachings of these buddhas he also received and upheld this sūtra, constantly obtaining the purification of the six sense faculties as described above. That Sadāparibhūta was my own person; therefore, because he constantly upheld this sūtra in the past, he now expounds it to encourage beings to constantly receive and uphold it.

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Responding to the cause of signs: having already attained Buddhahood, when about to expound this sūtra, he first expounded the Anantanirdeśa-sūtra for the bodhisattvas, and next entered the anantanirdeśapratiṣṭhāna-samādhi. Heaven rained four kinds of flowers, and the earth shook in six ways; the four assemblies gazed in reverence, and the eight classes rejoiced; he emitted a ray of light from between his brows to illuminate far into the distance, and the assembly, seeing this, gave rise to doubt. Maitreya asked, and Mañjuśrī told him: "As I consider it, now the Buddha, the Bhagavat, wishes to expound the great Dharma, to pour down the great Dharma rain, to blow the great Dharma conch, to beat the great Dharma drum, and to proclaim the great Dharma principle. In the past I have seen such an auspicious sign: having emitted this light, he immediately expounded the great Dharma," and so forth extensively. "Today the Tathāgata will expound the Mahāyāna sūtra called Saddharmapuṇḍarīka." Whenever the buddhas of the three times are about to expound this sūtra, they must first display these various great signs, unlike other sūtras, for other sūtras do not have these initial great signs. Since the signs were extraordinary, it was necessary to expound this [sūtra]; that is, when about to expound this sūtra, he first manifested the great signs. The reason he first manifested the great signs was for the sake of expounding this sūtra.

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Responding to the cause of expounding: below it says, "The buddhas, the tathāgatas, appear in the world solely for the sake of one great matter as a causal condition," and so forth extensively. "They have no śrāvaka disciples, but only teach and transform bodhisattvas, ultimately causing them to attain omniscience." Therefore, when the buddhas of the three times achieve ultimate enlightenment, they must expound the Single Vehicle; all of this was their provisional pursuit in the causal stage. Although their cultivation and study were complete, they had not yet proclaimed it; now that the conditions of the time have converged, it cannot be in vain; therefore, pursuing their past causes, they expounded this marvelous Dharma. The passages of the sūtra belonging to the categories of meaning discussed above are very numerous, but fearing tedious prolixity, I have only indicated them in brief.

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Next, responding to requests: as expounded in the sūtras, when the Bodhisattva was first born, he immediately walked seven steps, emitted a great light that universally illuminated the ten directions, looked around in the four directions, roared the lion's roar, and uttered a verse: "My rebirth in the womb is ended; this is my very last existence; I have already attained liberation, and shall again deliver sentient beings." Having made this vow, his body gradually grew up; he went out through the four gates and saw the signs of old age, sickness, death, and a śramaṇa. Having inquired and understood, he wished to abandon his relatives to seek the unsurpassed fruit. Inspecting at midnight, he saw the female entertainers, consorts, and court ladies appearing like foul corpses, deeply repellant and loathsome; he then ordered Chandaka to bridle Kaṇṭhaka; the devas supported the hooves, and he left the city at midnight, traveling fourteen yojanas to the forest where the seer Bhārgava dwelt; with a sword he shaved his hair, traded his fine jeweled garments for deer-skin robes, and dispatched Chandaka back to report to his father the king. By the Nairañjanā River, at the place of the six non-Buddhist teachers, in order to subdue them, he practiced austerities for six years, his diligence and suffering exceeding theirs, eating a single hemp seed and grain of wheat a day; rejecting their false paths, he eventually partook of milk-rice. Receiving the auspicious grass, he went to the Bodhi tree and sat on the diamond seat; by the power of wisdom he subdued the armies of Māra, realized great bodhi, and eternally departed from the three realms. At that time, the lord of the trichiliocosm and other devas came to the Buddha's place to request the turning of the wheel of Dharma; the transformation buddhas praised him and urged him to teach provisionally for the time being; as the capacities of the time were not yet ripe, he provisionally taught expedient means and did not yet expound the real Dharma. Now that the time is fitting, Śāriputra and others requested the exposition of the sphere of the vehicle's provisional and real; Mañjuśrī and others requested the exposition of the vehicle's practices of ease and joy; Maitreya and others requested the exposition of the fruit of the Buddha's true and responsive bodies. Therefore, the sūtra below says: "When I first sat at the place of enlightenment, gazing at the tree and walking about, during three times seven days, I constantly contemplated this matter," and so forth, until, "Then I recalled the power of expedient means practiced by past buddhas; in the path that I have now attained, I should also expound the three vehicles. When I was contemplating thus, the buddhas of the ten directions all appeared, and with Brahmā voices consoled and instructed me: 'Well done, Śākyamuni! Following all the buddhas, you employ the power of expedient means.'" Due to this, he provisionally expounded the three vehicles through expedient means. Now that their capacities are ripe, Śāriputra and others requested the proclamation of the true doctrine and the manifestation of this single reality. Therefore, the sūtra below says: "You have already earnestly requested three times; how could I now fail to speak?" In the "Practices of Ease and Joy Chapter," Mañjuśrī made a request, and the Bhagavat extensively expounded the four practices of ease and joy. In the "Span of Life Chapter" it is also like this: Maitreya requested three times, and the Buddha said, "You should faithfully understand the truthful words of the Tathāgata." After urging faith three times, he finally expounded the true and responsive aspects of the body; therefore, to respond to requests, he expounded this Lotus Sūtra.

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Regarding "refuting doubts and attachments," there are two parts: first, refuting doubts; second, refuting attachments. As for refuting doubts: From the time the Buddha attained awakening, he prophesied only that bodhisattvas would attain bodhi, and never taught that śrāvakas could attain the fruit of buddhahood. The śrāvakas and others doubted that they would ever become buddhas; thus Śāriputra deeply lamented having lost the Tathāgata's immeasurable knowledge and vision, and so forth at length. But now, having heard from the Buddha the unprecedented Dharma never heard before, they severed all doubts and regrets. When lesser bodhisattvas in the past heard the Great Vehicle, they likewise doubted, [thinking] that bodhisattvas alone attain bodhi while śrāvakas have no share in it; or lesser bodhisattvas of indeterminate lineage doubted whether they themselves also had no share in the Buddha's bodhi. Because of this, [followers of] all three vehicles possessed webs of doubt. Hence the sūtra states: "Whether śrāvakas or bodhisattvas, / if they hear the Dharma I preach, / even down to a single verse, / all will become buddhas without doubt." It also states: "If there are those among seekers of the three vehicles / who harbor doubts and regrets, / the Buddha shall sever and eliminate them, / causing them to be entirely exhausted without remainder." It also states: "Bodhisattvas, hearing this Dharma, / have completely removed their webs of doubt; / the twelve hundred arhats / likewise shall all become buddhas." Here, refuting doubt also includes refuting regret. In the past they regretted having cultivated the lesser [vehicle] and being unable to become buddhas; now hearing that they can, their regret is therefore eliminated, knowing that the lesser was in fact the cause for the great. Doubt applies across all three vehicles, while regret belongs only to the lesser; using the broad to encompass the narrow, [the chapter] only speaks of refuting doubt and does not mention eliminating regret. The distinction will be explained in later fascicles. Therefore, in order to refute doubts, this sublime Dharma was taught.

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Second, regarding refuting attachments: Śrāvakas are of two kinds: (1) those of determinate lineage, who upon attaining the fruit of a śrāvaka definitely enter [nirvāṇa] without remainder, with their bodies reduced to ashes and their consciousness extinguished. Therefore the sūtras say: "The good roots of other people are exhausted at the time of nirvāṇa; the good roots of bodhisattvas are not so." (2) Those who, having regressed, regenerate the mind of great bodhi; at first they are of determinate lineage, and later of indeterminate lineage. However, the Yogācārabhūmi and the Lotus Sūtra Commentary state that there are four kinds of śrāvakas: First, those of determinate lineage, also called "tending toward tranquility." Second, the overly proud; these are ordinary worldlings who attain the fourth dhyāna and take it to be arhatship. Third, those who, having regressed, regenerate the mind of great bodhi, also called the indeterminate lineage. Furthermore, those who receive prophecy in the Lotus assembly are called śrāvakas who regressed from the mind of bodhi; Śāriputra and the others all belong to this category. Thus the sūtra itself says: "I tell Śāriputra: In the past I taught you to aspire to the Buddha-path, but now you have completely forgotten, and forthwith claim for yourself that you have already attained extinction." The Upāsaka[-śīla] Sūtra says: "Śāriputra cultivated the Mahāyāna path for sixty kalpas; because he gave away his eyes, the great practice was difficult to accomplish, so he regressed and sought the lesser fruit." Śāriputra also said that in life after life he had already received conversion from the Buddha. The "Parable of the Conjured City" chapter explains that the beings converted by the sixteen princes marked the beginning of their past karmic connection. For this reason, they are called "those who regressed from the bodhi-mind." It is not that all those of indeterminate lineage are of the regressed kind; there are also those who in the past never sought the great, but now merely proceed from the lesser fruit toward the great, because their lineage is indeterminate. The fourth are the provisional apparitions; provisional apparitions are not real. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha says: "The great bodhisattvas and buddhas magically manifest as śrāvakas in order to lead real śrāvakas toward the Mahāyāna; Pūrṇa and the like belong to this category." The Lotus Sūtra Commentary states: "Here, prophecies are bestowed only upon two kinds of śrāvakas, namely, those who regressed [from the bodhi-]mind and provisional apparitions. Upon those tending toward tranquility and the overly proud, the Buddha does not bestow prophecy, because their faculties are not yet mature." When a bodhisattva bestows a prophecy, although it is phrased generally as "You, practicing the bodhisattva path, shall become a buddha," the commentary says that the prophecy is bestowed to cause them to generate the aspiration. For those who regressed from the bodhi-mind, their faculties are properly mature, so teaching the Single Vehicle for them precisely refutes their attachment. Provisional apparitions are not real; they have no attachment to refute, though manifesting the appearance [of receiving prophecy] is acceptable. As for the overly proud, since they are ordinary beings, their faculties are presently not mature, so the Buddha does not bestow prophecy on them. When a bodhisattva bestows a prophecy [on them], as Sadāparibhūta did, it is a prophecy of the endowed cause, causing them to have faith that they possess the buddha-nature, and then gradually generate the aspiration to cultivate the great practice. As for those tending toward tranquility, since they lack the Mahāyāna lineage, how could one speak of their [faculties] being mature or immature? One should say that because those tending toward tranquility lack the great lineage, their faculties are not mature, and therefore the Buddha does not bestow prophecy on them. When a bodhisattva bestows a prophecy on them, it is on the basis of their endowed causal ground of the principle-nature, gradually causing them to have faith in the great, so that they are not foolish regarding phenomena. It is not that because their faculties are not mature now they can mature later; hence it is not that a bodhisattva bestows a prophecy to make them generate the mind that proceeds toward the Mahāyāna, saying they shall become buddhas. A bodhisattva, through aspirational mind and expedient means, transforms them to make them generate a faithful attitude, just as the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra says, "I will lead them all to enter nirvāṇa without remainder, yet not all enter into extinction"; the bodhisattva's prophecy for those tending toward tranquility is likewise so. If one allows that those tending toward tranquility are the same as the overly proud, not only can they not be called "tending toward tranquility," but it also greatly contradicts various teachings and the meanings do not harmonize. Because those tending toward tranquility and the overly proud were spoken of together in one place, the master translator similarly stated that their faculties were not mature and caused them to generate the aspiration. The correct meaning should be: because the faculties of those tending toward tranquility are not mature, [the Buddha] does not bestow prophecy on them, whereas a bodhisattva bestows prophecy to cause them to generate a mind of faith and understanding toward the Mahāyāna; because the faculties of the overly proud are not mature, the Buddha does not bestow prophecy on them, whereas a bodhisattva bestows prophecy to cause them to generate a mind proceeding toward the Mahāyāna. If those tending toward tranquility could also become buddhas later, it would contradict textual passages throughout the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and elsewhere.

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Bodhisattvas are also of two kinds: first, sudden-awakening; second, gradual-awakening. Gradual-awakening has two meanings: First, if one generates the mind [aspiring] toward the great from having attained the fruits of the two vehicles, this is called gradual-awakening, because the number of rebirths is small or entirely non-existent. If one returns to the great from [being an ordinary worldling in] the two vehicles' mundane stages, this is subsumed under sudden-awakening, because one has never awakened to or realized the fruits of the two vehicles. The number of rebirths is still numerous, so it is not called gradual-awakening; hence the Nirvāṇa Sūtra speaks only of the eighty thousand kalpas and so forth for the noble ones, and does not mention the number of kalpas for ordinary worldlings who redirect their minds. Second, merely having once generated the two minds and once cultivated the two practices, anyone who comes and takes refuge in the great is called gradual-awakening. Because they possess that lineage and cultivate that practice, understanding through hearing and thinking is also called "awakening"; why must it be realized awakening? What is more, there are also those whose number of rebirths is small, namely, those with determinate rebirths, such as in this very life and at the stage of the aids to penetration in a single sitting, and so forth. The sūtra, relying on the certainty of kalpas, speaks only of noble ones; what is there to prevent ordinary worldlings from having a small number of rebirths? Although the treatise says that the principle of the Single Vehicle taught in this sūtra is taught for two kinds of śrāvakas, namely, those who regressed [from the bodhi-]mind and provisional apparitions, the Lotus assembly primarily and strictly teaches for those who regressed from the bodhi-mind, and secondarily also for provisional apparitions, since Pūrṇamaitrāyaṇīputra and the others are also present in the assembly. If, according to the Mahāyānasaṃgraha, the Single Vehicle is taught with ten combined meanings, the meaning secondarily extends to all three kinds without any error in principle: those of determinate lineage are made not foolish regarding phenomena; those of indeterminate lineage turn around to seek the great; and provisional apparitions receive prophecy for the sake of transforming [others]. Although it can also be taught for two kinds of bodhisattvas, the core teaching is strictly taught for those of gradual awakening. Hence the sūtra below states: "Bodhisattvas, hearing this Dharma, / have completely removed their webs of doubt"; its meaning secondarily encompassing sudden-awakening does not violate the principle. Explaining the Single Vehicle through ten meanings, the Mahāyānasaṃgraha says: "To guide and gather one group, / and sustain the remainder, / because of the indeterminate lineage, / the buddhas teach the Single Vehicle." "One group" to be guided and gathered is the śrāvakas who regressed from the bodhi-mind. "And sustain the remainder" refers to gradual-awakening bodhisattvas and śrāvakas who regressed from the bodhi-mind, who clung to the lesser fruit and considered themselves to have reached the ultimate. Thus Śāriputra said: "I had eliminated all wrong views / and attained realization in the empty Dharma; / at that time my mind thought / that I had attained extinction." Kāśyapa also said: "The Buddha caused us to escape the three realms and attain the realization of nirvāṇa; regarding the bodhisattva teachings, not a single thought of joy or delight arose." These were all past mentalities of clinging to the lesser. Thus the Mahāyānasaṃgraha states: "Three kinds of mind-training, / severing the hindrances of the four points, / taking the principles of Dharma as cognitive objects." The four points are: (1) attention directed toward the two vehicles; (2) various doubts and the departure from doubt; (3) saying regarding the Dharma heard and reflected upon, 'I can do this, but others cannot'; (4) conceptual attachment ranging from bone-chains up to bodhi. Attention directed toward the two vehicles means clinging to the two fruits as ultimate; this sūtra was taught to sever this attachment. Gradual-awakening bodhisattvas cling to the idea that the Buddha's bodhi is not their lot, and wishing to give rise to regression, they revert to remaining in the two vehicles; [the sūtra is taught] to sustain them and prevent them from regressing. Furthermore, sudden-awakening lesser bodhisattvas cling to the idea that only those who rely on Mahāyāna practice can become buddhas, whereas those already abiding as śrāvakas cannot become buddhas. Now this attachment is refuted, revealing that the two vehicles are not ultimate and that those abiding in the two vehicles can also become buddhas; therefore this sūtra is taught. Due to this, the Mahāyānasaṃgraha's severing of the four points states: first, attention directed toward the two vehicles; second, saying 'I can do this, but others cannot'—these two are the various doubts and departure from doubt mentioned earlier.

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Regarding "manifesting prophecy and practice," there are two parts: first, manifesting prophecy; second, manifesting practice. First, manifesting prophecy: From the time the Buddha attained awakening, he had not bestowed prophecies of bodhi upon śrāvakas; now, to bestow prophecies upon them, this sūtra is taught. Hence the sūtra below states: "I set forth these expedient means / to cause them to enter the Buddha's wisdom; / I have never told you / that you would attain the Buddha-path. / The reason I never told you / was that the time to speak had not yet arrived; / now is precisely the time / to definitively preach the Mahāyāna." Kāśyapa also said: "Now we are old and decrepit; regarding the anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi teachings with which the Buddha converts bodhisattvas, not a single thought of joy or delight arose in us. Now, before the Buddha, hearing prophecies of anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi bestowed upon śrāvakas, our minds are all filled with joy, having attained what we never had before." It also states: "Or preach sūtras, gāthās, and itivṛttakas, / jātakas, and adbhutadharmas; / also preach nidānas, avadānas, / along with geyas and upadeśa sūtras." Only these nine divisions of scriptures were preached for the śrāvakas, without preaching prophecies (vyākaraṇa), expansive scriptures (vaipulya), or spontaneous discourses (udāna). Therefore, before this, prophecy had not been bestowed; now, to bestow prophecy, this sūtra is taught.

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Second, manifesting practice: Now the Single Vehicle practice of bodhisattvas is taught; the Single Vehicle is precisely the bodhisattva practice. Hence the sūtra below states: "There are sons of the Buddha whose minds are pure, / pliant, and of sharp faculties; / in the presence of immeasurable buddhas, / they practice the profound and wondrous path. / For these sons of the Buddha, / I preach this Mahāyāna sūtra." It also states: "Whether śrāvakas or bodhisattvas, / if they hear the Dharma I preach, / even down to a single verse, / all will become buddhas without doubt." It also states: "Śāriputra! All the buddhas, tathāgatas, only instruct bodhisattvas; whatever they do is always for the sake of the one great matter." One must cultivate merit and wisdom, illuminate existence and emptiness, examine the words of the teachings, thoroughly investigate the profound principle, give rise to true understanding, and awaken to the Single Vehicle. Furthermore, the Single Vehicle has causes and fruitions: the causes are the seven stages and the four bodhisattva practices, which will all be comprehensively coordinated below according to what is appropriate; the fruitions are bodhi and nirvāṇa at the stage of buddhahood. Within the three bodies, these are entirely subsumed. Moreover, the three cycles of teaching the Single Vehicle clarify the object of the Single Vehicle; the "Comfortable Practices" chapter and others clarify the practice of the Single Vehicle; the "Span of Life" chapter and others clarify the fruition of the Single Vehicle. Clarifying the object is intended to inspire the minds of śrāvakas; clarifying the practice causes them to cultivate bodhisattva practice; relying on this, one then aspires to the virtues of the fruit of buddhahood. Therefore, to manifest the bodhisattva practice, this Lotus Sūtra is taught.

1.19

Regarding 'benefiting the present and future', there are two aspects: first, benefiting the present, and second, benefiting the future. First, regarding benefiting the present: all ordinary beings and sages in the single assembly of the Lotus [Sūtra] were suited to hear the Lotus [Sūtra] and thereby receive benefit. Here there are two kinds: first, the benefit of prophecies of fruition; second, the benefit of present realization. The benefit of prophecies of fruition refers to the Bhagavat expounding the meaning of the Single Vehicle in three cycles for the three faculties, unifying the two and refuting the two in order to benefit the present [beings]. From the 'Expedient Means Chapter' down to the 'Parable Chapter' where Śāriputra received his prophecy and the eight classes [of devas and nāgas] rejoiced and praised constitutes the first cycle. The sūtra says: 'The buddhas, the Bhagavats, appear in the world solely for the sake of the causes and conditions of one great matter,' down to, 'the buddhas, by the power of expedient means, differentiate and explain three within the one buddha-vehicle.' Thus, after Śāriputra heard this exposition, he gave rise to deep understanding in the 'Parable Chapter', and after the Buddha confirmed it, he thereupon received his prophecy. From where Śāriputra makes his request in the 'Parable Chapter' down to the Buddha expounding the parable, together with the 'Faith and Understanding Chapter', the 'Parable of the Medicinal Herbs Chapter', and the 'Prophecy Chapter', constitutes the second cycle. The 'Parable Chapter' says: 'The Tathāgata is also like this, being the father of all sentient beings,' down to, 'Śāriputra, for this reason you should know that the buddhas, by the power of expedient means, differentiate and explain three within the one buddha-vehicle.' After Mahākāśyapa and the others heard this exposition, only then did they give rise to realization in the 'Faith and Understanding Chapter'; the Buddha reconfirmed it in the 'Parable of the Medicinal Herbs Chapter', and in the 'Prophecy Chapter', the Buddha thereupon bestowed prophecies upon the four persons: Mahākāśyapa, Subhūti, Mahākātyāyana, and Mahāmaudgalyāyana. The 'Parable of the Conjured City Chapter', the 'Prophecy for Five Hundred Disciples Chapter', and the 'Prophecy for Those in Training and Beyond Training Chapter' constitute the third cycle. In the beginning of the 'Parable of the Conjured City Chapter', [the Buddha] first speaks of the past events of the Buddha Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū to cause them to remember, and further says: 'O monks! If the Tathāgata knows himself that the time of nirvāṇa has arrived,' down to, 'it is merely by the power of the Tathāgata's expedient means that he differentiates and explains three within the one buddha-vehicle.' After Pūrṇa and the others heard this exposition, they gave rise to deep understanding in the 'Prophecy for Five Hundred Disciples Chapter', and after the Buddha confirmed it, he thereupon bestowed prophecies upon the five hundred disciples and those in training and beyond training. This refers to benefiting the assembly of śrāvakas of the present. The sūtra sets forth six places where it manifests the bestowing of prophecies: First is individual prophecy: Śāriputra and the four great śrāvakas were known to the assembly, and because their names and titles are different, they were given individual prophecies. Second is collective prophecy: Pūrṇa and the other five hundred persons and the twelve hundred persons, because they have the same name, were given prophecies together at the same time. Third is subsequent prophecy: those in training and beyond training and others were not known to the assembly; sharing a single common title and belonging to the lower faculties, they were given prophecies subsequently. Fourth is prophecy without enmity: to manifest that the Tathāgata holds neither resentment nor enmity, he bestowed a prophecy upon Devadatta. Fifth is universally applicable prophecy: to show that women, whether lay or monastic, who practice the bodhisattva path will all realize the fruit of buddhahood, he therefore bestowed prophecies upon the bhikṣuṇīs and the deva maiden. The above five kinds of prophecy expound benefits for the present time, and all are prophecies by the Tathāgata. Sixth is prophecy with complete causes: Sadāparibhūta Bodhisattva bowed in reverence and praised, saying, 'I do not disparage you, for you will all become buddhas,' to manifest that sentient beings all possess the buddha-nature. This single kind of prophecy was bestowed by a bodhisattva, expounding benefit from times past. The first three and the fifth are prophecies of the benefit of hearing the Lotus [Sūtra]; the remaining two kinds are not prophecies resulting from hearing this [sūtra]. However, the former five kinds of prophecy are all called 'benefiting the present', which is the benefit of prophecies of fruition. As for the śrāvakas, after receiving their prophecies, they undergo transformation-body birth; its characteristics and essential meaning will be known below.

1.20

Regarding the benefit of present realization, there are again many kinds. For example, in the 'Devadatta Chapter', although the dragon maiden's emergence from the dragon palace and her attainment of the path both stemmed from the Lotus [Sūtra], because they were not benefits [experienced directly within] the assembly at Vulture Peak, they are omitted and not expounded. Only when the dragon maiden attained the path and expounded the Dharma, the bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, devas, nāgas, the rest of the eight classes, humans, and non-humans of the sahā world all beheld from afar that dragon maiden becoming a buddha, universally expounding the Dharma for the humans and devas gathered at that time, and with great rejoicing in their hearts, they all paid homage from afar. Immeasurable sentient beings heard the Dharma, gained awakening and understanding, and attained non-retrogression; immeasurable sentient beings received prophecies of the path; the Immaculate World quaked in six ways; three thousand sentient beings of the sahā world abided on the stage of non-retrogression; and three thousand sentient beings generated the bodhicitta and received prophecies—combining four levels of benefit. In the 'Discrimination of Merits Chapter', there are eleven levels of attaining realization and one level of generating the aspiration [for awakening]. When the Buddha spoke of this long lifespan of the Tathāgata, sentient beings as numerous as the sands of six million eight hundred thousand nayutas of Ganges rivers attained the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas, and a thousand kotis of bodhisattva-mahāsattvas attained the dhāraṇī-entrance of retaining what is heard; further, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as numerous as the dust motes of one world attained the eloquence of delightful discourse; bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as numerous as the dust motes of one world attained hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of immeasurable dhāraṇīs of revolution; bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as numerous as the dust motes of a trichiliocosm became capable of turning the irreversible wheel of the Dharma; bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as numerous as the dust motes of two thousand lands became capable of turning the pure wheel of the Dharma; bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as numerous as the dust motes of a small chiliocosm would attain [anuttarā samyaksambodhi] in eight births; those as numerous as four sets of four continents would attain it in four births; those as numerous as three sets of four continents would attain it in three births; those as numerous as two sets of four continents would attain it in two births; and bodhisattva-mahāsattvas as numerous as the dust motes of one set of four continents would attain anuttarā samyaksambodhi in a single birth; further, sentient beings as numerous as the dust motes of eight worlds all generated the mind of anuttarā samyaksambodhi. As when the 'Bhaiṣajyarāja Chapter' was expounded, eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas attained the dhāraṇī of understanding the speech of all sentient beings. When the 'Gadgadasvara Chapter' was expounded, eighty-four thousand people attained the samādhi of manifesting all physical forms, forty-two thousand devaputras attained the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas, and Padmaśrī Bodhisattva attained the lotus samādhi. When the 'Avalokiteśvara Chapter' was expounded, eighty-four thousand sentient beings all generated the unexcelled mind of anuttarā samyaksambodhi. When the 'Dhāraṇī Chapter' was expounded, sixty-eight thousand people attained the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas. When the 'Former Affairs of King Śubhavyūha Chapter' was expounded, eighty-four thousand people parted from defilement and removed impurity, attaining the purification of the Dharma-eye. When the 'Encouragement of Samantabhadra Chapter' was expounded, immeasurable and boundless bodhisattvas equal to the sands of the Ganges attained one million dhāraṇīs of revolution, and bodhisattvas equal to the dust motes of a trichiliocosm practiced the path of Samantabhadra. The former five prophecies are prophecies of attaining buddhahood in the future; these twenty-five categories are present realizations on the causal stages, and both are benefiting the present. Therefore, as for benefiting the future after the exposition of the Lotus [Sūtra], all merits obtained on account of the Lotus Sūtra after the dispersion of the assembly are benefiting the future. The 'Merit of Rejoicing Chapter' speaks of the merit of the fiftieth person who, upon hearing the Lotus Sūtra once, is able to rejoice accordingly: it exceeds giving away gold, silver, and the seven jewels to sentient beings of four million kotis of nayutas of trichiliocosms, and furthermore surpasses causing them to attain the fruit of an arhat. If one goes to a saṅgha dwelling and listens to the Lotus Sūtra for even a moment, in life after life one will always ride upon elephant carriages, horse carriages, and litters of the seven jewels, and ride upon celestial palaces; if one further shares one's seat to cause another to listen, in life after life one will always obtain the seat of Śakra or the seat of Brahmā; if one further encourages another to go listen to the Lotus [Sūtra], in life after life one will always be born in the same place as dhāraṇī-bodhisattvas, never being mute, down to beholding the Buddha, hearing the Dharma, and faithfully accepting instruction in the future. The 'Merits of the Dharma Preacher Chapter' says that if good men or good women uphold this Lotus Sūtra, whether reading it, reciting it, explaining it, or copying it, these persons will obtain eight hundred merits of the eyes, twelve hundred merits of the ears, eight hundred merits of the nose, twelve hundred merits of the tongue, eight hundred merits of the body, and twelve hundred merits of the mind, and with these merits they will adorn their six sense faculties, making them all pure. Down to the 'Samantabhadra Chapter', which says: 'If there are those in future ages who uphold, read, and recite this classic, these persons will no longer be greedily attached to clothing, bedding, food, drink, or the necessities of life; their aspirations will not be in vain, and they will also receive their karmic recompense in the present life.' Therefore the Teaching Bequeathed Sūtra says: 'Those who should be saved have all already been saved, and for those who have not yet been saved, the causes and conditions for attaining salvation have also all been created.' Hence, by expounding this, great benefit is conferred upon the future; this is named benefiting the future, and therefore this sūtra was expounded.

1.21

In making clear the times and the capacities, there are two parts: first, making clear the times; second, making clear the capacities. As for the first, making clear the times, the teachings set forth by the buddhas are, in brief, of two kinds: first, sudden; second, gradual. The sudden caters to those of great capacity, suddenly proceeding from the stage of an ordinary person to seek the fruit of buddhahood, as with the Single Vehicle expounded in the Śrīmālā-sūtra, where the Single Vehicle is provisional while the four vehicles are real. The gradual caters to those of the capacity to proceed from the lesser to the greater, as with the Single Vehicle expounded in this sūtra, where the Single Vehicle is real while the two vehicles are provisional. This sūtra mostly caters to those proceeding from those two vehicles to seek the fruit of buddhahood, and is mostly subsumed under the Mahāyāna of gradual teaching. In antiquity, an interpretation stated that there are five periods of teaching. The first period was when the Buddha, upon first attaining the Path, taught for Trapuṣa and the other five hundred merchants only the worldly causal teaching of the three refuges, five precepts, and ten virtuous actions, which refers to the Trapuṣa and Bahalika Five Precepts Former Practices Sūtra and the like, because they did not yet possess the vessel of supramundane roots of good. The second period was that for twelve years after the three weeks following the Buddha's attainment of the Path, he taught only the practice of existence of the three vehicles without yet teaching emptiness, which refers to the Hīnayāna sūtras such as the Āgamas. The third period was that during the thirty years after the Buddha attained the Path, he taught that common practice of emptiness of the three vehicles, which refers to the Vimalakīrti, the Viśeṣacintā, the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā, and so on. The fourth period was that during the forty years after the Buddha attained the Path, he taught that there is the Single Vehicle, yet had not clearly expounded that the buddha-nature is the eternal real mark, still speaking of an impermanent buddha-fruition as true reality, which refers to the Anantanirdeśa, the Lotus Sūtra, and so on, because previously the meaning of the Single Vehicle had not been clarified, and herein the eternally abiding buddha-nature had not yet been clearly expounded. The fifth period refers to the teaching among the Twin Trees that all sentient beings have the buddha-nature eternally abiding, which refers to the Nirvāṇa-sūtra, the Mahākaruṇā-sūtra, and so on. At first glance this seems admissible, but in principle it is not so. The Trapuṣa Sūtra says that the five hundred merchants, about to receive the five precepts, first repented of such offenses as the five heinous crimes, the ten unwholesome deeds, and slandering the Dharma, and attained the fundamental purity of the four great elements, the fundamental purity of the five aggregates, the fundamental purity of the six dust-objects, and the fundamental purity of the self; at that time, Trapuṣa and the others attained the endurance of the non-arising of dharmas, three hundred merchants attained the conforming endurance, two hundred merchants attained the fruit of srotāpanna, the Four Heavenly Kings and others attained the conforming endurance, three hundred dragon kings attained the endurance of faith, the rest of the devas and so on all gave rise to the mind of the unsurpassed Path, and a billion devas and humans all practiced the ten virtues of bodhisattvas. The elder Trapuṣa eliminated the suffering of the three realms and attained the endurance of the non-arising of dharmas, which is the first bhūmi or the eighth bhūmi. Furthermore, the Lalitavistara says that on the second week, Trapuṣa and the other five hundred merchants offered parched flour and honey to the Buddha, and the Buddha conferred a prophecy upon them: 'In a future age you shall become buddhas, named Complete Attainment.' How then can one say that the first [period] was only a worldly teaching? It was merely that on this day he had not yet clearly taught the truths jointly contemplated by the followers of the three vehicles, and so it was not yet named the turning of the wheel of the Dharma; only when he reached the five monks was it named the turning of the wheel of the Dharma. Next, regarding the claim that the second period of twelve years taught only the teaching of existence, Bodhiruci challenged this, saying: five years after attaining the Path, the Buddha expounded the Mahāprajñāpāramitā, properly clarifying the real mark; again, in the seventh year, for eight bodhisattvas he expounded the Pratyutpannasamādhi-sūtra, properly clarifying that the five aggregates of sentient beings are fundamentally empty; again, in the ninth year he expounded the Aṅgulimālīya-sūtra, and in the tenth year he expounded the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra, both clarifying the profound principle of nirvāṇa and buddha-nature. Furthermore, the Trapuṣa and Lalitavistara both clarify bodhisattva practice, and moreover conferred prophecies of buddhahood upon the merchants, making it clear that upon first attaining the Path he had already taught the Mahāyāna. In addition, on the second week after attaining the Path, he expounded the Daśabhūmika-sūtra; and the Mahāprajñāpāramitā says: 'When the Buddha turned the wheel of the four truths in the Deer Park, immeasurable sentient beings gave rise to the śrāvaka aspiration, immeasurable sentient beings gave rise to the pratyekabuddha aspiration, immeasurable sentient beings gave rise to the aspiration for anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi and practiced the six pāramitās, immeasurable bodhisattvas attained the endurance of the non-arising of dharmas and abode in the first bhūmi, second bhūmi, third bhūmi, up to the tenth bhūmi, and immeasurable bodhisattvas bound to one last birth simultaneously attained buddhahood.' How then can it be said that the second period taught only the existence-teaching of the three vehicles? From this it is known that the single rain uniformly moistens, but the receptions and understandings differ; one cannot claim that the Buddha's teachings must have had a strict sequence. Now, relying on the ancient interpretation, we provisionally refute these two periods; the remaining three periods are all refuted just as the ancients refuted them. Though at first glance it might seem admissible, in principle it is not so; fearing excessive length of text, we shall provisionally cease. Relying on the current new sūtras, the sudden teaching of the Mahāyāna has only a single period, given to those of one great capacity who do not arise from the lesser, and the teaching addressed [to them] is single; therefore, it is the gradual great teaching that has three periods. In the Sandhinirmocana-sūtra, 'the Buddha, for Paramārthasamudgata Bodhisattva, having relied on the three natures to teach that the three non-natures are all the imagined nature; Paramārthasamudgata Bodhisattva deeply understood and grasped [it], and having broadly spoken of the worldly parables of the viśva medicine, painting upon the ground with varied colors, and melted butter in empty space, the Bhagavat praised his skillful understanding of what had been spoken. Paramārthasamudgata addressed [the Buddha], saying: "Formerly, at one time, in the Deer Park at Ṛṣipatana in Vārāṇasī, solely for those setting forth in the śrāvaka vehicle, the Buddha turned the wheel of the true Dharma through the characteristics of the four truths. Although this was most marvelous and most rare, such that none in all the world could turn it, the wheel of the Dharma turned at that time was surpassable, accommodated [other teachings], was of implicit meaning, and was a foothold for disputes. In the past second period, the Bhagavat, solely for those setting forth to cultivate the Mahāyāna, relying on all dharmas having no own-nature, being unarisen and unceasing, fundamentally tranquil and of the nature of nirvāṇa, turned the wheel of the true Dharma with an esoteric characteristic. Although this was even more marvelous and even more rare, the wheel of the Dharma turned at that time was also still accommodative, not yet of explicit meaning, and also a foothold for disputes. In the present third period, the Bhagavat, universally for those setting forth in all vehicles, relying on the non-own-nature nature of all dharmas having no own-nature, being unarisen and unceasing, fundamentally tranquil, and of the nature of nirvāṇa, has turned the wheel of the true Dharma with an explicit characteristic, which is premier, most marvelous, and most rare. Now, the wheel of the Dharma turned by the Bhagavat is unsurpassed, unaccommodating, truly of explicit meaning, and not a foothold for disputes."' Relying on this sūtra text, the Āgamas and the like are the first period, generally and esoterically teaching existence, without clarifying what nature that existence has. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā and the like are the second period, generally and esoterically teaching emptiness, without clarifying what nature that emptiness also empties. The Avataṃsaka-sūtra and the like are the third period, explicitly teaching that existence has the dependent and the consummate, and also explicitly teaching that emptiness empties the imagined nature. Therefore the Upāsakaśīla-sūtra and others state: 'Conditioned and unconditioned are called existence; self and what belongs to self are called emptiness.' The Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra also speaks of three wheels of the Dharma, namely: turning, illuminating, and maintaining—turning the dharma of the four truths, illuminating existence with emptiness, and because neither-existence-nor-emptiness can be sustained. The Nirvāṇa[-sūtra] also states: 'Originally there was a physician who taught people to drink milk. Because they drank solely milk, many people in the country died. Later there was a physician who said milk was poison and taught them all to stop drinking it, and the people of the country all recovered. Later, when the king fell ill, he asked what medicine was appropriate. The physician revised the prescription, mixing milk into the medicine. The king angrily questioned him: "You previously said milk was a poison, so why do you now have it mixed into medicine to be taken?" The physician replied to the king: "Previously, because they drank it solely, many people in the country died; because they constantly drank it solely, I called it poison, and fearing they could not stop it, I had them cease it entirely. In actual fact, for certain illnesses it is suitable to drink it, and for certain illnesses it is not suitable; for your Majesty's present illness, it is suitable to take it mixed into medicine, which is precisely what is appropriate." The Buddha said: "My Dharma is also just like this."' The Lotus [Sūtra] also states: 'We, having internal cessation, thought ourselves content, understanding only this matter and having no other matter'—this is the teaching of the first period. 'If we heard of purifying buddha-lands and teaching and transforming sentient beings, we felt no joy at all'—this is the teaching of the second period. 'The Buddha is also like this: manifesting rare matters, knowing those who delight in the lesser, through the power of expedient means he tames their minds and then teaches the great wisdom; we today have attained what we never had before, not what we formerly expected, but now attaining it of ourselves'—this is the teaching of the third period. This is identical to the teaching of the three periods in the Suvarṇaprabhāsa, the Sandhinirmocana, and so forth. If one considers the gradual order according to partial or complete capacities, the teachings have only three periods, not one or five and so on; one cannot raise the objection that because the single rain universally moistens the three kinds of plants differently, the teaching is only one. As for those capacities of sudden awakening and the realization of the single fruit, relying on this principle there is no teaching of three periods. If the capacities are formed gradually, the great arising from the small, the teachings are definitely three; because they are spoken in response to capacity, bringing the principle to accord with the teaching is called the single rain; adapting the teaching to the capacities, he expounded the dharmas of the three vehicles—either three or one, their principles do not conflict. Where this sūtra expounds the Single Vehicle in three rounds, it mostly caters to the śrāvakas: having previously spoken of prajñā, he had already taught them emptiness to break their disease of existence; since those who were not ignorant of dharmas had already believed and understood, he now speaks the third period to cause them to take refuge, and also converts those of sudden awakening so that they thereby give rise to the aspiration, realizing and attaining non-arising in the dissemination section. As previously stated, it also penetrates the sudden teaching; hence it is known that the single rain's nourishing benefits are distinct, and it is in order to reveal the true teaching of the third period that this sūtra was expounded.

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妙法蓮華經玄贊 — Classical Chinese