佛祖統紀 3.150

3.150

People of the time had not grasped the wondrous purport of the Lotus; merely seeing that the division contained parables such as the three carts, the impoverished son, and the conjured city, they claimed that it was inferior to other sūtras. This was because they did not know that reiterating the expedients of the previous four periods uniquely revealed the great cart, and that merely bequeathing the family estate solely reached the place of jewels. Hence they incurred the fault of slander. (All the above is from the Sijiao yi. The "wondrous purport" refers to the wonders of opening and revealing in the three cycles of the trace gate: First, the cycle of preaching the Dharma reiterates the expedients of the four periods, uniting the three to return to the one, which is Śāriputra of superior capacity receiving prophecy. Second, the cycle of preaching parables clarifies the three carts and the one cart, analogizing the previous Dharma preaching, with the four great disciples presenting the parable of the impoverished son and obtaining the family estate, which is those of middling capacity having faith and understanding and attaining Buddhahood. Third, the cycle of causes and conditions clarifies the sixteen princes planting seeds, the interim reconciling, and now receiving prophecy, with the parable of the conjured city and the place of jewels, which is the twelve hundred śrāvakas and others of inferior capacity obtaining benefit. People do not see this and thus incur slander; people such as Master Qingliang and Elder Li, not knowing this purport, deemed it inferior.)