Chapter 6 · The Fivefold Profound Meaning — How to Read a Sutra

Part Two · The Teaching

The Sutra of the Lotus Blossom of the Wondrous Dharma: five Chinese characters. An ordinary reader turns past a book's title page. Zhizhe taught those five characters and produced ten fascicles—the Fahua Xuanyi. How can one sutra title unfold into a complete body of learning? This is not an extravagant anecdote but a way of reading that can be learned. At the opening of the Profound Meaning, the method is established in the table of contents. This chapter leads you once through its framework.

1 · The Fivefold Structure

At the beginning of the main text, five headings stand in a single row:

「First, explaining the name　Second, discerning the substance　Third, clarifying the purport　Fourth, discussing the function　Fifth, classifying the teaching」 〔《妙法蓮華經玄義》·T33n1716 0681c29–0682a01·待譯；正文題「天台智者大師說」，序另題「沙門灌頂述」——二署分立〕 『In today's words: First, explaining the name; second, discerning the substance; third, clarifying the purport; fourth, discussing the function; fifth, classifying the teaching.』

The Fivefold Profound Meaning asks five questions of a sutra. Explaining the name: what is this sutra called, and what is held within that name? Discerning the substance: what does it take as its substance, and upon what reality do its thousand words and ten thousand phrases land? Clarifying the purport: where does its governing aim lie, and what does it ask one to cultivate? Discussing the function: what power and activity does it have, and what happens when it is read and practiced? Classifying the teaching: where does it stand among the sacred teachings of the Buddha's lifetime? The study of the preceding chapter is precisely this fifth level. From designation to placement, these five questions establish a sutra's outline. The work itself uses the name “Fivefold Profound Meaning” only once:

「The intent of the Fivefold Profound Meaning embraces both sharp and dull capacities.」 〔同書·0686b15〕 『In today's words: The intent of the Fivefold Profound Meaning embraces both sharp and dull capacities.』

The four-character expression 「Fivefold Profound Meaning」 occurs only here in the ten fascicles. As always, the history of the term is recorded. The fivefold structure treats each topic separately. Before the separate explanations comes a shared explanation:

「These five chapters can be applied throughout to explain the many sutras; therefore they are called shared.」 〔同書·0682a03〕 『In today's words: These five chapters can be applied throughout to explain the many sutras; therefore they are called shared.』

「In the general treatment, there are seven passes of shared explanation; in the specific treatment, the five levels are each explained separately.」 〔同書·0682a08〕 『In today's words: In the general treatment, there are seven passes of shared explanation; in the specific treatment, the five levels are each explained separately.』

The same five chapters can be used throughout to explain the many sutras. This is not merely a way to read one sutra; it is a way to read all sutras, demonstrated through the Lotus. When you pick up any sutra in the future, you can ask these five questions of it.

2 · Seven Passes of Shared Explanation

All seven passes of the shared explanation are listed by name:

「For the general treatment, make seven passes of shared explanation: first, stating the chapters; second, citing evidence; third, giving rise in sequence; fourth, opening and combining; fifth, critical analysis; sixth, contemplating the mind; seventh, reconciling differences.」 〔同書·0682a11–12〕 『In today's words: For the general treatment, make seven passes of shared explanation: first, stating the chapters; second, citing evidence; third, giving rise in sequence; fourth, opening and combining; fifth, critical analysis; sixth, contemplating the mind; seventh, reconciling differences.』

The seven passes are not a needlessly elaborate analytical table. The Profound Meaning states their purpose: each corresponds to a capacity of mind:

「When the five minds are established, they form the five faculties; they overcome the five obstructions and form the five powers, through to entry into the three gates of liberation.」 〔同書·0682a16–17〕 『In today's words: When the five minds are established, they form the five faculties; they overcome the five obstructions and form the five powers, through to entry into the three gates of liberation.』

Stating the chapters arouses intent; citing evidence arouses trust; giving rise in sequence arouses concentration; opening and combining, critical analysis, and reconciling differences arouse wisdom; contemplating the mind arouses diligence—the passage itself explains these associations. The form for reading a sutra is directly a sequence of practice: the five minds are established and form the five faculties. This realizes at the level of method what Chapter 0 called 『teaching and contemplation as two faces of one thing.』 The way of reading is the way of practice; the hand that turns the page already carries the work.

3 · Explaining the Name — Five Characters in One Title

The title to be explained has five Chinese characters: Wondrous Dharma, Lotus Blossom, and the single character 「Sutra」:

「Second, explaining the shared name: it is the single character 『sutra』」 〔同書·0775a05；「經」引號為底本自有〕 『In today's words: Second, explaining the shared name—it is the single word “sutra.”』

「Sutra」 is the shared name, used by all sutras; 「Wondrous Dharma Lotus Blossom」 is the specific name, unique to this sutra. The general meaning of 「wondrous」 is marked in the preface domain at the opening, in Guanding's words:

「What is called wondrous is praise for an inconceivable Dharma.」 〔同書·0681c14–15·序域〕 『In today's words: What is called wondrous is praise for an inconceivable Dharma.』

The Profound Meaning also explains a thought-provoking arrangement in the order of the title's words:

「Because the present title follows ease of naming, ‘wondrous’ comes before ‘Dharma.’ Because explanation follows ease of meaning, ‘Dharma’ is explained before ‘wondrous.’」 〔同書·0691b19–20〕 『In today's words: Because the present title follows ease of naming, “wondrous” comes before “Dharma.” Because explanation follows ease of meaning, “Dharma” is explained before “wondrous.”』

For ease of recitation the title says 「Wondrous Dharma」; for ease of explanation, Dharma is discussed before wondrous. The title itself teaches that name and meaning each have their own convenience. Even the order of the characters was not arranged casually. This is the fine-grained care of the fivefold way of reading.

4 · Unfolding the Wondrous — From One Character to One Hundred and Twenty Levels

The Profound Meaning opens the single character 「wondrous」 into a tower:

「This wondrous has Trace and Origin. The Origin is grounded in the primordial beginning; the primordial and originating wondrous is discussed in ten levels. Both Trace and Origin are teaching. Contemplation is made in reliance on teaching, and contemplation in turn has ten levels in which the wondrous is discussed.」 〔同書·0697b23–25〕 『In today's words: This wondrous has the Trace Gate and the Origin Gate. The Origin is grounded in the primordial beginning; the primordial and originating wondrous is discussed in ten levels. Both Trace and Origin are teaching. Contemplation is made in reliance on teaching, and contemplation in turn has ten levels in which the wondrous is discussed.』

The ten subtleties of the Trace Gate are all listed:

「The ten subtleties within the Trace are: first, subtlety of objects; second, subtlety of wisdom; third, subtlety of practice; fourth, subtlety of stages; fifth, subtlety of the three dharmas; sixth, subtlety of stimulus and response; seventh, subtlety of supernormal power; eighth, subtlety of teaching the Dharma; ninth, subtlety of retinues; tenth, subtlety of meritorious benefit.」 〔同書·0697c01–04〕 『In today's words: The ten subtleties of the Trace Gate are: first, subtlety of objects; second, subtlety of wisdom; third, subtlety of practice; fourth, subtlety of stages; fifth, subtlety of the three dharmas; sixth, subtlety of stimulus and response; seventh, subtlety of supernormal power; eighth, subtlety of teaching the Dharma; ninth, subtlety of retinues; tenth, subtlety of meritorious benefit.』

The ten subtleties of the Origin Gate are likewise listed:

「Second, clarifying the ten subtleties of the Origin: first, subtlety of the original cause; second, subtlety of the original fruit; third, subtlety of the original land; fourth, subtlety of original stimulus and response; fifth, subtlety of original supernormal power; sixth, subtlety of original teaching of the Dharma; seventh, subtlety of original retinues; eighth, subtlety of original nirvāṇa; ninth, subtlety of the original lifespan; tenth, subtlety of original benefit.」 〔同書·0765a12–15〕 『In today's words: The ten subtleties of the Origin Gate are: first, subtlety of the original cause; second, subtlety of the original fruit; third, subtlety of the original land; fourth, subtlety of original stimulus and response; fifth, subtlety of original supernormal power; sixth, subtlety of original teaching of the Dharma; seventh, subtlety of original retinues; eighth, subtlety of original nirvāṇa; ninth, subtlety of the original lifespan; tenth, subtlety of original benefit.』

Object, wisdom, practice, stages; cause, fruit, land: the single character 「wondrous」 opens two maps, Trace and Origin. The same passage calculates further. Within the Trace, ten each for the dharmas of sentient beings, buddhas, and mind make thirty; within the Origin, likewise thirty; together they make sixty. Each of the sixty in turn has relational wondrousness and absolute wondrousness, reaching one hundred and twenty levels 〔0697b26–29〕. Once the scale of the tower is clear, you understand why ten fascicles of the Profound Meaning can teach five characters. Few characters do not mean few words. The hundred realms and thousand suchnesses examined in the next chapter lie deep within the pillar called 「subtlety of objects.」

5 · One Title Becomes a Body of Learning

How can one sutra title unfold into a body of learning? We can now answer. In this way of reading, the title is not a label but an outline. The five levels of name, substance, purport, function, and teaching question a sutra from designation through placement. The seven passes of shared explanation turn reading directly into practice. And the single character 「wondrous」 can open a map of ten subtleties and a hundred levels. This method 「explains the many sutras throughout.」 The analytical divisions from the Profound Meaning that recur in the textual studies of this edition's annotated Lotus and Golden Light are the method at work. A complete translation of the ten-fascicle Profound Meaning is a long road; this chapter is a signpost. Two chapters remain in Part Two: the hundred realms and thousand suchnesses gathered within one thought, and opening the provisional to reveal the real as the three are gathered into the one. Continue reading.

Author · Shi Huijing CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · 二〇二六 · 夏