佛祖統紀 1.80

1.80

化城喻品。佛言。過去有佛。名大通智勝。滅度已來。無量無邊百千萬億阿僧祇劫。我以如來知見力故。觀彼久遠。猶若今日。其佛未出家時。有十六子。聞父得成菩提。往詣佛所。請轉法輪。皆以童子出家。而為沙彌。時佛受請。過二萬劫已。說是大乘經名妙法蓮華經八千劫。即入禪定八萬四千劫。時十六沙彌。各升法座。亦於八萬四千劫。為四部眾。廣說法華。一一皆度六百萬億那由他恒河沙等眾生。令發菩提心（昔與說法結緣）一一菩薩。所化眾生。世世所生與菩薩俱。從其聞法。悉皆信解（中間更相值遇）彼十六沙彌。今皆得菩提。於十方國土現在說法。一名阿彌陀云云。第十六我釋迦牟尼佛（結師古今）我等為沙彌時。各各教化無量眾生從我聞法。為阿耨菩提（會弟子古今一。初會現在弟子。此章先明不退者住菩提）此諸眾生。於今有住聲聞地者。我常教化阿耨菩提。應以是法漸入佛道（次明退轉者今住聲聞）。所以者何。如來智惠。難信難解（釋退住意）時所化無量眾生者。汝等諸比丘（正結古今）及我滅後。未來聲聞弟子是也（次會未來弟子。○玄云十六王子。弘經結緣。皆是中間所作非本因也。過是已前。所行道者。名之為本。即本因妙也）。

The 'Parable of the Conjured City' chapter says: 'The Buddha said: "In the past there was a Buddha named Great Pervasive Wisdom Excellence. It has been immeasurable, boundless hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of asaṃkhyeya kalpas since his extinction. By the power of the Tathāgata's knowledge and vision, I view that distant time just as if it were today. Before that Buddha had left the household life, he had sixteen sons. Hearing that their father had attained bodhi, they went to the Buddha's place and requested the turning of the wheel of the Dharma. They all left the household life as young boys and became novices. The Buddha accepted their request, and after twenty thousand kalpas had passed, expounded this Mahāyāna sūtra named the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sūtra for eight thousand kalpas, and then entered dhyāna-concentration for eighty-four thousand kalpas. At that time, the sixteen novices each ascended the Dharma throne, and likewise for eighty-four thousand kalpas, broadly expounded the Lotus for the fourfold assemblies. Each of them delivered sentient beings equal in number to six hundred myriad koṭis of nayutas of Ganges sands, causing them to give rise to the aspiration for bodhi."' (In the past, preaching the Dharma and forming conditions with them.) '"The sentient beings transformed by each bodhisattva were born世世 together with the bodhisattvas in every lifetime, and hearing the Dharma from them, all faithfully understood it."' (Meeting with one another again in the interim.) '"Those sixteen novices have all now attained bodhi and are currently expounding the Dharma in lands throughout the ten directions. One is named Amitābha, and so forth, and the sixteenth is myself, Śākyamuni Buddha."' (Conjoining master past and present.) '"When we were novices, each of us transformed immeasurable sentient beings who heard the Dharma from me for the sake of anuttarā bodhi."' (Conjoining disciples past and present into one; first conjoining present disciples, this section first clarifies those who do not regress and abide in bodhi.) '"Among these sentient beings, there are now those who abide in the stage of the śrāvaka; I constantly teach and transform them toward anuttarā bodhi, and they should gradually enter the Buddha path by this Dharma."' (Next clarifying those who regressed and now abide as śrāvakas.) '"Why is this? The Tathāgata's wisdom is difficult to believe and difficult to understand."' (Explaining the intention behind regressing and abiding.) '"The immeasurable sentient beings transformed at that time are you bhikṣus"' (directly conjoining past and present) '"and my future śrāvaka disciples after my extinction."' (Next conjoining future disciples. The Xuan says: 'The sixteen princes propagating the sūtra and forming conditions was all done in the interim, and is not the origin cause. The path practiced prior to this is named the origin, which is the wondrous origin cause.')