法華論疏 3.248

3.248

四者示現令解無上者，親友示衣內之珠，衣內之珠即菩提心。解菩提心是悟解中無上之解，故名解無上。問：何故云令解無上？答：過去十六沙彌說法華經，令三根人得無上解故發菩提心，故云令解無上。「五者示現清淨國土無上」者，上來四種竝是敘因無上，從此已下明果無上。問：上四種明因為是釋迦因？為是所化眾生因？答：通得明於二種。別正是敘釋迦因，以釋迦初發菩提心故，有第一種子無上。發菩提心後，於大通智勝佛所修行故，有第二行無上。以行增長，能導引示眾人之力，故云增長力無上。以力增長，故能於過去世繫於寶珠，故有能令解無上。問：既云能令眾生得無上解名解無上者，亦令眾生修行增長名增長力無上以不？答：亦得爾，互文也。問：何以能知竝就釋迦辨十無上？答：初總標中不離我身有無上義，故前十種無上敘釋迦從初發心乃至成佛始終事盡也。釋迦既爾，說此十事亦令眾生同於釋迦具於十種，攝論有無等境、無等行、無等果。今此經十種無上，正明無等行無等果，境蘊在其中。「五者示現清淨土無上」者，釋第五。從此已去明果無上。問：何以得知前四是因？答：種子及行此二是因，故知繫珠是過去世事亦是因，即繫珠還領商主。繫珠既是因，商主亦是因。繫珠商主由是一人，故兩義說之。能導作佛，故名商主；令不失菩提心義，故名繫珠。初明淨土，要前有土，然後佛方出也。前明淨土無上。

As for "fourth, showing the peerless causing of understanding," the close friend shows the jewel inside the garment; the jewel inside the garment is the bodhicitta. Understanding the bodhicitta is the peerless understanding among awakened understandings; hence it is named peerless understanding. Question: Why is it called "causing peerless understanding"? Answer: In the past the sixteen śrāmaṇeras taught the Lotus Sūtra and caused people of the three faculties to attain peerless understanding so that they generated the bodhicitta; hence it is called "causing peerless understanding." As for "fifth, showing the peerless pure land," the preceding four all recounted peerless causes; from this point forward, peerless fruits are explained. Question: Are the causes explained in the four above the causes of Śākyamuni, or the causes of the beings to be transformed? Answer: They may generally explain both. Specifically, they properly recount the causes of Śākyamuni: because Śākyamuni initially generated the bodhicitta, there is the first peerless seed; after generating the bodhicitta, because he practiced at the place of the Buddha Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū, there is the second peerless practice; because his practice grew, having the power to guide and direct the multitude, it is called the peerless power of growth; because his power grew, he was able in past lives to tie the precious jewel, hence there is the peerless ability to cause understanding. Question: Since causing sentient beings to attain peerless understanding is called peerless understanding, does it also mean causing sentient beings to increase their practice is called peerless power of growth? Answer: It can also be so; it is an interlocking expression. Question: How is it known that the ten peerless [qualities] are all explained in reference to Śākyamuni? Answer: In the initial general statement it says that "not departing from my person is the peerless meaning"; therefore, the former ten kinds of peerlessness recount the events of Śākyamuni from his initial aspiration up to his attainment of buddhahood, complete from beginning to end. Śākyamuni being thus, speaking of these ten matters also causes sentient beings, identically to Śākyamuni, to be endowed with the ten kinds. The Mahāyānasaṃgraha has peerless realms, peerless practices, and peerless fruits. Now in this sūtra, the ten kinds of peerlessness specifically explain peerless practices and peerless fruits, with the realm contained within them. As for "fifth, showing the peerless pure land," this explains the fifth. From this point forward it explains the peerless fruit. Question: How is it known that the previous four are causes? Answer: The seed and practice, these two are causes; hence we know that tying the jewel is a matter of the past and is also a cause; and tying the jewel refers back to the merchant leader. Since tying the jewel is a cause, the merchant leader is also a cause. Tying the jewel and the merchant leader are due to the same person, hence they are spoken of in two senses: being able to guide to buddhahood, he is named the merchant leader; in the sense of causing one not to lose the bodhicitta, it is called tying the jewel. First, explaining the pure land: there must first be a land, and then only afterwards does the buddha appear. First, explaining the peerless pure land.