佛祖統紀 3.147

3.147

言法華者。日光普照高下均平。若低頭。若小音。若散亂。若微善。皆成佛道（籤云。總結散亂小善之類。無不開之以成佛因）不令有人獨得滅度。皆以如來滅度而滅度之。具如今經（玄一）良以。妙法難解假喻易彰。為蓮故華。喻為實施權（籤云雖復施權本為於實）文云雖示種種道。其實為佛乘（兩教因人。別教教道。五時八教。故云種種）華開蓮現。喻開權顯實。文云。開方便門示真實相（指實為權。權指於實。名方便門開今指權為實。於權見實。名方便門開。示謂指示。示其見道之處也）華落蓮成。喻廢權立實。文云。正直捨方便但說無上道（捨是廢之別名。開已俱實。無權可論。義當於廢。權轉為實。所廢體亡。若留逗後緣。復屬於施。非此中意○已上迹門三譬之文）又蓮譬於本。華譬於迹。從本垂迹。迹依於本（迹不孤立本擬顯本）文云。我實成佛久遠若斯（初先明本）但教化眾生作如是說。我少出家得三菩提（正明垂迹）又華敷譬開迹。蓮現譬顯本。文云一切世間。皆謂今始得道（初述迷迹）我實成佛那由他劫（正明開迹）又華落譬廢迹蓮成譬立本。文云。諸佛如來法皆如是（引同）為度眾生皆實不虛（正明廢迹。廢已無迹。故云皆實。實秖是本。權秖是迹。非蓮華無以譬於權實。本迹妙法。非此妙法。無以取喻於蓮華。一部之旨不出本迹○已上本門三譬之文）入為蓮故華。華實具足。可喻即實而權（為蓮故華。華掩於實。為實施權。實在權內。體復不異）華開蓮現。可喻即權而實（機熟須開。開彼能覆。情希近果。名之為覆。祛彼近果。名之為開。開何所開。即彼能覆）華落蓮成蓮成亦落。可喻非權非實（華落譬非權。蓮成譬非實。開已即廢時無異途。開教行人理。同一理故。故實立已。同冥三德故知三德不當權實）。如是等種種義便。故以蓮華喻於妙法（玄一）。

Regarding the Lotus: The sunlight shines everywhere, equal on the high and the low. Whether bowing one's head, uttering a faint sound, in distraction, or with slight goodness, all attain the Buddha Path (the Qian states: 'Summarizing all instances of distraction, slight goodness, and the like, none are not opened to become causes of Buddhahood'). It does not cause anyone to attain extinction alone; all are brought to extinction through the extinction of the Tathāgata, fully as in the present sūtra (Miaoxuan, fascicle 1). Truly, because the wondrous Dharma is difficult to understand, using metaphors makes it easy to illuminate. Blossoming for the sake of the lotus illustrates employing the expedient for the sake of the real (the Qian states: 'Although expedient means are applied, their origin is for the sake of the real'). The text states: 'Although diverse paths are shown, / in truth they are for the Buddha vehicle' (the causal persons of the two teachings, the doctrinal path of the distinct teaching, and the five periods and eight teachings are therefore called "diverse"). The blossom opening and the lotus appearing illustrates opening the expedient and revealing the real. The text states: 'Opening the gate of expedient means, / revealing the mark of the real' (designating the real as expedient, and the expedient pointing to the real, is called opening the gate of expedient means; now designating the expedient as the real, seeing the real within the expedient, is called opening the gate of expedient means; "revealing" means pointing out, pointing out where they see the Path). The blossom falling and the lotus forming illustrates discarding the expedient and establishing the real. The text states: 'Honestly discarding expedient means, / I expound only the unsurpassed Path' ("discarding" is another term for casting aside; once opened, all are real, there is no expedient to speak of, which corresponds to discarding; when the expedient turns into the real, the entity that was discarded ceases; if it were retained to adapt to later capacities, it would again belong to applying [expedients], which is not the meaning here; the above are the texts on the three metaphors of the trace gate). Furthermore, the lotus illustrates the original, and the blossom illustrates the trace. Manifesting the trace from the original, the trace relies upon the original (the trace does not stand alone; the original is intended to be revealed). The text states: 'I have truly attained Buddhahood for a long time, such as this' (first explaining the original); 'merely to teach and transform sentient beings do I speak thus: "I left home young and attained sambodhi"' (properly explaining manifesting the trace). Furthermore, the blossom opening illustrates opening the trace, and the lotus appearing illustrates revealing the original. The text states: 'All the world / thinks that I have now newly attained the Path' (first stating delusion regarding the trace); 'I have truly attained Buddhahood nayutas of kalpas ago' (properly explaining opening the trace). Furthermore, the blossom falling illustrates discarding the trace, and the lotus forming illustrates establishing the original. The text states: 'The Dharma of all Buddha Tathāgatas is like this' (citing the same); 'to save sentient beings, all is real and not false' (properly explaining discarding the trace; once discarded, there is no trace, hence it says "all is real"; the real is simply the original, and the expedient is simply the trace; without the lotus flower, there is no way to illustrate the expedient and the real, the wondrous Dharma of original and trace; without this wondrous Dharma, there is no way to draw a metaphor from the lotus flower; the purport of the entire work does not go beyond the original and trace; the above are the texts on the three metaphors of the original gate). Furthermore, blossoming for the sake of the lotus, with blossom and fruit fully present, can illustrate the expedient being none other than the real (blossoming for the sake of the lotus, the blossom conceals the fruit; employing the expedient for the sake of the real, the real is within the expedient, and their essence is moreover not different). The blossom opening and the lotus appearing can illustrate the real being none other than the expedient (when the capacity matures, it must be opened; opening that which conceals: the longing for the proximate fruit is called concealing; banishing that proximate fruit is called opening; what is opened? that which conceals). The blossom falling, the lotus forming, and the formed lotus also falling can illustrate neither expedient nor real (the blossom falling illustrates neither expedient, and the lotus forming illustrates neither real; once opened, it is immediately discarded, so that at this time there are no disparate paths; because the doctrine, the practitioners, and the principle that are opened are of the same principle, therefore once the real is established, they jointly merge into the three virtues; thus we know that the three virtues do not correspond to expedient or real). Because of such various suitable meanings, the lotus flower is used to illustrate the wondrous Dharma (Miaoxuan, fascicle 1).