妙法蓮華經玄贊 9.183

9.183

The Commentary says: This is the second section, which first addresses avoiding them and subsequently addresses not avoiding them. Regarding the fifth condition—inferior companions—the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says: “A bodhisattva fears the two vehicles just as a person cherishes life.” The Sūtra of the Questions of the Devaputra Śāntasvara states: “The Buddha said to Mañjuśrī: ‘For instance, just as a starving, thirsty, emaciated person would rather endure hunger and thirst and never eat food mixed with poison, a bodhisattva is likewise: they would rather be stingy, jealous, break precepts, speak harshly, be lazy, lack mindfulness, and be devoid of wisdom, than ever seek the fruit-stage of the two vehicles. The Buddha said to the devaputra: Just as greedy people eating food is like the poison of a wheel-turning king, so too, for the two vehicles, maintaining precepts and being energetic is, for a bodhisattva, breaking precepts and being lazy. Therefore, one should not approach them intimately; if they come, one preaches the Dharma for them, without seeking intimacy, material gain, or veneration.’”