妙法蓮華經玄贊 8.9

8.9

Eulogy: Below is the parabolic explanation. In it are two parts: first, the parable for the former provisional; later, the parable for the present real, beginning from 'At that time the guide, knowing this group of people.' The first text has four parts: first, the parable of initially leading them away from danger; second, beginning from 'the group of people being led,' the parable of retreating halfway; third, beginning from 'the guide, having many expedient means,' the parable of setting up the conjured city; fourth, beginning from 'at that time the exhausted crowd,' the parable of the crowd resting from weariness. Previously in the 'Faith and Understanding Chapter,' the parable for the former provisional had six parts; this one here corresponds to that, yet lacks the first two. Because when first retreating, they had not yet turned toward the small and the conjured city had not yet been set up, it is therefore omitted here, and only corresponds to the latter four. Or, this first part of initially leading them away from danger subsumes the first and third of that chapter; the second here subsumes the second and fourth of that chapter; and the latter two parables here subsume the latter two there. The divisions and combinations differ, but in meaning there is no difference. The first parable has four elements: first, desiring to cross the perilous place; second, leading them to the place of jewels; third, the master of the merchant caravan knowing the path well; fourth, going forward and leading them. These are the first two. As for 'five hundred yojanas,' the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra says: 'The saṃsāra of the five destinies is called the perilous, difficult, and evil path.' 'Waste' means empty, sparse, enduring, and remote. 'Deserted' means distant. In saṃsāra there are originally no holy and wise ones, just as it is empty, sparse, enduring, remote, deserted, distant, and without people, which is very terrifying. The 'five terrors and so forth' are called the place of terrors. Now, explaining it further: in the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra, the entity of the perilous path is presented, but it does not explain that number. Saying 'five hundred': in saṃsāra of karmic portions, there are affliction, karma, and suffering making three hundred; in saṃsāra of inconceivable transformation, there are ignorance and suffering making two hundred. Because the ten categories of fruits induced by the ten defilements and ten courses of karma all mutually support one another, they are combined and stated as five hundred, which is why it says below that after passing three hundred yojanas a conjured city is established. If taking the five destinies, the number would merely be five, and passing the three evil destinies, one would only just enter the vision of the truths without yet seeing the conjured city—how could it be called entering? Therefore, one should rely on the latter explanation. As for 'place of rare jewels,' it is the fruit stage of the Buddha, mahāparinirvāṇa, used as a parable for surmounting the perils of saṃsāra to only then reach the stage of a buddha.