法華論疏 3.317

3.317

能作如此多數過上數量不可得知，以顯壽以數不可知，故所以為常。昔僧叡法師對羅什翻法華云「多寶照其不滅，壽量定其非數。」爾時論猶未來，而言之與意俱與論合。什公𭴎舌不爛，可謂翻之與釋得經旨也。問：何故如來常命不可盡？答：凡有五義。一為滿本願故。佛命若無常，不得常度於物，即本願不滿。以佛常住，故常度眾生，得滿本願也。二者破小乘人執。佛無常，灰身滅智，不復度物，即成負誓之佛。三者示有因果義。初發心時，願成佛道普度一切。初發心願，此即是因。今得佛常住，普度一切，名之為果。故因果義成。若如小乘佛者，即是有因無果。初心願度為因，得佛永入涅槃便是無果。然既無果，因亦不成。四者佛若無常，即與二乘涅槃俱盡，二乘之流便不捨小求大、欣果行因。今欲令一切眾生欣果行因、捨小求大，故辨佛常命也。又昔北土江南五宗四時，正用復倍上數之言，證法華猶是無常之佛。今論正用此句，顯佛是常。故知凡夫講人多有愚癡謗罪。經無論者，難可釋成。

Being able to make such a great number exceeding the above amount and unknowable reveals that since the lifespan cannot be known by number, it is therefore permanent. In the past, Dharma Master Sengrui said to Kumārajīva when translating the Lotus Sūtra: "Prabhūtaratna illuminates its non-extinction, and the Lifespan Chapter determines its non-numericality." At that time, this treatise had not yet arrived, yet his words and meaning both agreed with the treatise. Master Kumārajīva's tongue did not decay in the flames; it can indeed be said that the translation and commentary grasped the purport of the sūtra. Question: Why is the Tathāgata's permanent life inexhaustible? Answer: There are five meanings. First, to fulfill the original vow. If the Buddha's life were impermanent, he could not constantly deliver beings, and the original vow would be unfulfilled. Since the Buddha is permanent, he constantly delivers sentient beings and can fulfill the original vow. Second, to refute the clinging of Hīnayāna practitioners. If the Buddha were impermanent, reducing his body to ashes and annihilating consciousness, no longer delivering beings, he would become a Buddha who broke his vow. Third, to show the meaning of cause and fruit. When first generating the aspiration, one vows to attain the Buddha path and universally deliver all beings. The initial vow of aspiration is the cause. Now attaining the permanent Buddha and universally delivering all beings is called the fruit. Thus the meaning of cause and fruit is established. If it were like the Hīnayāna Buddha, there would be cause without fruit: the initial vow to deliver would be the cause, and upon attaining Buddhahood entering eternal nirvāṇa would be without fruit. But since there would be no fruit, the cause would also not be established. Fourth, if the Buddha were impermanent, he would be extinguished together with the nirvāṇa of the two vehicles, and followers of the two vehicles would not abandon the small to seek the great, or rejoice in the fruit to practice the cause. Now, to make all sentient beings rejoice in the fruit to practice the cause, and abandon the small to seek the great, the Buddha's permanent life is explained. Furthermore, in the past, the Five Tenets and Four Periods in the north and Jiangnan specifically used the words "twice the above number" to prove that the Lotus Sūtra still presents an impermanent Buddha. Now this treatise specifically uses this phrase to reveal that the Buddha is permanent. Hence one knows that ordinary lecturers commit many sins of foolishness and slander. If a sūtra lacks a treatise, it is difficult to explain it successfully.