法華論疏 1.73

1.73

The four practices have two aspects in all: first, contrasting the Great and Small; second, fixed and unfixed. Regarding the Great and Small: śrāvakas definitely cultivate small practices, and bodhisattvas definitely cultivate great practices. Next, explaining fixed and unfixed: although the practices of bodhisattvas are great, they are able to manifest practices that have no fixed form or limitation; for instance, the sixteen worthy men are able to manifest as the fourfold assembly of the Small Vehicle, which means the great encompasses the small, and thus great beings manifest small practices. Next, regarding the fixed practice of bhikṣus and renunciant śrāvakas: they definitely remain in renunciant deportment. Question: Why does the treatise cite the sixteen great beings? Answer: The sixteen are lay bodhisattvas; by contrasting them with the renunciants of the Small Vehicle, it clarifies the religious and the secular, and clarifies the fixed and the unfixed.