維摩經略疏 2.36

2.36

問：三藏劣應自是昔事，何得為此作遠由也？答：《法華》云「於二十年中常令除糞，過是已後心相體信入出無難。」是故今時共諸聲聞說大乘經現勝應身，合蓋現瑞表說佛國，當知由昔劣應顯今勝應，故為遠由。

Question: The Tripiṭaka inferior response was an affair of the past; how can it serve as a remote reason for this? Answer: The Lotus Sūtra says: "For twenty years he constantly had him remove dung. Only after this did their minds come to trust each other, and going in and out was without difficulty." Therefore, now, preaching the Mahāyāna sūtras together with the voice-hearers and displaying the superior response body, he joined the canopies and displayed the miraculous sign symbolizing the preaching of the buddha-land. One should know that the past inferior response makes manifest the present superior response; therefore it is the remote reason.