妙法蓮華經文句 譬喻品 · 中根譬說・總譬
一遇到危急，我們最先想到的往往是大聲警告：快看，房子著火了。彷彿只要把危險說得夠清楚，人就自然知道怎樣出去。
火宅總譬卻沒有只說火。它先立長者，再說舍宅、一門、五百人、火起與三十子。火只是六項之一；本段先立長者而未先說火。順著這個次第，我們不妨追問：誰真正知道宅中的情形？誰有能力辨認每一種根機？出口在哪裡？宅中人與救度者又有什麼關係？
所以長者被寫得格外完整。祂的名與行相稱，智慧與德業具足；田能資養，宅能承託，僮僕能隨使。救度不是一個焦急的念頭，而是看得見危險、承擔得起眾生，也能隨機運用方便的能力。
我們常以為，只要自己看見真理，便已經找到了門；或者，只要把教法交給別人，對方就應當走得出去。本段卻說，單有理，還沒有通塞可言；單有教，聽見的人也未必出離。理要成為教所詮說的內容，教要成為通向理的道路，一門才真正能開。
門又有兩種作用。先由宅門離開生死的屋舍，再由車門進入大乘之車。能離開危險，不等於整條路已經完成；出了門，還要知道自己將登上什麼車、走向何處。
更刺眼的是，宅並非等到火起才開始危險。牆壁已經頹落，柱根已經腐敗，梁棟已經傾危。從外看，是三界果報的不安隱；回到一身，牆壁譬皮肉，頹落譬老朽，柱根譬兩足，腐敗譬無常，梁棟譬脊骨，傾危譬大期。火把原已存在的敗壞照亮，也把本來沒有、由無明而有的苦燃起。
五百人與三十子都在宅中，卻以不同關係被看見。五百人顯一切住眾，三十子顯曾習佛法、與長者有天性相關因緣而有出宅之機的人。佛不是只看見一群受困者；祂知道眾生各自的性欲，也知道什麼因緣能使人真正起行。
當我們急著叫別人『快離開』時，可以先回看自己：我只是看見了火，還是真的看見了人？我只是握著一套道理，還是已使它成為對方走得過的門？我只想把人推出危險，還是也準備陪他走向大車？
真正的慈悲，不只比別人更早發現火。它也把自己修成一位能知宅、能開門、能識根機的長者。
When the fire has already started, why does the scripture first devote so much space to the elder? In a crisis, our first impulse is often to shout a warning: Look—the house is on fire. We act as if describing the danger clearly enough will naturally tell people how to get out.
Yet the general parable of the burning house does not speak only of the fire. It first establishes the elder, then speaks of the house, the single gateway, the five hundred people, the fire's arising, and the thirty children. Fire is only one of six elements, and this passage establishes the elder before it speaks of the fire. Following this sequence, we may ask: Who truly knows what is happening inside the house? Who can discern every kind of capacity? Where is the way out? And what relationship joins those inside the house to the one who rescues them?
The elder is therefore portrayed with particular completeness. His name accords with his conduct, and he possesses wisdom, virtue, and work. Fields provide nourishment, a house gives support, and servants respond to commands. Rescue is not an anxious thought; it is the capacity to see the danger, bear responsibility for living beings, and employ skillful means according to their capacities.
We often assume that seeing the truth means we have already found the gateway, or that if we hand a teaching to someone, that person should be able to leave. This passage says otherwise. Principle alone has no passage or obstruction; teaching alone does not ensure that those who hear it will escape. Principle must become what the teaching explains, and the teaching must become the road leading to principle. Only then can the single gateway truly open.
The gateway also has two functions. One first leaves the house of birth-and-death through the house-gateway, then enters the Great Vehicle through the vehicle-gateway. Escaping danger does not mean the whole road is complete. Once outside, one must still know which vehicle one will board and where one is going.
More arresting still, the house did not first become dangerous when the fire arose. Its walls had already crumbled, the bases of its pillars had decayed, and its beams and rafters had tilted perilously. Seen outwardly, this is the insecurity of karmic retribution in the three realms. Brought back to one body, the walls illustrate skin and flesh; crumbling, aging and decay; the pillar bases, the two feet; rotting, impermanence; the beams and rafters, the spine; and their perilous tilt, the final term of life. Fire illuminates the deterioration already present and also ignites suffering that originally was absent but comes to be through ignorance.
The five hundred people and the thirty children are all inside the house, yet they are seen through different relationships. The five hundred people disclose all who dwell there. The thirty children disclose those who have previously trained in the Buddha-Dharma and, because their natures and desires are connected with the elder, possess the capacity to leave the house. The Buddha does not see only a crowd of trapped people. He knows the nature and desires of each being and knows which causes and conditions can truly move each one to act.
When we urgently tell others, “Get out now,” we can first look back at ourselves: Have I merely seen the fire, or have I truly seen the people? Am I merely holding a doctrine, or have I made it into a gateway they can cross? Do I only want to push them out of danger, or am I also prepared to accompany them toward the great cart?
True compassion does more than discover the fire before others. It also cultivates oneself into an elder able to know the house, open the gateway, and discern capacities.
隋天台智者大師說《妙法蓮華經文句》〔灌頂法師私記・唐天寶戊子朗和尚條倫治定本・卷端序＝鏡中沙門神逈述〕· 大正藏 T34n1718〔起 T34 0065c23〕。段/行首〔T34 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨（換頁一枚）。
〔T34 0065c23〕○從「爾時舍利弗白佛」下，第二大段，為中根譬說。文有四品：此一品正是譬喻開三顯一，〈信解〉明中根得解，〈藥草〉如來述成，〈授記〉與決，此四番皆約譬說。下四段皆約因緣，陳如明繫珠緣而領解，阿難引空王緣而獲記〔云云〕。又例法說，應有中根四眾歡喜，而今無者，一謂經家存略，二例前後可知，後文在〈法師品〉中〔云云〕。 〔T34 0066a01〕譬說文為二：一請、二答。請為三，一、自述無疑，二、述同輩有惑，三、普為四眾。自述如文。同輩是同行，懷舊故須為請。四眾是化境，今新運大悲則普為請。「佛常教化」下，執昔三教也。「而今於世尊前」下，執昔一理也。昔說三是究竟，今又說一為真實，矛盾致迷，故言「皆墮疑惑」。有人云：「身子新舊兩疑，千二百止有新疑。」今謂上根疑少，中下疑多，云何倒解？「善哉世尊」下，為四眾普請也。因緣者，前三後一之因緣也。 「爾時佛告舍利」下，第二，佛答，文為三：一、發起；二、譬喻；三、勸信。 發起為二：一抑、二引，抑令憤勇，引令速進。「我先不言」下，指上明權皆為菩提，指上顯實皆為化菩薩者，若權若實，皆入佛道無住涅槃，上已明言，云何執教迷闇不解，如此責謂是抑文也。「然舍利弗今當」下，是引接安慰。前斥既切，恐鄙懟自沈，今許其譬喻更明此義，若能解者猶稱智也。 二譬喻說長行偈頌，長行開譬合譬，開譬不同已如上說，今為二：一總、二別。總譬譬釋迦章中「今我亦如是」兩行偈略頌開權顯實也，別譬譬釋迦章中「我以佛眼觀見」四十一行半偈，廣頌開權顯實六意也。總譬有六：一、長者；二、舍宅；三、一門；四、五百人；五、火起；六、三十子。長者譬於我，我即釋迦一化之主也；火宅譬上處所，安隱對上三界不安隱也；一門譬上宣示佛道門也；五百人譬上眾生也；火起譬上對不安隱法五濁、八苦也；三十子譬上知眾生性欲三乘行人也。 長者譬為三：一、名行；二、位號；三、德業。名如賓、行如主，行有親疎、名有近遠，故舉處所以顯名行也。封疆為國最遠，宰治為邑居中，聚落是隣閭最近，長者名行遍此三處，近不見其細陋，遠但挹其高風，口無擇言、身無擇行、意無擇法，名行相稱真實大人，內合如來三業，隨智慧行稱機施化，名稱普聞德周法界也。舊以十方虛空慈悲所被處名國，三千為邑，一四天下為聚落；又大千為國，中千為邑，小千為聚落。今皆不用，《大論》六十云：「柔順忍為聚落，無生忍三菩提為城。」因果共為譬，今經直用果德為譬，實報土為國，有餘土為邑，同居土為聚落，從本垂迹，攝迹反本，名行相稱無賓主之異，彪炳洋溢遍三土也。 二、標位號。為三：一、世長者；二、出世長者；三、觀心長者。世備十德：一、姓貴；二、位高；三、大富；四、威猛；五、智深；六、年耆；七、行淨；八、禮備；九、上歎；十、下歸。姓則三皇五帝之裔，左貂右插之家，位則輔弼丞相鹽梅阿衡，富則銅陵金谷豐饒侈靡，威則嚴霜隆重不肅而成，智則胸如武庫權奇超拔，年則蒼蒼稜稜物儀所伏，行則白珪無點所行如言，禮則節度庠序世所式瞻，上則一人所敬，下則四海所歸，十德具焉名大長者。出世長者，佛從三世真如實際中生，功成道著十號無極，法財萬德悉皆具滿，十力雄猛降魔制外，一心三智無不通達，早成正覺久遠若斯，三業隨智運動無失，具佛威儀心大如海，十方種覺所共稱譽，七種方便而來依止，是名出世佛大長者。三、觀心者，觀心之智從實相出，生在佛家種性真正，三惑不起，雖未發真，是著如來衣稱寂滅忍，三諦含藏一切功德，正觀之慧降伏愛見，中道雙照權實並明，久積善根能修此觀，此觀出於七方便上，此觀觀心性名上定，則三業無過，歷緣對境威儀無失，能如此觀，是深信解相，諸佛皆歡喜。歎美持法者，天龍四部恭敬供養，下文云：「佛子住是地，即是佛受用，經行及坐臥。」既稱此人為佛，豈不名觀心長者？今以十德帖經義足，而闕一文，「國邑聚落有大長者」，三處稱譽為大，豈非姓貴？「長者」豈非位高？「衰邁」豈非耆老？「財富無量」豈非豐足？「多有田宅」即分略周贍，豈非智深？「多有僮僕」豈非勢大？「其家廣大」，豈非德行師之？「唯有一門」，豈非禮節訓人一路？「多諸人眾」即下人所歸。但闕上人所敬一文，今以大字兼之，大人所知故稱大也。 從「其年衰邁」下，三、歎德業。德有內外，內則智略，外則貲財。年高博達今古，譬佛智德；衰邁根志純熟，譬佛斷德。「財富」譬外德，「無量」總譬萬德也。「田宅」別譬也，田能養命，譬禪定資般若；宅可棲身，譬實境為智所託，略則十八空門，廣則無量空門。若論福德，無行而不修；若論智慧，無境而不照，故云「多有田宅」也。「僮僕」者，給侍使人，譬方便知見皆已具足，和光六道曲順萬機，即實智之僮僕也。二、「其家廣大」者，家宅譬上，安隱對不安隱。不安隱譬三界也，眾生穴穴皆宅三界，如來應化統而家之，故言「廣大」也。三、「唯有一門」者，譬上種種法門宣示於佛道。道場觀云：「實相理不異，慧亦宜一，出無異路故言一門。」光宅雲曰：「三界雖曠、九十雖多，論於出要唯是佛教，故言一門。」今明若單理為門，理無通塞，何門之謂？單教為門，得經者眾，何意不出？今取理為教所詮，文云「以佛教門出三界苦得涅槃證」。門又二：宅門、車門。宅者生死也，門者出要路也，此方便教之詮也。車者大乘法也，門者圓教之詮也。若宅門是車門，初三車救子，亦應即是等賜大車；若所出門非所入門，驗車宅異也。四、「五百人」者，譬上眾生，即五道也。五、「堂閣」下，譬上安隱對不安隱法五濁也。先出所燒之宅相，譬六道果報；次明能燒之火，譬八苦五濁。「堂」譬欲界，「閣」譬色、無色界，「牆壁」譬四大，「頹落」譬減損，「傾危」譬遷變，「柱根」譬命，「梁棟」譬意識，「腐敗」譬危殆不久。欲令易解，作觀釋之。堂譬身之下分，閣譬頭等上分，牆壁譬皮肉，頹落譬老朽，柱根譬兩足，腐敗譬無常，梁棟譬脊骨，傾危譬大期，周障屈曲譬大小腸，又云譬心〔云云〕。「周匝」下，明能燒之火，八苦遍在四大、四生故言「周匝」，並皆無常故云「俱時」，「炊然」譬本無今有，本無此苦，無明故有。六、「長者諸子」下，三十子，譬上知眾生性欲，曾習佛法天性相關則子義；性欲有異，若十是菩薩子，二十、三十是二乘子，此機俱得出宅故名為子，無此機是五百人。或者，支佛出沒不同，或小乘攝或中乘攝，皆言十者，悉有十智之性，故云內有智性，但無如實智性耳。上三偈先頌實、後頌權，今總譬中先實後權〔云云〕。 〔T34 0067b04〕妙法蓮華經文句卷第五上
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
一、中根譬說貫穿四品
從舍利弗向佛請說以下，進入全經第二大段：為中等根機的人以譬喻說法。這一大段含四品。〈譬喻品〉正面以譬喻開顯原先所說的三乘，而歸向一乘；〈信解品〉說中根人已經領解；〈藥草喻品〉由如來印可並申述他們的領解；〈授記品〉則為他們授予成佛的決定。四番各有作用，都循著譬說次第展開。
以下四段又都從各自的因緣說明領解或得記：陳如因繫珠的往昔因緣而領解，阿難引空王的因緣而得記，其他例子也是如此。〔云云〕
若比照前面的法說，這裡也應當有中根四眾歡喜的文字，經中現在卻沒有出現。本論提出兩種說明：一是結集經典的人從略，二是前後相照便可知道；後面的〈法師品〉中另有相應文字。〔云云〕
二、舍利弗為何再請佛說
譬說分為請與答兩部分。請說又有三層：第一，舍利弗自述已無疑惑；第二，陳述同行同輩仍有疑惑；第三，普遍為四眾請法。
舍利弗自述無疑，經文本身已經明白。同輩與他同行，心中仍執著從前所聞，所以需要由他代為請問。四眾是佛所教化的對象；舍利弗如今重新運起大悲，不只顧念一部分人，因此普遍為四眾請說。
從佛常常教化他們的話以下，表示這些人仍執著從前所聞的三種教說；從如今在世尊面前聽聞以下，表示他們又執著從前所認定的一個道理。過去聽說三乘是究竟，如今又聽說一乘才是真實；兩種理解彼此牴觸，遂使他們迷惑，所以經文說眾人都墮入疑惑。
有人解釋，舍利弗既有舊疑也有新疑，一千二百人則只有新疑。本論認為，上根人的疑惑少，中、下根人的疑惑多；若反說舍利弗兼有兩疑而一千二百人只有一疑，次序便倒過來了。
從舍利弗讚歎世尊善妙以下，是他普遍為四眾請說。所請的因緣，就是前面三種教說與後來一乘教說之間的因緣。
三、佛答先抑後引
從佛告舍利弗以下，是佛的回答。回答分三層：第一發起，第二譬喻，第三勸信。本單元先解發起。
發起又分兩支：一是抑責，二是引接。抑責使人振奮勇進，引接使人迅速前行。
從佛說自己先前豈不是已經說過以下，是指出上文所明：所有方便權說都是為了菩提，所顯的真實都是為了教化菩薩。無論權說或實說，都使人進入佛道，並非安住於涅槃便停止。上文既已明說，聽者為何仍執著教說、心中昏暗而不能理解？這一番責問就是抑責。
從佛又說如今將再以譬喻說明以下，是引接與安慰。前面的斥責很直接，佛恐怕聽者因自卑、怨懟而自行沉退，所以隨即答應再用譬喻說明此義；若能由譬喻得解，仍可稱為有智慧的人。
四、長行先開譬，總譬先立六項
第二譬喻說有長行與偈頌。長行中先展開譬喻，再以法義對合譬喻。展開譬喻的分法前面已經說過；此處再分為總譬與別譬。
總譬對應釋迦章中今佛也同樣如此的兩行偈，簡略頌說開顯三乘而歸於一乘。別譬對應釋迦章中佛以佛眼觀見眾生以下四十一行半偈，廣泛頌說開顯中的六種意義。本單元只釋總譬。
總譬有六項，依次是：一、長者；二、舍宅；三、一門；四、五百人；五、火起；六、三十子。
長者譬喻佛自稱的我，也就是釋迦在這一期教化中的主人。火宅譬喻上文所說的處所，經中的安隱正與三界不安隱相對。一門譬喻上文所說宣示佛道的門。五百人譬喻眾生。火起譬喻與不安隱相對的五濁、八苦。三十子則譬喻佛知道眾生的性情、欲求，知道其中有哪些三乘行人。
五、長者的名與行遍於國、邑、聚落
長者譬分三方面：第一名行，第二位號，第三德業。
名號像賓客，實行像主人。行實有親近與疏遠之別，名聲也有近處與遠處之分，所以經文舉出長者所在的處所，來顯示他的名與行。
有封疆的國最遠，有主宰治理的邑居中，鄰里聚居的聚落最近。長者的名與行遍及這三處：住得近的人看不見他有細小鄙陋的行為，離得遠的人也能仰慕他的高尚風範。他說話沒有可挑剔之言，身體所行沒有可挑剔之行，心意所取沒有可挑剔之法；名聲與行實相稱，才是真實的大人。
對合法義，這表示如來的口、身、意三業；如來依智慧而行，隨順根機施行教化，名聲普遍聞知，德行遍滿法界。
舊說曾有兩套配法。第一套把十方虛空中慈悲所覆及之處叫作國，把三千世界叫作邑，把一個四天下叫作聚落。第二套把大千世界叫作國，中千世界叫作邑，小千世界叫作聚落。本論說，現在都不用這兩套配法。
《大論》第六十說，柔順忍譬作聚落，無生忍與三菩提譬作城。這一說把因與果共同用作譬喻；本經此處則直接以果德作譬，以實報土為國、有餘土為邑、同居土為聚落。從根本垂現示迹，再收攝示迹而返歸根本，名與行彼此相稱，不再有賓客與主人的差異；光明盛大、內滿外溢，遍於三土。
六、世間長者具備十德
第二方面是標出長者的位號，又分三種：第一世間長者，第二出世長者，第三觀心長者。
世間的長者具備十德，依次是：一、姓氏尊貴；二、地位崇高；三、財富廣大；四、威勢勇猛；五、智慧深遠；六、年歲高耆；七、行為清淨；八、禮儀具備；九、受上位者讚歎；十、為下位者歸依。
說姓氏尊貴，是指他出自三皇五帝的後裔，是左貂右插的顯貴之家。說地位崇高，是指他居於輔弼、丞相的位置，如鹽梅調味、阿衡持平。說財富廣大，如銅陵、金谷那樣豐饒而奢盛。說威勢勇猛，如嚴霜般令人肅然，威重高隆，不必厲聲整肅便自然成就秩序。說智慧深遠，如胸中備有武庫，權變奇特而超拔。
說年歲高耆，是形貌蒼蒼、氣度稜稜，眾人都服其儀表。說行為清淨，如白珪沒有斑點，所行與所言一致。說禮儀具備，是節度有序，成為世人瞻仰的準則。向上，受一位最高者敬重；向下，為四海之人歸向。十德具足，才稱為大長者。
七、出世長者與觀心長者
出世的長者，是佛從過去、現在、未來三世的真如實際中出生。修行成就，道德彰著，十種名號無有窮極；法財與萬德全都圓滿具足。十力雄猛，能降伏魔眾、制伏外道；一心三智無不通達。佛早已成就正覺，久遠以來便是如此；身、口、意三業隨智慧運作，從不失誤。佛的威儀具足，心量廣大如海；十方一切種智者共同稱譽，七種方便行人都前來依止。這就名為出世的佛大長者。
第三是觀心長者。觀心的智慧從實相生出，因此生在佛家，種性真實端正。三種惑不生起；雖然尚未發得真證，已經披著如來之衣，與寂滅忍相應。三諦含藏一切功德；正觀的智慧能降伏愛著與見取，中道同時照見權與實，使兩面都明白。
行者久積善根，才有能力修習這種觀；此觀超出七種方便之上。以此觀照心性，名為上等的定；身、口、意三業便沒有過失，經歷種種因緣、面對種種境界，威儀也不失誤。能如此觀，就是深信解的相貌，諸佛都為之歡喜。
經中讚美受持正法的人，天、龍及四部大眾都會恭敬供養；後文又說，佛子住在這一地，就是佛所受用之處，經行、坐臥都在其中。既然稱此人為佛，觀心之人也就可以名為長者。
八、十德如何帖合經文
本論以十德帖合經文，義理已經具足，只缺少一條直接文句。
經文說國、邑、聚落中有一位大長者；三處都稱譽他為大，正可顯出姓氏尊貴。稱他長者，顯出地位崇高。說他年歲衰邁，顯出年高。說他財富無量，顯出富足。說他多有田宅，表示他的籌畫周到、見識充足，顯出智慧深遠。說他多有僮僕，顯出勢力廣大。說他的家宅廣大，顯出德行足以教導他人。說唯有一門，顯出以禮節訓導人循一條道路。說有很多人眾，顯出下位者都來歸向。
經文只缺少受上位者敬重的一句；本論以大字兼攝此義，因為大人所知，所以稱為大。
九、德業有內智與外財
從經文說其年衰邁以下，是第三方面，讚歎長者的德業。德業有內、外兩面：內在是智慧與謀略，外在是資財。
年歲高，見聞博廣，能通達古今，譬喻佛的智德；年力衰邁而根性志向已經純熟，譬喻佛的斷德。財富譬喻外在之德；無量則總括譬喻一切萬德。
田與宅是分別說明。田地能夠養活生命，譬喻禪定資助般若；宅舍可以棲身，譬喻真實境界成為智慧所依託之處。簡略說，有十八種空門；廣說，則有無量空門。若從福德說，沒有一種行是佛不曾修習的；若從智慧說，沒有一種境界是佛不能照見的，所以經文說田宅很多。
僮僕是供給、侍候、受使喚的人，譬喻佛已經具足方便知見。佛和光同塵而行於六道，曲折地隨順無量根機；這些方便知見都作真實智慧的僮僕。
十、廣大的家與唯一的門
第二項是家宅廣大。家宅對應上文安隱與不安隱的相對；不安隱譬喻三界。眾生穴穴散居，都以三界為宅，如來隨應示現，總攝眾生而以此為家，所以說家宅廣大。
第三項是唯有一門，對應上文以種種法門宣示佛道。
道場觀說，實相之理沒有差異，智慧也應當是一；出離沒有不同道路，所以稱為一門。光宅法雲說，三界雖然廣闊，九十種道路雖然眾多，若論出離的關要，只有佛的教法，所以稱為一門。
本論說，若只把理當作門，理本身沒有通與塞，便無從稱為門；若只把教法當作門，獲得經教的人很多，為何並非人人都能出離？因此，此處取理作教法所詮說的內容：人藉佛教之門出離三界之苦，而得涅槃之證。
門又分兩種：宅門與車門。宅譬喻生死，門是由宅中出去的要路，這是方便教所詮說的門。車譬喻大乘法，門是圓教所詮說的門。假使宅門就是車門，那麼最初以三車救子，也應當立刻等同後來平等賜給大車；而從宅中出去的門並不是登車所入的門，由此可驗知車與宅有別。
十一、五百人與敗壞的宅相
第四項是五百人，譬喻上文所說的眾生，也就是五道。
第五項從堂閣以下，譬喻上文與安隱相對的不安隱法，也就是五濁。此處先說被火焚燒的宅相，譬喻六道的果報；接著才說能夠焚燒的火，譬喻八苦與五濁。
先依事相解釋：堂譬喻欲界，閣譬喻色界與無色界；牆壁譬喻四大，頹落譬喻減損，傾危譬喻遷流變化；柱根譬喻生命，梁棟譬喻意識，腐敗譬喻危殆而不能長久。
為了使這些物象容易理解，本論又作觀心的解釋：堂譬喻身體下部，閣譬喻頭等上部；牆壁譬喻皮肉，頹落譬喻老朽；柱根譬喻兩足，腐敗譬喻無常；梁棟譬喻脊骨，傾危譬喻大限將至。周遭遮隔而彎曲盤繞，譬喻大腸、小腸；另有一說譬喻心。〔云云〕
十二、火為何周匝、俱時、炊然
從周匝以下，開始說能燒宅舍的火。
八苦遍在四大所成之身，也遍在四種出生形態，所以說周匝；這些身命同樣都屬無常，所以說俱時。本論以炊然說明本來沒有而如今生起：原來沒有這種苦，因無明而有。
這裡的宅相與火各有所譬。五百人所譬的是五道眾生；被燒宅相所譬的是六道果報；能燒之火所譬的是八苦、五濁。各項隨本論所指而成立。
十三、三十子與眾生的智性
第六項從長者諸子以下說三十子，對應上文佛能知道眾生不同的性情與欲求。
這些眾生過去曾經學習佛法，與佛有如天性般相關的因緣，因此稱為子。眾生的性情、欲求各不相同：若說十，是菩薩子；說二十、三十，是二乘子。這些根機都能從宅中出去，所以稱為長者之子；沒有這種出宅根機的，則屬於五百人。
另有一說，支佛有時出現、有時不出現，攝屬也不相同：有時攝在小乘，有時攝在中乘。無論如何分攝，三類都說成十，是因為都具有十智的本性；所以說內在具有智慧之性，只是還沒有如實智性。
上文三偈先頌真實，後頌方便；如今的總譬也同樣先說真實，後說方便。〔云云〕
以上至《妙法蓮華經文句》卷第五上卷尾。
I. Teaching by Parable for Those of Middling Capacity Extends through Four Chapters
Beginning with Śāriputra's request that the Buddha teach, the scripture enters its second major division: teaching through parable for those of middling capacity. This major division comprises four chapters. The Parable chapter directly uses parable to open the previously taught three vehicles and reveal the one vehicle. The Belief and Understanding chapter explains that those of middling faculties have understood. In the Medicinal Herbs chapter the Tathāgata certifies and restates their understanding. In the Prediction chapter he gives them the certainty of buddhahood. Each of the four rounds has its own function, and all unfold according to the sequence of teaching by parable.
The four passages that follow also explain understanding or receipt of a prediction through their respective causes and conditions. Kauṇḍinya understands through the past cause and condition of the sewn jewel; Ānanda receives his prediction by invoking the cause and condition of Buddha King of Emptiness; and the other examples are the same. 〔The remainder is abbreviated.〕
By comparison with the preceding Dharma-teaching, there should also be text here describing the joy of those of middling faculties in the fourfold assembly, yet it does not appear in the present scripture. The root treatise offers two explanations: first, the compilers of the scripture abbreviated it; second, it can be known by looking at what precedes and follows. Corresponding text occurs later in the Dharma Teacher chapter. 〔The remainder is abbreviated.〕
II. Why Śāriputra Again Requests the Buddha to Teach
The parable-teaching divides into two parts, request and reply. The request again has three levels: first, Śāriputra states that he is without doubt; second, he says that his fellow practitioners and peers still have doubts; third, he requests the Dharma universally for the fourfold assembly.
Śāriputra's statement that he is without doubt is already clear in the scripture itself. His peers practice together with him but remain mentally attached to what they formerly heard, and so he must ask on their behalf. The fourfold assembly is the object of the Buddha's teaching and transformation. Śāriputra has now aroused great compassion anew and does not remain concerned with only one group, and so he requests teaching universally for the fourfold assembly.
Beginning with the statement that the Buddha constantly taught and transformed them indicates that these people remain attached to the three teachings they formerly heard. Beginning with the statement that they now hear in the presence of the World-Honored One indicates that they are further attached to a single principle they had previously determined. In the past they heard that the three vehicles were ultimate; now they hear that only the one vehicle is real. The two understandings conflict with each other and cause their confusion, and so the scripture says that everyone has fallen into doubt.
Someone explains that Śāriputra had both an old and a new doubt, while the twelve hundred had only the new doubt. The root treatise holds that those of superior faculties have fewer doubts, while those of middling and inferior faculties have more. If Śāriputra is instead said to possess two doubts and the twelve hundred only one, the order is reversed.
Beginning with Śāriputra's praise of the World-Honored One's goodness and wondrousness is his universal request for the fourfold assembly. The causes and conditions requested are those between the preceding three teachings and the later one-vehicle teaching.
III. The Buddha's Reply First Rebukes, Then Draws In
Beginning with the Buddha's address to Śāriputra is the Buddha's reply. The reply has three levels: first, initiation; second, parable; third, exhortation to believe. This unit first explains the initiation.
The initiation again has two branches: first rebuking, then drawing in. Rebuke rouses people to vigorous advance; drawing in enables them to move forward quickly.
Beginning with the Buddha's statement that he had surely already spoken before points back to what was explained above: every provisional teaching through skillful means is for bodhi, while the reality revealed is entirely for teaching bodhisattvas. Whether provisional or real, the teaching causes people to enter the buddha path and does not stop with their abiding in nirvāṇa. Since this has already been clearly taught above, why do listeners still cling to the teaching's words and remain mentally darkened and unable to understand? This challenge is the rebuke.
Beginning with the Buddha's further statement that he will now again explain through a parable is the drawing-in and reassurance. The preceding rebuke is direct, and the Buddha fears that listeners may sink back on their own through self-abasement and resentment. He therefore immediately promises to explain this meaning again through a parable. If they can understand through parable, they can still be called people of wisdom.
IV. The Prose First Opens the Parable, and the General Parable First Establishes Six Elements
The second stage, parable, has prose and verse. Within the prose, the parable is first unfolded and then doctrinal meaning is correlated with it. The way of dividing the unfolded parable has already been explained above; here it is further divided into the general parable and specific parables.
The general parable corresponds to the two lines in the Śākyamuni chapter beginning with the present Buddha's being likewise, which briefly restate opening and revealing the three vehicles and leading them into the one. The specific parables correspond to the forty-one and a half lines in the Śākyamuni chapter beginning with the Buddha's seeing living beings through the buddha-eye, which extensively restate the six meanings within opening and revealing. This unit explains only the general parable.
The general parable has six elements in order: first, the elder; second, the house; third, the single gateway; fourth, the five hundred people; fifth, the arising of fire; sixth, the thirty children.
The elder illustrates the “I” by which the Buddha refers to himself, that is, Śākyamuni as master of this period of transformation. The burning house illustrates the place described above: peace in the scripture is opposed to the lack of peace in the three realms. The single gateway illustrates the gateway through which the buddha path is proclaimed and shown above. The five hundred people illustrate living beings. The arising of fire illustrates the five turbidities and eight sufferings opposed to peace. The thirty children illustrate the Buddha's knowledge of living beings' natures and desires and of which practitioners of the three vehicles are among them.
V. The Elder's Name and Conduct Pervade Country, Town, and Village
The parable of the elder divides into three aspects: first, name and conduct; second, rank and designation; third, virtue and work.
The name is like a guest, while actual conduct is like the host. Actual conduct differs according to nearness and distance, and reputation likewise has near and distant ranges. The scripture therefore raises the places where the elder is found in order to reveal his name and conduct.
A country with territorial boundaries is farthest, a governed town lies in the middle, and a village where neighbors dwell together is nearest. The elder's name and conduct pervade all three places. Those living nearby do not see even minor or base behavior in him, while those far away can still admire his lofty bearing. In speech he has no words that can be faulted; in bodily action no conduct that can be faulted; in mental intention no dharma grasped that can be faulted. Only when reputation and actual conduct correspond is he a true great person.
Applied to doctrinal meaning, this indicates the Tathāgata's three karmas of speech, body, and mind. The Tathāgata acts according to wisdom and teaches and transforms in accord with capacities. His name is universally known and his virtuous conduct fills the Dharma realm.
Old explanations had two sets of correlations. The first called the place in the empty space of the ten directions covered by compassion the country, the trichiliocosm the town, and one four-continent world a village. The second called a great-thousand world the country, a middle-thousand world the town, and a small-thousand world a village. The root treatise says that neither set is used here.
Fascicle Sixty of the Great Treatise illustrates conforming patience as a village and nonarising patience and complete awakening as a city. That explanation uses both cause and effect as parables. Here, however, the present scripture directly uses fruit-virtue as the parable: the land of true recompense is the country, the land of expedient means with remainder the town, and the land of shared habitation the village. As the Origin extends downward to manifest Trace and the Trace is gathered back to return to Origin, name and conduct correspond, and no difference remains between guest and host. Light shines greatly, full within and overflowing outward, pervading the three lands.
VI. The Worldly Elder Possesses Ten Virtues
The second aspect identifies the elder's rank and designation and further divides into three kinds: first, the worldly elder; second, the world-transcending elder; third, the elder in contemplation of the mind.
A worldly elder possesses ten virtues, in order: first, noble lineage; second, high rank; third, great wealth; fourth, commanding power; fifth, profound wisdom; sixth, advanced age; seventh, pure conduct; eighth, complete propriety; ninth, praise from those above; tenth, allegiance from those below.
Noble lineage means that he descends from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and belongs to an eminent house marked by sable at the left and an inserted ornament at the right. High rank means that he occupies the position of aide or chancellor, seasoning like salt and plum and balancing like the A-heng. Great wealth is abundance and splendor like Copper Hill and Golden Valley. Commanding power inspires solemnity like severe frost; his awesome gravity towers high, and order naturally forms without his having to raise his voice. Profound wisdom is like having an armory within one's breast, with extraordinary and surpassing adaptive skill.
Advanced age means that his appearance is hoary and his bearing sharply dignified, so everyone submits to his demeanor. Pure conduct is like a white jade tablet without a blemish: his actions accord with his words. Complete propriety means that his measures are ordered and serve as a standard contemplated by the world. Above, he is respected by the single highest person; below, the people within the four seas turn toward him. Only with all ten virtues complete is he called a great elder.
VII. The World-Transcending Elder and the Elder in Contemplation of the Mind
The world-transcending elder is the Buddha, born from the true limit of suchness throughout past, present, and future. His practice is accomplished and his virtue manifest; his ten epithets are inexhaustible. His Dharma-wealth and myriad virtues are all perfectly complete. His ten powers are mighty and can subdue the hosts of Māra and non-Buddhists; there is nothing his threefold wisdom in a single mind does not penetrate. The Buddha accomplished correct awakening long ago and has been so from the distant past. His three karmas of body, speech, and mind operate according to wisdom and never err. His bearing is complete and his capacity of mind vast as the ocean. Those possessing wisdom of all modes throughout the ten directions praise him together, and practitioners of the seven kinds of skillful means all come to rely on him. This is called the great world-transcending elder, the Buddha.
Third is the elder in contemplation of the mind. The wisdom that contemplates the mind arises from the true mark; hence one is born into the Buddha's family and one's lineage is true and upright. The three delusions do not arise. Although genuine realization has not yet been manifestly attained, one already wears the Tathāgata's robe and corresponds with the tolerance of quiescent cessation. The three truths contain all merits. The wisdom of correct contemplation can subdue craving and the grasping of views, while the middle path simultaneously illuminates provisional and real, making both sides clear.
Only after long accumulation of wholesome roots does a practitioner become able to cultivate this contemplation, which surpasses the seven kinds of skillful means. Contemplating the mind-nature in this way is called superior concentration. The three karmas of body, speech, and mind are then without fault, and dignified conduct does not err while passing through various conditions and facing various objects. Contemplating in this way is the mark of profound faith and understanding, and all buddhas rejoice in it.
The scripture praises those who uphold the True Dharma, saying that gods, dragons, and the fourfold assembly will all honor and make offerings to them. A later passage further says that the ground on which a buddha-child dwells is thereby received and used by the Buddha, who walks, sits, and lies down there. Since such a person is called a buddha, one who contemplates the mind can likewise be called an elder.
VIII. How the Ten Virtues Are Correlated with the Scripture
The root treatise correlates the ten virtues with the scripture. The meaning is complete, lacking only one direct scriptural phrase.
The scripture says that in a country, town, or village there was a great elder. All three places praise him as great, directly revealing noble lineage. Calling him an elder reveals high rank. Saying that he was advanced in years reveals age. Saying that his wealth was immeasurable reveals riches. Saying that he possessed many fields and houses indicates thorough planning and sufficient discernment, revealing profound wisdom. Saying that he possessed many servants reveals great power. Saying that his house was vast reveals virtue sufficient to teach others. Saying that there was only a single gateway reveals his use of propriety to train people to follow one path. Saying that many people were present reveals that those below all turned toward him.
The scripture lacks only a phrase saying that those above respected him. The root treatise includes this meaning within the word “great”: because great persons know him, he is called great.
IX. Virtue and Work Have Inward Wisdom and Outward Wealth
Beginning with the scripture's statement that he was advanced in years is the third aspect, praise of the elder's virtue and work. Virtue and work have inward and outward sides: inwardly there are wisdom and strategy; outwardly, material wealth.
Advanced years bring broad seeing and hearing and penetration of past and present, illustrating the Buddha's virtue of wisdom. His strength has declined with age while his nature and resolve are mature, illustrating the Buddha's virtue of severance. Wealth illustrates outward virtue; “immeasurable” generally encompasses all the myriad virtues.
Fields and houses are explained separately. Fields can sustain life and illustrate dhyāna-concentration supporting prajñā. Houses can shelter the body and illustrate the real sphere serving as the place upon which wisdom relies. Briefly stated, there are eighteen gateways of emptiness; extensively stated, there are immeasurable gateways of emptiness. In terms of merit, there is no practice the Buddha has not cultivated; in terms of wisdom, there is no sphere the Buddha cannot illuminate. Hence the scripture says that he has many fields and houses.
Servants are people who provide, attend, and carry out commands, illustrating the Buddha's complete skillful knowledge and vision. The Buddha blends his light with the dust while moving through the six paths and bends in accord with immeasurable capacities. This skillful knowledge and vision all serves as the servants of real wisdom.
X. The Vast House and the Single Gateway
The second element is the vast house. The house corresponds to the opposition between peace and lack of peace above; lack of peace illustrates the three realms. Living beings dwell scattered, each in their own den, yet all take the three realms as their house. The Tathāgata manifests in response, gathers living beings together, and makes this his house. Hence it says that the house is vast.
The third element is the single gateway, corresponding to the preceding proclamation and revelation of the buddha path through various Dharma gateways.
Daochang Guan—Huiguan of Daochang Monastery—says that the principle of the true mark does not differ, and wisdom should likewise be one; because there is no different road of escape, it is called a single gateway. Fayun of Guangzhai says that although the three realms are vast and the ninety paths numerous, when the essential means of escape is considered, only the Buddha's teaching remains; hence it is called a single gateway.
The root treatise says that if principle alone is taken as the gateway, principle itself has no passage or obstruction and so cannot be called a gateway. If the teaching alone is taken as the gateway, many people have obtained the scriptural teaching, so why have they not all escaped? This passage therefore takes principle as the content explained by the teaching. Through the gateway of the Buddha's teaching, people escape the suffering of the three realms and attain realization of nirvāṇa.
The gateway further divides into two kinds: the house-gateway and vehicle-gateway. The house illustrates birth-and-death, and the gateway is the essential road by which one leaves the house; this is the gateway explained by the skillful teaching. The vehicle illustrates the Great Vehicle Dharma, and its gate is the gateway explained by the perfect teaching. If the house-gateway were itself the vehicle-gateway, then the initial rescue of the children through three carts should immediately be identical to the later equal gift of the great cart. Yet the gateway by which they leave the house is not the gateway through which they enter the cart. From this it can be verified that vehicle and house differ.
XI. The Five Hundred People and the Deteriorating House
The fourth element is the five hundred people, illustrating the living beings described above, that is, the five paths.
The fifth element begins with the halls and galleries and illustrates the Dharma of insecurity opposed to peace above, namely the five turbidities. It first describes the characteristics of the house burned by fire, illustrating karmic retribution in the six paths; only afterward does it describe the fire capable of burning, illustrating the eight sufferings and five turbidities.
First comes an explanation through phenomena. The hall illustrates the desire realm, while the loft illustrates the form and formless realms. The walls illustrate the four great elements; crumbling illustrates decline; perilous tilting illustrates continual change. The pillar bases illustrate life; beams and rafters illustrate consciousness; rotting illustrates danger and inability to endure.
To make these objects easy to understand, the root treatise further gives an explanation through contemplating the mind. The hall illustrates the lower body and the loft the upper parts such as the head. The walls illustrate skin and flesh and their crumbling aging and decay. The pillar bases illustrate the two feet and their rotting impermanence. The beams and rafters illustrate the spine and their perilous tilt the approach of life's final limit. The surrounding partitions, bent and winding, illustrate the large and small intestines; another explanation takes them to illustrate the mind. 〔The remainder is abbreviated.〕
XII. Why the Fire Surrounds, Arises Simultaneously, and Breaks Out Suddenly
Beginning with the statement that it surrounded everything, the text begins to describe the fire capable of burning the house.
The eight sufferings pervade bodies composed of the four great elements and also pervade the four modes of birth, and so it says that the fire surrounds everything. These bodies and lives all alike belong to impermanence, and so it says that the fire arises simultaneously. The root treatise uses “breaking out suddenly” to explain something originally absent that now arises: originally this suffering did not exist, but through ignorance it comes to be.
The characteristics of the house and the fire each have their own illustration here. The five hundred people illustrate living beings in the five paths. The characteristics of the house being burned illustrate karmic retribution in the six paths. The fire capable of burning illustrates the eight sufferings and five turbidities. Each element is established according to what the root treatise indicates.
XIII. The Thirty Children and Living Beings' Nature of Wisdom
The sixth element begins with the elder's children and speaks of the thirty children, corresponding to the preceding statement that the Buddha can know living beings' differing natures and desires.
These living beings studied the Buddha-Dharma in the past and have causes and conditions connecting them with the Buddha as though by nature, and so they are called children. Living beings differ in nature and desire. If the number is ten, they are bodhisattva-children; if twenty or thirty, they are children of the two vehicles. All these capacities can leave the house and are therefore called the elder's children. Those lacking such a capacity to leave the house belong among the five hundred people.
Another explanation says that pratyekabuddhas sometimes appear and sometimes do not, and their inclusion likewise differs: sometimes they are included in the Lesser Vehicle, sometimes in the middle vehicle. However they are included, all three groups are spoken of as ten because all possess the nature of the ten knowledges. Thus it says that they inwardly possess the nature of wisdom but still lack the nature of wisdom that knows things as they really are.
The three verses above first restate the real and later the provisional; the general parable now likewise teaches the real first and the provisional later. 〔The remainder is abbreviated.〕
The foregoing extends through the colophon of the first half of Fascicle Five of the Fahua Wenju.
舍利弗的請問，並不是替自己追問一個尚未得到的答案。他已經領受佛記，心中不再疑悔；但與他同行的一千二百人，仍被先後所聞牽住。從前以為三乘是究竟，如今又聽見一乘才是真實，兩邊在心中相觸，便成疑惑。舍利弗因此重新運起大悲，從一人的領解轉身面向四眾。
佛的回答也不是立刻講故事。先有抑責：權說與實說都已指向佛道，為何仍執言迷闇？再有引接：斥責若只把人推入自責，便不能使人前進，所以佛允諾再以譬喻明義，仍以有智者相稱。這一抑一引，使譬喻從問答關係中生起；火宅不是突然插入的故事，而是佛對疑惑者既警醒、又接住的一次回答。
一、總譬六項，先立起一個完整場景
總譬只用六項：長者、舍宅、一門、五百人、火起、三十子。六項合在一起，便有了能救的人、眾生所居之處、唯一出口、宅中人眾、逼近的災難，以及長者與諸子之間的關係。
其中任何一項單獨取出，都還不能成就火宅之譬。只有宅而沒有長者，無人能知宅內根機；只有火而沒有一門，不見出離之路；只有人眾而沒有諸子，也看不見曾習佛法、性欲相關的深層關係。總譬之所以稱總，正在於六項一出，後續別譬所需的基本關係已經具備。
六項又不平列為六個靜止符號。它們由長者開始，經過宅、門、人，才到火與子：先交代誰能承擔救度，再交代眾生住在哪裡、如何出去、何事正在逼迫，以及哪些人與佛法已有相應的根性。這個次第使火宅先成為一個有主人、有住眾、有出路的世界，然後才顯出火勢的迫切。
二、為什麼長者要從名行說到德業
總譬六項之中，長者所占篇幅最長。因為經文若只說一位年老富有的人，還不足以顯出他何以能成為一化之主。於是先從名行說他在國、邑、聚落三處都名實相稱，再從位號說他具足尊貴、威勢、智慧、年德與禮行，最後從德業說他的內智與外財。
名像賓，行像主。離得近的人看不見細陋之行，離得遠的人仍能仰慕高風，表示名聲不是空傳；口、身、意三方面都無可擇之失，表示實行也不是一時表現。名與行相稱，長者才不只是被人稱大的角色，而是一位德行確能周遍遠近的人。
這一層對合如來，便成為三業隨智慧而行、稱機施化。救度眾生需要的不只是知道火起，也要能依不同根機作不同運用。長者之大，因此落在名實相稱與德周法界，不落在宅第廣闊或財物眾多本身。
三、從世間可見之德，走到佛德與觀心
位號先從世間長者說起。姓貴、位高、大富、威猛、智深、年耆、行淨、禮備、上歎、下歸，十德由家世、地位一路說到上下共同敬歸。這些都是世人可以辨認的長者形象：有來歷、有能力、有判斷，也有足以使人信服的行止。
同一長者之義隨即轉向出世。佛從真如實際中生，十號、萬德、十力、一心三智悉皆具足；早成正覺而三業無失，受十方稱譽，為七種方便所依止。世間十德所顯的是可敬可信，出世長者所顯的則是佛智、佛德與攝化眾生的圓滿。
義脈又從佛德轉入觀心。觀心之智從實相出，三惑不起，正觀之慧能伏愛見；中道雙照權實，三業歷緣對境而無失。這時長者不只在經中的遠處，也不只是一套外在德目；能如此觀，便顯深信解之相，為諸佛歡喜，亦受天龍四部恭敬。
三層在同一長者之義中自然展開：先從人間可以看見的德行建立信任，再顯如來具足的智慧與能力，最後讓這一德相回到觀心的實踐。長者由此既是譬中的人物，也是佛德的顯影，並成為行者觀心時可以發現的方向。
四、財富為何要分成田、宅、僮僕
長者的財富並非只用來表示富有。德業分成內智與外財，外財又逐物發揮：田能養命，所以譬禪定資助般若；宅能棲身，所以譬真實境界作智慧所託；僮僕能供使，所以譬方便知見隨真實智慧運作。
田、宅、僮僕各有動詞：田在資養，宅在承託，僮僕在給侍。正因作用不同，它們共同顯出長者的外德不是堆積，而是能支持智慧、安置智慧、運用智慧。福德方面，無行不修；智慧方面，無境不照，才說多有田宅。方便知見和光六道、曲順萬機，才說多有僮僕。
這也說明財富與德業為何連在一起。真正使長者有能力面向火宅眾生的，不是財物數量，而是定能資慧、境能託智、方便能隨機。無量財富在譬中是外在形象，在法義中則成為救度所需的完整資具。
五、唯一的門，為何又分宅門與車門
一門是全幅火宅圖中最緊要的轉折。道場觀取實相與智慧之不異，光宅取佛教為唯一出要；本論卻指出，只說理，理本來沒有通塞，門義無從成立；只說教，得聞教法的人很多，也不等於人人已經出離。因此，一門須在教與理的關係中成立：理是教所詮，教使理成為眾生可以由之而出的門。
門雖唯一，作用仍有宅門與車門之分。宅門是離開生死宅舍的要路，車門是進入大乘之車的門。孩子先由宅門出火宅，後來才登大車；所出的門與所入的門並非同一作用。唯一並未抹去這一前後差別，而是使出離與入乘各得其位。
這個分辨也使三車與大車只在此處顯出必要的界線：初以三車救子，後以大車等賜。總譬在這裡只借二者辨門，尚未把後續車乘的細節提前鋪滿。眼前真正被照亮的是門的雙重作用：先使人出宅，再使人入車。
六、宅正在敗壞，火又從何而起
火宅的危險有兩層。先是所燒的宅相：堂閣、牆壁、柱根、梁棟本已朽故、頹落、腐敗、傾危。再是能燒的火：八苦、五濁周遍而起。宅的敗壞顯六道果報本身的不安隱，火的燃起顯苦與濁如何逼迫其中眾生。
同一宅相先依三界與生命結構分釋：堂、閣分繫欲界與色、無色界，牆壁為四大，柱根為命，梁棟為意識；頹落、腐敗、傾危顯出減損、危殆與遷變。其後又回到一身作觀：下身如堂，上身如閣，皮肉如牆壁，兩足如柱根，脊骨如梁棟，老朽、無常與大期便在身上顯現。
事相與觀心不是兩座火宅。外看三界果報，內看一身無常，所見都是同一不安隱。火之周匝，是苦遍於四大、四生；火之俱時，是一切同歸無常；火之炊然，是本來沒有的苦由無明而有。宅不是等到火起才突然危險，火也不是與宅毫無關係的外來事件。
七、五百人與三十子同住，關係卻不相同
五百人譬五道眾生，所燒宅相又譬六道果報。前者從宅中住眾立名，後者從果報宅相立義，數目各有所指。這使眾生與所居果報彼此相關，又不混成同一項。
三十子則另從與長者的關係立名。曾經學習佛法，性情欲求與佛法相應，所以稱為子；其中十、二十、三十，隨菩薩與二乘根性而分。支佛有時攝在小乘、有時攝在中乘，本論兩途並存，但三類同有十智之性。
人眾與諸子因此不是宅中兩批互不相干的人。五百人顯眾生普遍住於其中，三十子顯其中已有出宅之機者與長者天性相關。沒有這種機，便從一般人眾說；已有曾習之因、能出之性，便從父子說。火宅的救度由此既面向所有住眾，也深知每一種根性。
八、總譬先實後權，使佛德與眾生處境相接
本段最後說，前面三偈先頌真實、後頌方便，總譬也先實後權。長者的名行、位號、德業先被充分建立；宅、門、人、火、子隨後展開，顯出佛如何面向三界中的不同根機。
先實，長者的智慧、斷德、方便與三業無失有所依據；後權，祂隨眾生的性欲與根機而施化，使人由門而出。總譬的次第，於是把佛的果德與眾生的處境接在同一座宅中。
文句記之眼
湛然先追問：中根人已聽過前面的開顯，也見舍利弗領解得記，為何仍然迷惑？他的回答是「一者久執，二者入位。」〔T34n1719 0258a08〕。一支從長久執著舊說看，一支從所得位次看，補出中根之疑何以不能只用聰鈍解釋。
對舍利弗所請的因緣，湛然說：「言因緣者，即是前三後一始末根由，故云因緣。」〔T34n1719 0258a16–0258a18〕。他把本論的前三後一展成始末根由，又由後續譬說看見輪迴、三車出宅、索三與一及等賜等心。這些是他從全段回照本單元的開展。
湛然又以「行在我已、名從他傳」〔T34n1719 0258b05〕釋名如賓、行如主；對開譬則並說可稱遍喻，也可稱非喻，因為世間並無如此一座火宅〔0258a24–0258a25〕。一面見其義可遍通，一面保留譬喻與世間實事的距離。
對國、邑、聚落，湛然指出舊釋只以虛空對三千同居之土，少了方便、實報二土〔0258b14–0258b16〕；又循從本垂迹、攝迹反本，說明名行如何遍於三土。這使本論不用舊釋的理由顯明：問題不在地域大小，而在長者果德所遍的三土是否具足。
在一門段，湛然把光宅所說的九十解作「文語從略，即九十六也。」〔T34n1719 0259b26〕，並細辨宅門、車門的問難。這個數目的展開屬於鏡釋；本論句面仍是九十，核心仍在理為教所詮。
火起一段，本論作炊然，根經作歘然；湛然先牒歘然，後文又寫欻然，再以性理本無、無明故有申說本無今有〔0260a23–0260a25〕。他並錄成論師、地論師、章安與三藏諸解，而在段末說，若廣列八苦、四生的義章，並非此文正意，只須知其義〔0260b07–0260c03〕。鏡釋在此展開異說，也替本段收住界線。字形異讀、義解展開與科段界線因而各自分明；火起雖可廣說，仍回到本段所顯的正報因果。
到三十子，湛然說「意云三乘各十而已。」〔T34n1719 0260c09〕，又把十智分列為世智、他心智、苦智、集智、滅智、道智、法智、比智、盡智、無生智〔0260c10–0260c13〕。如此，三十的內部分配與十智之性得到細說；這是《記》接續本論未逐名之處所作的申釋。
Śāriputra himself is already without doubt, so why does he ask the Buddha to speak again of a burning house? His request is not a further pursuit of an answer he has yet to obtain. He has already received the Buddha's prediction and no longer harbors doubt or regret, but the twelve hundred who practice alongside him remain caught between what they heard earlier and later. Formerly they thought the three vehicles were ultimate; now they hear that only the one vehicle is real. When the two meet within the mind, doubt arises. Śāriputra therefore arouses great compassion anew and turns from one person's understanding toward the fourfold assembly.
The Buddha's answer does not begin immediately with a story. First comes a rebuke: both the provisional and real teachings already point toward the buddha path, so why do they still cling to words and remain confused and darkened? Next comes a drawing-in: if rebuke merely drives people into self-reproach, it cannot move them forward. The Buddha therefore promises to clarify the meaning again through a parable and still addresses them as people of wisdom. This rebuke and drawing-in give rise to the parable within the relationship of question and answer. The burning house is not a story abruptly inserted, but the Buddha's answer that both awakens and receives those in doubt.
I. The Six Elements of the General Parable First Establish a Complete Scene
The general parable uses only six elements: the elder, the house, the single gateway, the five hundred people, the arising of fire, and the thirty children. Together, the six provide a person capable of rescue, the place in which living beings dwell, the sole exit, the people within the house, the approaching disaster, and the relationship between the elder and his children.
No single element taken alone can accomplish the parable of the burning house. With only a house and no elder, no one can know the capacities inside it. With only the fire and no single gateway, no path of escape can be seen. With only the multitude and no children, the deeper relationship formed through prior training in the Buddha-Dharma and corresponding natures and desires cannot be seen. The general parable is “general” precisely because once these six elements appear, the basic relationships required by the specific parables that follow are already present.
Nor are the six elements aligned as six static symbols. They begin with the elder, pass through the house, gateway, and people, and only then reach the fire and children. The text first identifies who can assume responsibility for rescue, then where living beings dwell, how they can leave, what danger presses upon them, and which people already possess capacities corresponding to the Buddha-Dharma. This sequence first forms the burning house as a world with an owner, inhabitants, and an exit, and only then reveals the urgency of the flames.
II. Why the Elder Is Explained from Name and Conduct through Virtue and Work
Of the six elements in the general parable, the elder receives the most space. If the scripture merely described an old and wealthy man, it would not yet reveal why he can be the master of an entire work of transformation. It therefore first explains through name and conduct that in country, town, and village alike his name accords with reality. It next explains through rank and designation that he possesses nobility, power, wisdom, the virtue of age, and complete propriety and conduct. Finally, it explains through virtue and work his inward wisdom and outward wealth.
Name is like a guest, while conduct is like the host. Those nearby see no flaws in his detailed actions; those far away still admire his lofty bearing, showing that his reputation is not empty transmission. The absence of any selectable fault in speech, body, or mind shows that his actual conduct is not a momentary display. Only when name accords with conduct is the elder not merely a figure whom people call great, but a person whose virtue truly reaches those near and far.
When this level is applied to the Tathāgata, it becomes the three karmas acting in accord with wisdom and the work of teaching and transformation being applied in accordance with capacities. Rescuing living beings requires not only knowing that a fire has started, but also the ability to act differently according to differing capacities. The elder's greatness thus lies in name and reality corresponding and in virtue pervading the Dharma realm, not in the mere size of his estate or quantity of his wealth.
III. From Worldly Visible Virtue to Buddha-Virtue and Contemplating the Mind
Rank and designation begin with a worldly elder. Noble lineage, high rank, great wealth, commanding power, profound wisdom, advanced age, pure conduct, complete propriety, praise from those above, and allegiance from those below: these ten virtues move from family and position through to shared reverence and allegiance above and below. They are qualities of an elder recognizable to people in the world—someone with a lineage, capability, judgment, and conduct sufficient to inspire trust.
The meaning of the same elder immediately turns toward the world-transcending. The Buddha is born from the true limit of suchness and fully possesses the ten epithets, myriad virtues, ten powers, and threefold wisdom in a single mind. Having accomplished correct awakening long ago, he is faultless in all three karmas, praised throughout the ten directions, and relied upon by the seven kinds of skillful means. The worldly ten virtues reveal someone worthy of respect and trust; the world-transcending elder reveals the completeness of buddha-wisdom, buddha-virtue, and the ability to gather and transform living beings.
The movement of meaning then turns from buddha-virtue to contemplating the mind. The wisdom of contemplating the mind arises from the true mark; the three delusions do not arise, and the wisdom of correct contemplation can subdue craving and views. The middle path illuminates both provisional and real, and the three karmas remain without error as they encounter conditions and objects. At this point the elder no longer remains only at a distance within the scripture or as a set of external virtues. Contemplating in this way reveals the mark of profound faith and understanding, brings joy to all buddhas, and receives the reverence of gods, dragons, and the fourfold assembly.
The three levels unfold naturally within the single meaning of elder: first, trust is established through virtue visible in the human world; next, the Tathāgata's complete wisdom and ability are revealed; finally, these qualities return to the practice of contemplating the mind. The elder is thereby a figure in the parable, a manifestation of buddha-virtue, and a direction practitioners can discover while contemplating the mind.
IV. Why Wealth Is Divided into Fields, Houses, and Servants
The elder's wealth does not merely indicate that he is rich. Virtue and work divide into inward wisdom and outward wealth, and the outward wealth is unfolded object by object. Fields sustain life and therefore illustrate dhyāna-concentration supporting prajñā. A house shelters the body and therefore illustrates the real sphere serving as the support of wisdom. Servants attend and carry out commands and therefore illustrate skillful knowledge and vision operating in accord with real wisdom.
Fields, houses, and servants each have their own verb: fields nourish, houses support, and servants attend. Precisely because their functions differ, together they reveal that the elder's outward virtue is not accumulation but the ability to sustain wisdom, give wisdom a place of support, and put wisdom into operation. In merit, no practice is left uncultivated; in wisdom, no sphere is left unilluminated. Hence he is said to possess many fields and houses. Skillful knowledge and vision blend their light throughout the six paths and bend in accord with myriad capacities. Hence he is said to possess many servants.
This also explains why wealth and virtuous activity are joined. What truly enables the elder to face the living beings in the burning house is not the quantity of possessions, but concentration able to support wisdom, a sphere able to hold wisdom, and skillful means able to accord with capacities. Immeasurable wealth is an outward image in the parable; in doctrinal meaning it becomes the complete resources required for rescue.
V. Why the Single Gateway Is Further Divided into the House-Gateway and Vehicle-Gateway
The single gateway is the most crucial turn in the whole image of the burning house. Daochang Guan—Huiguan of Daochang Monastery—takes the nondifference of the true mark and wisdom, while Guangzhai takes the Buddha's teaching as the sole essential means of escape. The root treatise points out, however, that if only principle is taught, principle itself has neither passage nor obstruction, and the meaning of gateway cannot be established. If only teaching is taught, many people hear the teaching, yet this does not mean they have all escaped. The single gateway must therefore be established through the relationship between teaching and principle: principle is what teaching explains, and teaching makes principle into a gateway through which living beings can leave.
Although the gateway is one, its functions still divide into the house-gateway and vehicle-gateway. The house-gateway is the essential road for leaving the house of birth-and-death; the vehicle-gateway is the gate for entering the Great Vehicle. The children first leave the burning house through the house-gateway and only afterward board the great cart. The gateway by which they leave and the gateway by which they enter do not have the same function. Singularity does not erase this earlier-and-later distinction, but allows escape and entry into the vehicle each to take its proper place.
This distinction also brings out only the necessary boundary between the three carts and the great cart here: first the children are rescued through the three carts; later the great cart is equally bestowed. At this point the general parable invokes them only to distinguish the two gateways and does not prematurely fill the passage with the details of the vehicles that follow. What is illuminated now is the gateway's double function: first enabling people to leave the house, then enabling them to enter the vehicle.
VI. The House Is Already Deteriorating—Where Does the Fire Arise?
The danger of the burning house has two levels. First are the characteristics of the house that will be burned: its halls and galleries, walls, pillar bases, beams, and rafters are already old and decayed, crumbling, rotten, and perilously tilted. Next is the fire that can burn: the eight sufferings and five turbidities arise everywhere. The house's deterioration reveals the inherent insecurity of karmic retribution in the six paths; the fire's arising reveals how suffering and turbidity press upon the living beings within.
The same characteristics of the house are first distinctly explained through the structure of the three realms and of life. Halls and lofts are separately correlated with the desire realm and the form and formless realms; walls are the four great elements, pillar bases are life, and beams and rafters are consciousness. Crumbling, rotting, and perilous tilting reveal decline, danger, and change. The explanation then returns to one body as contemplation: the lower body is like the hall, the upper body like the loft, skin and flesh like the walls, the two feet like pillar bases, and the spine like beams and rafters. Aging and decay, impermanence, and the final term of life thereby become visible in the body.
The phenomenal explanation and contemplation of the mind do not describe two burning houses. Looking outward at karmic retribution in the three realms and inward at the impermanence of one body, one sees the same insecurity. The fire surrounding everything means that suffering pervades the four great elements and four modes of birth. The fire arising simultaneously means that all alike return to impermanence. The fire's sudden arising means that suffering originally absent comes into existence through ignorance. The house does not suddenly become dangerous only when the fire starts, nor is the fire an external event unrelated to the house.
VII. The Five Hundred People and Thirty Children Live Together, but Their Relationships Differ
The five hundred people illustrate living beings in the five paths, while the characteristics of the house to be burned illustrate karmic retribution in the six paths. The former are named from those inhabiting the house; the latter derive their meaning from the house of karmic retribution. Each number has its own referent. Living beings and the retribution they inhabit are thereby related without being conflated as one item.
The thirty children, by contrast, are named from their relationship to the elder. Because they have previously studied the Buddha-Dharma and their natures and desires correspond with it, they are called children. Ten, twenty, and thirty are distributed according to the capacities of bodhisattvas and those of the two vehicles. Pratyekabuddhas are sometimes included in the Lesser Vehicle and sometimes in the middle vehicle; the root treatise preserves both routes, while all three groups share the nature of the ten knowledges.
The multitude and the children are therefore not two unrelated groups within the house. The five hundred people disclose that living beings universally dwell within it. The thirty children disclose that among them, those who already possess the capacity to leave the house are naturally related to the elder. Where this capacity is absent, they are discussed as part of the general multitude; where prior training has planted a cause and there is a nature capable of escape, they are discussed as father and children. Rescue from the burning house thus faces all inhabitants while deeply knowing every kind of capacity.
VIII. The General Parable Places the Real First and the Provisional Later, Joining Buddha-Virtue to the Condition of Living Beings
The passage concludes by saying that the preceding three verses first restate the real and later the provisional, and the general parable likewise places the real first and the provisional later. The elder's name and conduct, rank and designation, and virtue and work are first fully established. The house, gateway, people, fire, and children then unfold, revealing how the Buddha faces differing capacities within the three realms.
With the real first, the elder's wisdom, virtue of severance, skillful means, and faultlessness in the three karmas have a basis. With the provisional later, he teaches and transforms in accord with living beings' natures, desires, and capacities, enabling them to leave through the gateway. The sequence of the general parable thus joins the Buddha's fruit-virtue with the condition of living beings within a single house.
Through the Eye of the Wenjuji
Zhanran first asks: Those of middling faculties have already heard the preceding opening and revelation and have seen Śāriputra understand and receive a prediction, so why are they still confused? His answer is, “First, long-standing attachment; second, entry into a stage”〔T34n1719 0258a08〕. One branch considers their long attachment to the old teaching; the other, the stage they have attained. This supplement explains why the doubt of middling faculties cannot be reduced simply to sharpness or dullness.
Concerning the causes and conditions Śāriputra requests, Zhanran says: “‘Causes and conditions’ means precisely the originating basis from beginning to end of the earlier three and latter one; hence it speaks of causes and conditions”〔T34n1719 0258a16–0258a18〕. He unfolds the root treatise's earlier three and latter one as the originating basis from beginning to end, and from the ensuing parable-teaching sees cyclic existence, the three carts' departure from the house, the seeking of the three and the one, equal bestowal, and an impartial mind. These are developments he draws from the whole passage while looking back upon this unit.
Zhanran further explains name as guest and conduct as host through “Conduct is already present in oneself, while one's name is transmitted by others”〔T34n1719 0258b05〕. Concerning the opening of the parable, he says it can be called an all-pervading parable or a non-parable, since no such burning house exists in the world〔0258a24–0258a25〕. One view sees its meaning as universally applicable; the other preserves the distance between parable and worldly fact.
Concerning country, town, and village, Zhanran points out that the old explanation correlates only empty space with the land of ordinary beings in the trichiliocosm and omits the two lands of skillful means and real reward〔0258b14–0258b16〕. He further follows the descent from Origin into Trace and the gathering of Trace back into Origin to explain how name and conduct pervade the three lands. This makes clear why the root treatise does not use the old explanation: the issue is not geographical size, but whether the three lands pervaded by the elder's fruit-virtue are complete.
In the passage on the single gateway, Zhanran explains Guangzhai's “ninety” with “The text abbreviates the expression; it means ninety-six”〔T34n1719 0259b26〕, and finely distinguishes the challenges concerning the house-gateway and vehicle-gateway. This numerical expansion belongs to the mirror explanation. The wording of the root treatise remains ninety, and its center remains principle as that which teaching explains.
In the passage on the fire's arising, the root treatise and the root scripture use different graphs for the fire’s sudden blazing; Zhanran first cites the scripture’s graph and later writes a variant form of it, then explains “originally absent, now present” through suffering being originally absent in the principle of nature yet present because of ignorance〔0260a23–0260a25〕. He also records the explanations of the Chengshi masters, Dilun masters, Zhang'an, and Tripiṭaka masters. At the end of the passage he says that extensively listing the doctrinal divisions of the eight sufferings and four modes of birth is not the proper intent of this text; it is enough to know their meaning〔0260b07–0260c03〕. The mirror here unfolds alternative explanations while also holding the boundary of the passage. Variant graphs, the expansion of interpretation, and the sectional boundary therefore remain distinct. Although the fire's arising could be explained extensively, it returns to the causes and effects of primary recompense disclosed in this passage.
At the thirty children, Zhanran says, “Its meaning is simply that each of the three vehicles has ten”〔T34n1719 0260c09〕. He further enumerates the ten knowledges as worldly knowledge, knowledge of others' minds, knowledge of suffering, knowledge of origination, knowledge of cessation, knowledge of the path, knowledge of dharmas, comparative knowledge, knowledge of exhaustion, and knowledge of nonarising〔0260c10–0260c13〕. In this way the internal distribution of thirty and the nature of the ten knowledges receive detailed explanation. This is the Record's continuation and elaboration of what the root treatise does not enumerate by name.
考據Apparatus
本單元承〈方便品〉法說，進入〈譬喻品〉中根譬說；先釋舍利弗請說與佛答發起，再開總譬六項。嚴格本文域為《妙法蓮華經文句》卷第五上 T34n1718〔0065c23–0067b04〕；末行是卷尾題，下一卷正文不在本域。
一、科判定位
智顗先以四品標出中根譬說的次第：〈譬喻品〉開三顯一，〈信解品〉明中根得解，〈藥草喻品〉由如來述成，〈授記品〉為中根授決；又說以下四段皆約因緣。至本品正文，譬說分請、答二科；請有三支，答有三支，而本單元實際展開答中第一「發起」及第二「譬喻」的總譬部分。
| 科次 | T1718 行域 | 本論科語與內容 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 0065c23–0066a01 | 「第二大段，為中根譬說。文有四品」〔T34n1718 0065c23〕：四品及下四段因緣；又解中根四眾歡喜文何以未現。 |
| 二 | 0066a01–0066a10 | 「譬說文為二：一請、二答。請為三」〔T34n1718 0066a01〕：自述無疑、同輩有惑、普為四眾。 |
| 三 | 0066a10–0066a19 | 「第二，佛答，文為三：一、發起；二、譬喻；三、勸信」〔T34n1718 0066a11〕；本處展開發起二支：抑、引。 |
| 四 | 0066a19–0066a29 | 長行分開譬、合譬；開譬又分總、別。總譬列長者、舍宅、一門、五百人、火起、三十子六項。 |
| 五 | 0066a29–0066b15 | 長者第一「名行」：以國、邑、聚落顯其名行遠近，並錄兩套舊解及《大論》引文。 |
| 六 | 0066b15–0066c18 | 長者第二「位號」：世長者、出世長者、觀心長者；世長者十德，及以十德帖合經文。 |
| 七 | 0066c19–0066c28 | 長者第三「德業」：內智略、外貲財；分釋年、財富、田、宅、僮僕。 |
| 八 | 0066c28–0067a01 | 總譬第二，舍宅廣大。 |
| 九 | 0067a01–0067a12 | 總譬第三，唯有一門；錄道場觀、光宅兩說，再辨宅門、車門。 |
| 十 | 0067a12–0067a13 | 總譬第四，五百人；本論配作五道眾生。 |
| 十一 | 0067a13–0067a25 | 總譬第五，火起；先釋所燒宅相，再釋能燒之火，並列事釋、觀釋。 |
| 十二 | 0067a25–0067b03 | 總譬第六，三十子；辨十、二十、三十及支佛攝屬，末說十智之性與如實智性。 |
| 十三 | 0067b04 | 「妙法蓮華經文句卷第五上」〔T34n1718 0067b04〕，為卷尾題。 |
總譬中的譬與法義對合已由本論隨文指出；同品後續的別譬、三車救子與等賜大車，則自下一單元續釋。根經同一物理行在「在此宅中」後緊接長者見火，但這一後句已屬別譬，不併入本單元。
二、成立與傳本
《文句》卷首署「天台智者大師說」〔T34n1718 0060c16〕。神逈序另記「迺是灌頂法師私記，合二十卷」〔T34n1718 0001a23〕，並敘唐天寶戊子整治之事；這些是全書成立與傳承的序文材料，不是本單元卷尾的逐字題署。
本域共九個來源區塊，讀本文為二千零五十六漢字；含四枚所傳夾註〔云云〕，分在〔0065c28、0066a01、0067a22、0067b03〕。T1718 本域、T1719 對位域及根經三段均無通用字庫外字標記。三種文本各守其字形：本論作「頹落」「炊然」，根經作「隤落」「歘然」，《文句記》則有「歘然」與「欻然」。
三、所帖經文與所引
（一）根經三段
本單元所消根經由兩個完整段落與第三段的一個明定前綴組成。
舍利弗請說：
爾時舍利弗白佛言：「世尊！我今無復疑悔，親於佛前得受阿耨多羅三藐三菩提記。是諸千二百心自在者，昔住學地，佛常教化言：『我法能離生老病死，究竟涅槃。』是學無學人，亦各自以離我見及有無見等謂得涅槃；而今於世尊前聞所未聞，皆墮疑惑。善哉，世尊！願為四眾說其因緣，令離疑悔。」〔T09n0262 0012b02–0012b08〕
佛答發起〔T09n0262 0012b08–0012b13〕：
爾時佛告舍利弗：「我先不言：『諸佛世尊以種種因緣、譬喻言辭方便說法，皆為阿耨多羅三藐三菩提耶？』是諸所說，皆為化菩薩故。然，舍利弗！今當復以譬喻更明此義，諸有智者以譬喻得解。」〔T09n0262 0012b09–0012b13〕
總譬六項所據前綴：
「舍利弗！若國邑聚落有大長者，其年衰邁，財富無量，多有田宅及諸僮僕。其家廣大，唯有一門，多諸人眾，一百、二百乃至五百人，止住其中。堂閣朽故，牆壁隤落，柱根腐敗，梁棟傾危，周匝俱時歘然火起，焚燒舍宅。長者諸子，若十、二十，或至三十，在此宅中。」〔T09n0262 0012b13–0012b19〕
其後接長者見是大火從四面起、即大驚怖〔T09n0262 0012b19〕，已開別譬。總譬六項在上述前綴中依次落於長者〔0012b13〕、舍宅〔0012b15〕、一門〔0012b15〕、五百人〔0012b15〕、火起〔0012b17〕、三十子〔0012b18〕。
（二）請、答與釋迦章互文十一則
| 次 | T1718 所帖 | 現行 T0262 或來源 | 對讀 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 「爾時舍利弗白佛」〔T34n1718 0065c23〕 | 「爾時舍利弗白佛言」〔T09n0262 0012b02〕 | 本論截在「佛」，根經續「言」。 |
| 02 | 「佛常教化」〔T34n1718 0066a05〕 | 「佛常教化言」〔T09n0262 0012b04〕 | 同一入口。 |
| 03 | 「而今於世尊前」〔T34n1718 0066a05〕 | 「而今於世尊前聞所未聞」〔T09n0262 0012b07〕 | 同一入口。 |
| 04 | 「皆墮疑惑」〔T34n1718 0066a07〕 | 「皆墮疑惑」〔T09n0262 0012b07〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 05 | 「身子新舊兩疑，千二百止有新疑。」〔T34n1718 0066a08〕 | 本論所錄匿名舊說，不是根經句。 | 本論隨即反問其說。 |
| 06 | 「善哉世尊」〔T34n1718 0066a09〕 | 「善哉，世尊！」〔T09n0262 0012b07〕 | 根經另有逗號、歎號。 |
| 07 | 「爾時佛告舍利」〔T34n1718 0066a10〕 | 「爾時佛告舍利弗」〔T09n0262 0012b08〕 | 本論截在「舍利」。 |
| 08 | 「我先不言」〔T34n1718 0066a13〕 | 「我先不言」〔T09n0262 0012b09〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 09 | 「然舍利弗今當」〔T34n1718 0066a16〕 | 「然，舍利弗！今當」〔T09n0262 0012b12〕 | 字面連續，句讀有異。 |
| 10 | 「今我亦如是」〔T34n1718 0066a21〕 | 「今我亦如是，安隱眾生故，以種種法門，宣示於佛道。」〔T09n0262 0009b21–0009b22〕 | 本論以此為總譬所對的偈頌入口。 |
| 11 | 「我以佛眼觀見」〔T34n1718 0066a22〕 | 「我以佛眼觀，見六道眾生」〔T09n0262 0009b25〕 | 本論把根經句讀兩側連作帖句。 |
（三）長者、德業與一門二十三則
| 次 | T1718 所帖 | 現行今本或來源 | 對讀 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 「柔順忍為聚落，無生忍三菩提為城。」〔T34n1718 0066b11〕 | 「聚落」者，是柔順法忍，「邑」是無生法忍，「城」是阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。〔T25n1509 0526b17–0526b18〕 | 本論標《大論》六十；現行近文在卷六十六，且列聚落、邑、城三項。 |
| 13 | 「佛子住是地，即是佛受用，經行及坐臥。」〔T34n1718 0066c09〕 | 「佛子住此地，則是佛受用，常在於其中，經行及坐臥。」〔T09n0262 0046b12–0046b13〕 | 是／此、即／則有異；今本另有「常在於其中」。 |
| 14 | 「國邑聚落有大長者」〔T34n1718 0066c12〕 | 「若國邑聚落有大長者」〔T09n0262 0012b13〕 | 根經前有「若」。 |
| 15 | 「長者」〔T34n1718 0066c13〕 | 「若國邑聚落有大長者」〔T09n0262 0012b13〕 | 短詞依整句定位。 |
| 16 | 「衰邁」〔T34n1718 0066c13〕 | 「其年衰邁」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 17 | 「財富無量」〔T34n1718 0066c13〕 | 「財富無量」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 18 | 「多有田宅」〔T34n1718 0066c14〕 | 「多有田宅及諸僮僕」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 同一入口。 |
| 19 | 「多有僮僕」〔T34n1718 0066c15〕 | 根經作「多有田宅及諸僮僕」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 根經沒有相連的「多有僮僕」四字。 |
| 20 | 「其家廣大」〔T34n1718 0066c15〕 | 「其家廣大」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 21 | 「唯有一門」〔T34n1718 0066c16〕 | 「唯有一門」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 22 | 「多諸人眾」〔T34n1718 0066c17〕 | 「多諸人眾」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 23 | 「其年衰邁」〔T34n1718 0066c19〕 | 「其年衰邁」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 24 | 「財富」〔T34n1718 0066c21〕 | 「財富無量」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 短詞依整句定位。 |
| 25 | 「無量」〔T34n1718 0066c21〕 | 「財富無量」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 短詞依整句定位。 |
| 26 | 「田宅」〔T34n1718 0066c22〕 | 「多有田宅及諸僮僕」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 短詞依整句定位。 |
| 27 | 「多有田宅」〔T34n1718 0066c25〕 | 「多有田宅及諸僮僕」〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | 本論第二次帖同一經語。 |
| 28 | 「僮僕」〔T34n1718 0066c26〕 | 「諸僮僕」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 根經前有「諸」。 |
| 29 | 「其家廣大」〔T34n1718 0066c28〕 | 「其家廣大」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 本論第二次帖同一經語。 |
| 30 | 「廣大」〔T34n1718 0067a01〕 | 「其家廣大」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 短詞依整句定位。 |
| 31 | 「唯有一門」〔T34n1718 0067a01〕 | 「唯有一門」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 本論第二次帖同一經語。 |
| 32 | 「實相理不異，慧亦宜一，出無異路故言一門。」〔T34n1718 0067a03〕 | 本論明署道場觀。 | 在本地大正藏文本中未見獨立全文命中。 |
| 33 | 「三界雖曠、九十雖多，論於出要唯是佛教，故言一門。」〔T34n1718 0067a04〕 | 本論明署光宅。 | 在本地大正藏文本中未見獨立全文命中。 |
| 34 | 「以佛教門出三界苦得涅槃證」〔T34n1718 0067a07〕 | 「以佛教門出三界苦，怖畏險道，得涅槃樂。」〔T09n0262 0013c04〕 | 共同前綴到「出三界苦」；根經末作「樂」，本論作「證」。 |
道場觀、光宅兩句在指定古籍文本中未定位獨立今本，只能誌作未定位；《文句記》另有解說，並不是二家原書的獨立傳本。
（四）五百人、火宅與三十子十五則
| 次 | T1718 所帖 | 現行 T0262 | 對讀 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 「五百人」〔T34n1718 0067a13〕 | 「一百、二百乃至五百人」〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | 本論取數目終點作帖句。 |
| 36 | 「堂閣」〔T34n1718 0067a13〕 | 「堂閣朽故」〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | 同一入口。 |
| 37 | 「堂」〔T34n1718 0067a16〕 | 「堂閣朽故」〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | 事釋短詞。 |
| 38 | 「閣」〔T34n1718 0067a16〕 | 「堂閣朽故」〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | 事釋短詞。 |
| 39 | 「牆壁」〔T34n1718 0067a16〕 | 「牆壁隤落」〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 40 | 「頹落」〔T34n1718 0067a17〕 | 根經作「隤落」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 本論本身另有頹【大】／隤【甲】校記。 |
| 41 | 「傾危」〔T34n1718 0067a17〕 | 「梁棟傾危」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 42 | 「柱根」〔T34n1718 0067a17〕 | 「柱根腐敗」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 43 | 「梁棟」〔T34n1718 0067a18〕 | 「梁棟傾危」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 44 | 「腐敗」〔T34n1718 0067a18〕 | 「柱根腐敗」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 45 | 「周匝」〔T34n1718 0067a22〕 | 「周匝俱時歘然火起」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 46 | 「周匝」〔T34n1718 0067a23〕 | 「周匝俱時歘然火起」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 本論第二次帖同一經語。 |
| 47 | 「俱時」〔T34n1718 0067a24〕 | 「周匝俱時歘然火起」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 字面相同。 |
| 48 | 「炊然」〔T34n1718 0067a24〕 | 根經作「歘然」〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | 字形不同。 |
| 49 | 「長者諸子」〔T34n1718 0067a25〕 | 「長者諸子，若十、二十，或至三十」〔T09n0262 0012b18〕 | 同一入口。 |
四十九則中，重複帖句仍按本論實際出現次數分列；其中四十一則帖合本單元三段根經，兩則回指釋迦章偈頌，兩則引根經他處，一則錄匿名異說，一則引《大論》，另有道場觀、光宅各一則。
（五）《大論》與根經他處
本論原錄《大論》：
《大論》六十云〔T34n1718 0066b10〕：
「柔順忍為聚落，無生忍三菩提為城。」〔T34n1718 0066b11〕
現行《大智度論》近文：
「聚落」者，是柔順法忍，「邑」是無生法忍，「城」是阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。〔T25n1509 0526b17–0526b18〕
現行近文列聚落、邑、城三項，本論原錄壓為聚落、城二項；現行句面作柔順法忍、無生法忍、阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，本論作柔順忍、無生忍、三菩提。卷數與句面俱並存而不互改。
本論另引〈法師品〉：
「佛子住是地，即是佛受用，經行及坐臥。」〔T34n1718 0066c09〕
現行根經：
「佛子住此地，則是佛受用，常在於其中，經行及坐臥。」〔T09n0262 0046b12–0046b13〕
一門段又引後文：
「以佛教門出三界苦得涅槃證」〔T34n1718 0067a07〕
現行根經：
「以佛教門出三界苦，怖畏險道，得涅槃樂。」〔T09n0262 0013c04〕
四、文句記釋要〔鏡〕
湛然《法華文句記》的對位域為 T34n1719〔0257c20–0260c17〕。下列各項均是湛然申釋，不是《文句》原句。
| 對位 | 《文句記》釋要 |
|---|---|
| 中根何以仍迷 | 湛然自設問答，答以「一者久執，二者入位」〔T34n1719 0258a08〕。 |
| 請說因緣 | 因緣是「前三後一始末根由」〔T34n1719 0258a17〕；又從後續全段說到輪迴、三車出宅、索三與一、等賜等子等心〔0258a19–0258a21〕。 |
| 抑與引 | 釋「懟」為怨恨〔T34n1719 0258a23〕，承接本論所說斥責後再以譬喻安慰。 |
| 開譬 | 一面說「可云遍喻」〔T34n1719 0258a24〕，一面又說「亦可云非喻，世間無此火宅。」〔T34n1719 0258a25〕，並指出譬與合互有廣略。 |
| 名與行 | 以「行在我已、名從他傳」〔T34n1719 0258b05〕說明名行賓主；再解國、邑、聚落及不用舊釋之由。 |
| 世長者 | 逐釋三皇五帝、左貂右插、鹽梅阿衡、銅陵、金谷、白珪等名物〔0258c02–0258c24〕。 |
| 出世與觀心長者 | 對配兩層十德，又說「又此十德即十法成乘」〔T34n1719 0259a16〕。這一十法之說只見於鏡釋。 |
| 德業與舍宅 | 釋分略周贍、貲、十八空、田宅、僮僕、穴穴、統等難詞〔0259a25–0259b22〕。 |
| 一門 | 分疏道場觀以理為門、光宅以教為門；並釋「九十」為「文語從略，即九十六也。」〔T34n1719 0259b26〕，續辨宅門與車門。 |
| 宅相 | 申說四大應通三界，又錄有人以依正二報合譬而加辨〔0260a14–0260a22〕。 |
| 火起 | 從根經歘然、本論炊然展開「本無今有」，並錄成論師、地論師、章安、三藏諸解〔0260a23–0260b29〕。 |
| 三十子 | 釋為「意云三乘各十而已」〔T34n1719 0260c09〕，並列世、他心、苦、集、滅、道、法、比、盡、無生十智〔0260c10–0260c13〕。 |
《文句記》在火起一段先作「歘然」〔T34n1719 0260a23〕，後又作「釋欻然」〔T34n1719 0260b29〕；本論則作炊然。三種字形各繫其本。
五、諸家異釋
本論在本單元記錄七個異解事件；第一、第三事件各含兩支。
| 次 | 異釋原文 | 本論處理 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 「又例法說，應有中根四眾歡喜，而今無者，一謂經家存略，二例前後可知，後文在〈法師品〉中〔云云〕。」〔T34n1718 0065c28〕 | 並列經家存略、前後可知兩說，本處未再擇一。 |
| 二 | 有人云：「身子新舊兩疑，千二百止有新疑。」〔T34n1718 0066a08〕 | 本論接問：上根疑少，中下疑多，何以倒解。 |
| 三 | 「舊以十方虛空慈悲所被處名國，三千為邑，一四天下為聚落；又大千為國，中千為邑，小千為聚落。」〔T34n1718 0066b08〕 | 兩套國、邑、聚落配法並錄；本論明說今皆不用，轉引《大論》而立三土配法。 |
| 四 | 道場觀云：「實相理不異，慧亦宜一，出無異路故言一門。」〔T34n1718 0067a03〕 | 本論難其單取理為門：理本無通塞。 |
| 五 | 光宅雲曰：「三界雖曠、九十雖多，論於出要唯是佛教，故言一門。」〔T34n1718 0067a04〕 | 本論難其單取教為門：得經者眾，未必皆出。 |
| 六 | 「周障屈曲譬大小腸，又云譬心〔云云〕。」〔T34n1718 0067a21〕 | 觀釋中並錄大小腸、心兩種配法，本處未判取捨。 |
| 七 | 「或者，支佛出沒不同，或小乘攝或中乘攝」〔T34n1718 0067a29〕 | 支佛攝屬兩途並存；本論以皆有十智之性說明共同點。 |
《文句記》另錄多項鏡中異說與問難，如遍喻／非喻、第八識為家、九十六道來源、依正二報合譬，以及諸家對本無今有的解釋；皆屬湛然的疏釋層，不混入上表的本論七事。
六、術語
| 術語 | 本論義域 |
|---|---|
| 中根譬說 | 由譬喻開顯而使中根得解的次第；本論以四品分說其開顯、得解、述成、授決。 |
| 請三 | 舍利弗先自述無疑，再述同輩有惑，最後普為四眾請說。 |
| 答三／發起二 | 佛答分發起、譬喻、勸信；發起又分抑、引。 |
| 前三後一 | 本論用以指請說因緣；湛然再釋作始末根由。 |
| 總譬六 | 長者、舍宅、一門、五百人、火起、三十子。 |
| 長者三 | 名行、位號、德業。位號之內再分世長者、出世長者、觀心長者。 |
| 世長者十德 | 姓貴、位高、大富、威猛、智深、年耆、行淨、禮備、上歎、下歸，次序如此。 |
| 三土 | 本論以實報土為國、有餘土為邑、同居土為聚落。 |
| 田、宅、僮僕 | 田資養，譬禪定資般若；宅棲身，譬實境為智所託；僮僕供使，譬方便知見。 |
| 宅門、車門 | 宅門是出生死的要路，屬方便教之詮；車門是大乘法之門，屬圓教之詮。 |
| 五百人／五道 | 本論以五百人譬五道眾生。 |
| 所燒／能燒 | 所燒宅相譬六道果報，能燒之火譬八苦、五濁；二者分繫。 |
| 事釋／觀釋 | 堂閣至梁棟先依三界、四大、命與意識等分釋；其後再依身體上下、皮肉、兩足、脊骨等作觀釋。 |
| 三十子 | 本論作十是菩薩子，二十、三十是二乘子；又並錄支佛或攝小乘、或攝中乘。 |
| 十智之性 | 本論只說諸子皆有十智之性而無如實智性；十智逐名由《文句記》補出。 |
七、譬喻・互讀・承衍
總譬不是只取「火宅」一個圖像，而是以六項同時立起人物、處所、出口、居者、災變與親屬關係。長者先由名行、位號、德業三面建立其能知、能濟；舍宅、一門、五百人再交代眾生所居與出路；宅相敗壞和火起分別顯所燒、能燒；三十子則從曾習佛法、性欲相關說明「子」義。
同一譬段中有兩組層次須分明。其一，根經先敘譬中長者、宅、人、火、子，本論才逐項配釋其法義；後續合譬的法義不可倒作根經人物自己宣說。其二，宅相先有事釋，後有觀釋：前者以堂、閣、牆壁、柱根、梁棟等分繫三界與生命構造，後者轉就一身上下、皮肉、兩足、脊骨等觀察，並不是一張混合對照表。
《法華玄贊》以七品配七譬，列火宅為第一〔T34n1723 0734b16〕；其後又以異熟識為家、眾生同居為宅說舍宅義〔T34n1723 0745b19〕。這是另一古疏的互讀線索，與《文句》本段自身的家宅、一門、所燒與能燒之分各自成說。
本單元末段只在一門處提到初以三車救子、後等賜大車，以辨宅門、車門；三車及大車的具體鋪陳仍屬後續別譬。三十子的數目，本論依原列序作十、二十、三十；湛然再釋三乘各十，兩層並存而不互相替代。
八、校本定位
（一）T1718 嚴格域八族十處異讀
【大】為大正正文，【甲】為法隆寺本讀。兩個星號校記分別回指同族的數字校記。
| body loc | 校記識別 | 【大】 | 【甲】 | 短境 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0066a02 | 0066001 | 輩 | 背 | 述同輩有惑 |
| 0066a03 | 星號，corresp 0066001 | 輩 | 背 | 同輩是同行 |
| 0066a17 | 0066002 | 是引 | 引是 | 下，是引接安慰 |
| 0066a21 | 0066003 | 中 | 甲本缺 | 釋迦章中 |
| 0066b22 | 0066004 | 儀 | 議 | 物儀所伏 |
| 0066c14 | 0066005 | 贍 | 瞻 | 分略周贍 |
| 0067a01 | 0067001 | 統 | 繞 | 統而家之 |
| 0067a11 | 0067002 | 車門 | 門車 | 若宅門是車門 |
| 0067a17 | 0067003 | 頹 | 隤 | 頹落譬減損 |
| 0067a20 | 星號，corresp 0067003 | 頹 | 隤 | 頹落譬老朽 |
0066a21 的異本欄為空讀，不是另一個字；故記作「甲本缺」。兩個星號位置不另造新校異，而是把同一校異繫到第二次出現的字。
（二）《文句記》與根經相鄰校記
《文句記》對位域有一組：已【CB】／巳【大】〔T34n1719 0260a12〕，短境為「如來已住安隱涅槃」。
根經本單元三段有下列校記：
| loc | 【大】 | 異本 | 短境 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0012b14 | 衰邁，財富 | 衰返財遇【宮】 | 其年衰邁，財富無量 |
| 0012b17 | 隤 | 頹【博】 | 牆壁隤落 |
| 0012b17 | 周 | 週【博】 | 周匝俱時 |
| 0012b19 | 火 | 大【宮】【博】 | 長者見是大火 |
最後一組與本單元語義終點共享物理行號，但字在「在此宅中」之後，屬下一別譬入口，故另誌其相鄰位置。
（三）夾註、外字與頁錨
T1718 嚴格域四枚 inline note 均作〔云云〕，不作正文引號。T1718、T1719 對位域與 T0262 根經三段的通用字庫外字標記皆為零，故無外字對照表。
本篇所有〔loc〕均繫引句首字前最近的行標；範圍式 loc 的起點亦取引文首字實位，終點只標示所錄引域。頁錨不等同科段邊界：同一物理行可以承接前段末字與後段首字，故如根經〔0012b19〕仍須以「在此宅中」與其後「長者見是大火」的實際字序分界。
This unit follows the Dharma-teaching of the Skillful Means chapter and enters the parable-teaching for those of middling capacity in the Parable chapter. It first explains Śāriputra's request and the Buddha's initiating reply, then opens the six elements of the general parable. The strict root-treatise domain is Fahua Wenju, Fascicle Five, First Half, T34n1718〔0065c23–0067b04〕. Its final line is the fascicle colophon; the text of the next fascicle lies outside this domain.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
Zhiyi first uses four chapters to mark the sequence of the parable-teaching for those of middling capacity: the Parable chapter presents the opening the three to reveal the one; the Belief and Understanding chapter shows that those of middling capacity gain understanding; the Medicinal Herbs chapter presents the Tathāgata's confirmation; and the Bestowal of Predictions chapter gives the definitive prediction to those of middling capacity. He also says that the following four passages are all treated in terms of causes and conditions. In the body of the present chapter, the parable-teaching divides into request and reply. The request has three branches and the reply three branches, while this unit actually unfolds the first part of the reply, 「發起」 tr. “initiation,” and the general-parable portion of the second part, 「譬喻」 tr. “parable.”
| No. | T1718 Domain | Outline Language and Content in the Root Treatise |
|---|---|---|
| I | 0065c23–0066a01 | 「第二大段，為中根譬說。文有四品」 tr. “The second major division is the parable-teaching for those of middling capacity. Its text comprises four chapters”〔T34n1718 0065c23〕: the four chapters and the causes and conditions of the following four passages; it also explains why no text has yet appeared on the joy of the fourfold assembly of middling capacity. |
| II | 0066a01–0066a10 | 「譬說文為二：一請、二答。請為三」 tr. “The text of the parable-teaching divides in two: first, request; second, reply. The request divides in three”〔T34n1718 0066a01〕: personally stating freedom from doubt, stating that his companions have perplexity, and universally requesting on behalf of the fourfold assembly. |
| III | 0066a10–0066a19 | 「第二，佛答，文為三：一、發起；二、譬喻；三、勸信」 tr. “Second, the Buddha's reply. Its text divides in three: first, initiation; second, parable; third, exhortation to believe”〔T34n1718 0066a11〕. The present passage unfolds the two branches of initiation: rebuke and drawing-in. |
| IV | 0066a19–0066a29 | The prose divides into opening the parable and correlating the parable; opening the parable further divides into general and specific. The general parable lists six elements: the elder, house, single gateway, five hundred people, arising of fire, and thirty children. |
| V | 0066a29–0066b15 | The elder's first aspect, 「名行」 tr. “name and conduct”: country, town, and village reveal the reach of his name and conduct, and two sets of old explanations and a passage from the Great Treatise are recorded. |
| VI | 0066b15–0066c18 | The elder's second aspect, 「位號」 tr. “rank and designation”: worldly elder, world-transcending elder, and elder in contemplation of mind; the ten virtues of a worldly elder and the correlation of these ten virtues with the scripture. |
| VII | 0066c19–0066c28 | The elder's third aspect, 「德業」 tr. “virtue and work”: inward wisdom is abbreviated and outward wealth explained; age, wealth, fields, houses, and servants are distinguished. |
| VIII | 0066c28–0067a01 | The general parable's second element: the house is vast. |
| IX | 0067a01–0067a12 | The general parable's third element: there is only a single gateway. The views of Daochang Guan (Huiguan of Daochang Monastery) and Guangzhai are recorded, followed by a distinction between the house-gateway and vehicle-gateway. |
| X | 0067a12–0067a13 | The general parable's fourth element: the five hundred people, which the root treatise correlates with living beings of the five paths. |
| XI | 0067a13–0067a25 | The general parable's fifth element: the arising of fire. The characteristics of the house that is burned are explained first, then the fire that burns it, with both phenomenal and contemplative explanations. |
| XII | 0067a25–0067b03 | The general parable's sixth element: the thirty children. It distinguishes ten, twenty, and thirty and the inclusion of pratyekabuddhas, then speaks of the nature of the ten knowledges and the nature of wisdom that knows things as they really are. |
| XIII | 0067b04 | 「妙法蓮華經文句卷第五上」 tr. “Words and Phrases of the Sūtra of the Lotus Blossom of the Wondrous Dharma, Fascicle Five, First Half”〔T34n1718 0067b04〕, the fascicle colophon. |
The root treatise correlates the images and doctrinal meanings of the general parable as it proceeds through the text. The specific parables, the rescue of the children with the three carts, and the equal bestowal of the great cart later in the same chapter continue from the next unit. In the root scripture the same physical line proceeds directly from 「在此宅中」 tr. “within this house” to the elder seeing the fire, but this following clause already belongs to the specific parable and is not included in the present unit.
II. Formation and Transmission
The opening of the Wenju fascicle bears the attribution 「天台智者大師說」 tr. “taught by Tiantai Great Master Zhizhe”〔T34n1718 0060c16〕. Shenjiong's preface separately records 「迺是灌頂法師私記，合二十卷」 tr. “it is the private record of Dharma Master Guanding, comprising twenty fascicles”〔T34n1718 0001a23〕 and describes the recension undertaken in the wuxu year of the Tang Tianbao era. These are prefatory materials concerning the work's formation and transmission, not the verbatim attribution at the end of this unit.
The domain comprises nine source blocks and contains 2,056 Han characters in the reading text. It includes four transmitted inline notes, each reading〔云云〕, at〔0065c28, 0066a01, 0067a22, 0067b03〕. No non-Unicode gaiji markers occur in this T1718 domain, its parallel T1719 domain, or the three root-scripture passages. Each text retains its own graph forms: the root treatise reads 「頹落」 tr. “crumbling” and 「炊然」 tr. “suddenly,” the root scripture 「隤落」 tr. “crumbling” and 「歘然」 tr. “suddenly,” while the Fahua Wenjuji has both 「歘然」 tr. “suddenly” and 「欻然」 tr. “suddenly.”
III. Sutra Passages Explained and Works Cited
1. Three Root-Scripture Passages
The root scripture explained in this unit consists of two complete passages and one explicitly bounded prefix of a third.
Śāriputra's request:
爾時舍利弗白佛言：「世尊！我今無復疑悔，親於佛前得受阿耨多羅三藐三菩提記。是諸千二百心自在者，昔住學地，佛常教化言：『我法能離生老病死，究竟涅槃。』是學無學人，亦各自以離我見及有無見等謂得涅槃；而今於世尊前聞所未聞，皆墮疑惑。善哉，世尊！願為四眾說其因緣，令離疑悔。」 tr. At that time Śāriputra addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One! I now have no further doubt or regret, for in the Buddha's presence I personally received a prediction of unsurpassed complete awakening. These twelve hundred whose minds are free formerly remained at the stage of training. The Buddha constantly taught them, saying, ‘My Dharma can free one from birth, old age, illness, and death and bring one to ultimate nirvāṇa.’ Those in training and beyond training each thought that by being free of views of self and of existence and nonexistence they had attained nirvāṇa. Yet now, having heard before the World-Honored One what they had never heard, they have all fallen into perplexity. Excellent, World-Honored One! Please explain the causes and conditions to the fourfold assembly and free them from doubt and regret.”〔T09n0262 0012b02–0012b08〕
The Buddha's initiating reply〔T09n0262 0012b08–0012b13〕:
爾時佛告舍利弗：「我先不言：『諸佛世尊以種種因緣、譬喻言辭方便說法，皆為阿耨多羅三藐三菩提耶？』是諸所說，皆為化菩薩故。然，舍利弗！今當復以譬喻更明此義，諸有智者以譬喻得解。」 tr. At that time the Buddha told Śāriputra: “Did I not say before, ‘The buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, use various causes and conditions, parables, expressions, and skillful means to teach the Dharma, all for the sake of unsurpassed complete awakening’? Everything that is taught is for the sake of transforming bodhisattvas. Now then, Śāriputra, I shall clarify this meaning again through a parable. Those who possess wisdom gain understanding through parables.”〔T09n0262 0012b09–0012b13〕
The source prefix for the six elements of the general parable:
「舍利弗！若國邑聚落有大長者，其年衰邁，財富無量，多有田宅及諸僮僕。其家廣大，唯有一門，多諸人眾，一百、二百乃至五百人，止住其中。堂閣朽故，牆壁隤落，柱根腐敗，梁棟傾危，周匝俱時歘然火起，焚燒舍宅。長者諸子，若十、二十，或至三十，在此宅中。」 tr. “Śāriputra! Suppose in a country, town, or village there was a great elder, advanced in years and of immeasurable wealth, with many fields, houses, and servants. His house was vast, but had only a single gateway. Many people—one hundred, two hundred, even as many as five hundred—dwelt within it. Its halls and galleries were old and decayed, its walls crumbling, the bases of its pillars rotten, and its beams and rafters leaning dangerously. All around, at the same moment, fire suddenly broke out and burned the house. The elder's children—ten, twenty, or as many as thirty—were within this house.”〔T09n0262 0012b13–0012b19〕
The next clause says that the elder saw this great fire rising on all four sides and was greatly alarmed and afraid〔T09n0262 0012b19〕; this already opens the specific parable. Within the prefix above, the six elements of the general parable occur in order as the elder〔0012b13〕, house〔0012b15〕, single gateway〔0012b15〕, five hundred people〔0012b15〕, arising of fire〔0012b17〕, and thirty children〔0012b18〕.
2. Eleven Cross-Readings of the Request, Reply, and Śākyamuni Passage
| No. | Passage Correlated in T1718 | Present T0262 or Source | Cross-Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 「爾時舍利弗白佛」 tr. “At that time Śāriputra addressed the Buddha”〔T34n1718 0065c23〕 | 「爾時舍利弗白佛言」 tr. “At that time Śāriputra addressed the Buddha, saying”〔T09n0262 0012b02〕 | The root treatise stops at 「佛」 tr. “Buddha”; the root scripture continues with 「言」 tr. “saying.” |
| 02 | 「佛常教化」 tr. “The Buddha constantly taught and transformed them”〔T34n1718 0066a05〕 | 「佛常教化言」 tr. “The Buddha constantly taught them, saying”〔T09n0262 0012b04〕 | The same entry point. |
| 03 | 「而今於世尊前」 tr. “Yet now, before the World-Honored One”〔T34n1718 0066a05〕 | 「而今於世尊前聞所未聞」 tr. “Yet now, before the World-Honored One, having heard what they had never heard”〔T09n0262 0012b07〕 | The same entry point. |
| 04 | 「皆墮疑惑」 tr. “They have all fallen into perplexity”〔T34n1718 0066a07〕 | 「皆墮疑惑」 tr. “They have all fallen into perplexity”〔T09n0262 0012b07〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 05 | 「身子新舊兩疑，千二百止有新疑。」 tr. “Śāriputra had both old and new doubts, while the twelve hundred had only new doubt”〔T34n1718 0066a08〕 | An anonymous old explanation recorded by the root treatise, not a sentence from the root scripture. | The root treatise immediately questions this explanation. |
| 06 | 「善哉世尊」 tr. “Excellent, World-Honored One”〔T34n1718 0066a09〕 | 「善哉，世尊！」 tr. “Excellent, World-Honored One!”〔T09n0262 0012b07〕 | The root scripture also has a comma and exclamation mark. |
| 07 | 「爾時佛告舍利」 tr. “At that time the Buddha told Śāri—”〔T34n1718 0066a10〕 | 「爾時佛告舍利弗」 tr. “At that time the Buddha told Śāriputra”〔T09n0262 0012b08〕 | The root treatise stops within the name at 「舍利」 tr. “the name-fragment Śāri.” |
| 08 | 「我先不言」 tr. “Did I not say before”〔T34n1718 0066a13〕 | 「我先不言」 tr. “Did I not say before”〔T09n0262 0012b09〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 09 | 「然舍利弗今當」 tr. “Now then, Śāriputra, I shall”〔T34n1718 0066a16〕 | 「然，舍利弗！今當」 tr. “Now then, Śāriputra! I shall”〔T09n0262 0012b12〕 | The wording is continuous, with differing punctuation. |
| 10 | 「今我亦如是」 tr. “Now I too am like this”〔T34n1718 0066a21〕 | 「今我亦如是，安隱眾生故，以種種法門，宣示於佛道。」 tr. “Now I too am like this: to bring peace and security to living beings, through various Dharma gateways I proclaim and reveal the buddha path”〔T09n0262 0009b21–0009b22〕 | The root treatise takes this as the entry to the verse correlated with the general parable. |
| 11 | 「我以佛眼觀見」 tr. “With the buddha-eye I contemplate and see”〔T34n1718 0066a22〕 | 「我以佛眼觀，見六道眾生」 tr. “With the buddha-eye I contemplate and see living beings of the six paths”〔T09n0262 0009b25〕 | The root treatise joins the words on both sides of the root scripture's punctuation into one correlated phrase. |
3. Twenty-Three Cross-Readings on the Elder, Virtue and Work, and Single Gateway
| No. | Passage Correlated in T1718 | Present Text or Source | Cross-Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 「柔順忍為聚落，無生忍三菩提為城。」 tr. “Conforming patience is the village; nonarising patience and complete awakening are the city”〔T34n1718 0066b11〕 | 「聚落」 tr. “Village” means conforming patience with dharmas; 「邑」 tr. “town” means patience with the nonarising of dharmas; 「城」 tr. “city” means unsurpassed complete awakening〔T25n1509 0526b17–0526b18〕. | The root treatise identifies this as Great Treatise Fascicle Sixty. The near passage in the present text occurs in Fascicle Sixty-Six and lists village, town, and city as three items. |
| 13 | 「佛子住是地，即是佛受用，經行及坐臥。」 tr. “When a buddha-child dwells on this ground, it is thereby received and used by the Buddha for walking, sitting, and lying down”〔T34n1718 0066c09〕 | 「佛子住此地，則是佛受用，常在於其中，經行及坐臥。」 tr. “When a buddha-child dwells on this ground, the Buddha thereby receives and uses it, constantly remaining within it, walking, sitting, and lying down”〔T09n0262 0046b12–0046b13〕 | The readings differ in “this” and “thereby/then”; the present text also has 「常在於其中」 tr. “constantly remaining within it.” |
| 14 | 「國邑聚落有大長者」 tr. “In a country, town, or village there was a great elder”〔T34n1718 0066c12〕 | 「若國邑聚落有大長者」 tr. “Suppose in a country, town, or village there was a great elder”〔T09n0262 0012b13〕 | The root scripture has 「若」 tr. “the word ‘suppose’” before it. |
| 15 | 「長者」 tr. “elder”〔T34n1718 0066c13〕 | 「若國邑聚落有大長者」 tr. “Suppose in a country, town, or village there was a great elder”〔T09n0262 0012b13〕 | The short phrase is located by the full sentence. |
| 16 | 「衰邁」 tr. “advanced in years”〔T34n1718 0066c13〕 | 「其年衰邁」 tr. “advanced in years”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 17 | 「財富無量」 tr. “of immeasurable wealth”〔T34n1718 0066c13〕 | 「財富無量」 tr. “of immeasurable wealth”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 18 | 「多有田宅」 tr. “with many fields and houses”〔T34n1718 0066c14〕 | 「多有田宅及諸僮僕」 tr. “with many fields, houses, and servants”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | The same entry point. |
| 19 | 「多有僮僕」 tr. “with many servants”〔T34n1718 0066c15〕 | The root scripture reads 「多有田宅及諸僮僕」 tr. “with many fields, houses, and servants”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | The four contiguous characters 「多有僮僕」 tr. “with many servants” do not occur in the root scripture. |
| 20 | 「其家廣大」 tr. “His house was vast”〔T34n1718 0066c15〕 | 「其家廣大」 tr. “His house was vast”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 21 | 「唯有一門」 tr. “There was only a single gateway”〔T34n1718 0066c16〕 | 「唯有一門」 tr. “There was only a single gateway”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 22 | 「多諸人眾」 tr. “There were many people”〔T34n1718 0066c17〕 | 「多諸人眾」 tr. “There were many people”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 23 | 「其年衰邁」 tr. “advanced in years”〔T34n1718 0066c19〕 | 「其年衰邁」 tr. “advanced in years”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 24 | 「財富」 tr. “wealth”〔T34n1718 0066c21〕 | 「財富無量」 tr. “of immeasurable wealth”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | The short phrase is located by the full sentence. |
| 25 | 「無量」 tr. “immeasurable”〔T34n1718 0066c21〕 | 「財富無量」 tr. “of immeasurable wealth”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | The short phrase is located by the full sentence. |
| 26 | 「田宅」 tr. “fields and houses”〔T34n1718 0066c22〕 | 「多有田宅及諸僮僕」 tr. “with many fields, houses, and servants”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | The short phrase is located by the full sentence. |
| 27 | 「多有田宅」 tr. “with many fields and houses”〔T34n1718 0066c25〕 | 「多有田宅及諸僮僕」 tr. “with many fields, houses, and servants”〔T09n0262 0012b14〕 | The root treatise correlates the same scriptural phrase a second time. |
| 28 | 「僮僕」 tr. “servants”〔T34n1718 0066c26〕 | 「諸僮僕」 tr. “the servants”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | The root scripture has 「諸」 tr. “the plural marker” before it. |
| 29 | 「其家廣大」 tr. “His house was vast”〔T34n1718 0066c28〕 | 「其家廣大」 tr. “His house was vast”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | The root treatise correlates the same scriptural phrase a second time. |
| 30 | 「廣大」 tr. “vast”〔T34n1718 0067a01〕 | 「其家廣大」 tr. “His house was vast”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | The short phrase is located by the full sentence. |
| 31 | 「唯有一門」 tr. “There was only a single gateway”〔T34n1718 0067a01〕 | 「唯有一門」 tr. “There was only a single gateway”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | The root treatise correlates the same scriptural phrase a second time. |
| 32 | 「實相理不異，慧亦宜一，出無異路故言一門。」 tr. “The principle of the true mark does not differ, so wisdom too should be one; because there is no different road of exit, it says ‘a single gateway’”〔T34n1718 0067a03〕 | Explicitly attributed by the root treatise to Daochang Guan (Huiguan of Daochang Monastery). | No independent full-text match has been located in the designated local canonical texts. |
| 33 | 「三界雖曠、九十雖多，論於出要唯是佛教，故言一門。」 tr. “Though the three realms are vast and the ninety are many, when discussing the essential means of exit there is only the Buddha's teaching; therefore it says ‘a single gateway’”〔T34n1718 0067a04〕 | Explicitly attributed by the root treatise to Guangzhai. | No independent full-text match has been located in the designated local canonical texts. |
| 34 | 「以佛教門出三界苦得涅槃證」 tr. “Through the gateway of the Buddha's teaching they leave the suffering of the three realms and attain realization of nirvāṇa”〔T34n1718 0067a07〕 | 「以佛教門出三界苦，怖畏險道，得涅槃樂。」 tr. “Through the gateway of the Buddha's teaching they leave the suffering of the three realms, the fearful and dangerous road, and gain the joy of nirvāṇa”〔T09n0262 0013c04〕 | The common prefix ends at 「出三界苦」 tr. “leave the suffering of the three realms”; the root scripture ends with 「樂」 tr. “the word ‘joy,’” the root treatise with 「證」 tr. “the word ‘realization.’” |
The two sentences attributed to Daochang Guan and Guangzhai have not been located as independent present texts within the designated ancient sources and can only be recorded as unlocated. The Fahua Wenjuji gives further explanations, but these are not independent transmitted texts of the works of those two masters.
4. Fifteen Cross-Readings on the Five Hundred People, Burning House, and Thirty Children
| No. | Passage Correlated in T1718 | Present T0262 | Cross-Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 「五百人」 tr. “five hundred people”〔T34n1718 0067a13〕 | 「一百、二百乃至五百人」 tr. “one hundred, two hundred, even as many as five hundred people”〔T09n0262 0012b15〕 | The root treatise takes the final number as its correlated phrase. |
| 36 | 「堂閣」 tr. “halls and galleries”〔T34n1718 0067a13〕 | 「堂閣朽故」 tr. “Its halls and galleries were old and decayed”〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | The same entry point. |
| 37 | 「堂」 tr. “hall”〔T34n1718 0067a16〕 | 「堂閣朽故」 tr. “Its halls and galleries were old and decayed”〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | A short phrase in the phenomenal explanation. |
| 38 | 「閣」 tr. “gallery”〔T34n1718 0067a16〕 | 「堂閣朽故」 tr. “Its halls and galleries were old and decayed”〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | A short phrase in the phenomenal explanation. |
| 39 | 「牆壁」 tr. “walls”〔T34n1718 0067a16〕 | 「牆壁隤落」 tr. “its walls crumbling”〔T09n0262 0012b16〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 40 | 「頹落」 tr. “crumbling”〔T34n1718 0067a17〕 | The root scripture reads 「隤落」 tr. “crumbling”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | The root treatise itself also has the variant note 頹 [Da] / 隤 [Jia]. |
| 41 | 「傾危」 tr. “leaning dangerously”〔T34n1718 0067a17〕 | 「梁棟傾危」 tr. “its beams and rafters leaning dangerously”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 42 | 「柱根」 tr. “bases of the pillars”〔T34n1718 0067a17〕 | 「柱根腐敗」 tr. “the bases of its pillars rotten”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 43 | 「梁棟」 tr. “beams and rafters”〔T34n1718 0067a18〕 | 「梁棟傾危」 tr. “its beams and rafters leaning dangerously”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 44 | 「腐敗」 tr. “rotten”〔T34n1718 0067a18〕 | 「柱根腐敗」 tr. “the bases of its pillars rotten”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 45 | 「周匝」 tr. “all around”〔T34n1718 0067a22〕 | 「周匝俱時歘然火起」 tr. “all around, at the same moment, fire suddenly broke out”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 46 | 「周匝」 tr. “all around”〔T34n1718 0067a23〕 | 「周匝俱時歘然火起」 tr. “all around, at the same moment, fire suddenly broke out”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | The root treatise correlates the same scriptural phrase a second time. |
| 47 | 「俱時」 tr. “at the same moment”〔T34n1718 0067a24〕 | 「周匝俱時歘然火起」 tr. “all around, at the same moment, fire suddenly broke out”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | Verbatim agreement. |
| 48 | 「炊然」 tr. “suddenly”〔T34n1718 0067a24〕 | The root scripture reads 「歘然」 tr. “suddenly”〔T09n0262 0012b17〕 | The graph forms differ. |
| 49 | 「長者諸子」 tr. “the elder's children”〔T34n1718 0067a25〕 | 「長者諸子，若十、二十，或至三十」 tr. “the elder's children—ten, twenty, or as many as thirty”〔T09n0262 0012b18〕 | The same entry point. |
Among these forty-nine items, repeated correlated phrases are still listed according to the number of times they actually occur in the root treatise. Forty-one correlate with the unit's three root-scripture passages, two refer back to verses in the Śākyamuni passage, two cite other places in the root scripture, one records an anonymous alternative explanation, one cites the Great Treatise, and one each belongs to Daochang Guan and Guangzhai.
5. The Great Treatise and Other Root-Scripture Passages
The root treatise originally records the Great Treatise:
“Great Treatise Fascicle Sixty says”〔T34n1718 0066b10〕:
「柔順忍為聚落，無生忍三菩提為城。」 tr. “Conforming patience is the village; nonarising patience and complete awakening are the city.”〔T34n1718 0066b11〕
The near passage in the present Great Treatise reads:
「聚落」 tr. “Village” means conforming patience with dharmas; 「邑」 tr. “town” means patience with the nonarising of dharmas; 「城」 tr. “city” means unsurpassed complete awakening.〔T25n1509 0526b17–0526b18〕
The near passage in the present text lists village, town, and city as three items, whereas the root treatise's excerpt compresses them into village and city. The present wording has conforming patience with dharmas, patience with the nonarising of dharmas, and unsurpassed complete awakening; the root treatise reads conforming patience, nonarising patience, and complete awakening. Both the fascicle-number difference and the textual differences are retained without changing one on the basis of the other.
The root treatise also cites the Dharma Teachers chapter:
「佛子住是地，即是佛受用，經行及坐臥。」 tr. “When a buddha-child dwells on this ground, it is thereby received and used by the Buddha for walking, sitting, and lying down.”〔T34n1718 0066c09〕
The present root scripture reads:
「佛子住此地，則是佛受用，常在於其中，經行及坐臥。」 tr. “When a buddha-child dwells on this ground, the Buddha thereby receives and uses it, constantly remaining within it, walking, sitting, and lying down.”〔T09n0262 0046b12–0046b13〕
The single-gateway passage further cites a later passage:
「以佛教門出三界苦得涅槃證」 tr. “Through the gateway of the Buddha's teaching they leave the suffering of the three realms and attain realization of nirvāṇa.”〔T34n1718 0067a07〕
The present root scripture reads:
「以佛教門出三界苦，怖畏險道，得涅槃樂。」 tr. “Through the gateway of the Buddha's teaching they leave the suffering of the three realms, the fearful and dangerous road, and gain the joy of nirvāṇa.”〔T09n0262 0013c04〕
IV. Essential Explanations from the Wenjuji [the Mirror]
The corresponding domain in Zhanran's Fahua Wenjuji is T34n1719〔0257c20–0260c17〕. Every item below is Zhanran's explanatory gloss, not a sentence from the root Wenju.
| Parallel Topic | Essential Explanation in the Wenjuji |
|---|---|
| Why those of middling capacity remain deluded | Zhanran frames his own question and answer, replying with 「一者久執，二者入位」 tr. “first, long-standing attachment; second, entry into a stage”〔T34n1719 0258a08〕. |
| Request to explain the causes and conditions | The causes and conditions are 「前三後一始末根由」 tr. “the beginning-to-end basis of the first three and the last one”〔T34n1719 0258a17〕. He also describes the whole subsequent passage in terms of cyclic existence, the three carts for leaving the house, asking for the three and the one, equal bestowal, equal children, and an equal mind〔0258a19–0258a21〕. |
| Rebuke and drawing-in | He explains 「懟」 tr. “the word ‘resent’” as resentment〔T34n1719 0258a23〕, continuing the root treatise's account of rebuke followed by consolation through a parable. |
| Opening the parable | On one hand he says 「可云遍喻」 tr. “it may be called a pervasive parable”〔T34n1719 0258a24〕; on the other, 「亦可云非喻，世間無此火宅。」 tr. “it may also be called no parable, because no such burning house exists in the world”〔T34n1719 0258a25〕. He also notes differing degrees of breadth and abbreviation between parable and correlation. |
| Name and conduct | 「行在我已、名從他傳」 tr. “conduct rests in oneself; name is transmitted by others”〔T34n1719 0258b05〕 explains the host-and-guest relation of name and conduct. He then explains country, town, and village and why the old explanations are not used. |
| Worldly elder | He explains in sequence the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the sable at the left and inserted ornament at the right, salt and plum, A-heng, Copper Mountain, Golden Valley, Bai Gui, and other names and objects〔0258c02–0258c24〕. |
| World-transcending elder and elder in contemplation of mind | He correlates the ten virtues at both levels and further says 「又此十德即十法成乘」 tr. “These ten virtues are themselves the ten dharmas that bring the vehicle to completion”〔T34n1719 0259a16〕. This account of the ten dharmas appears only in the mirror explanation. |
| Virtue and work; house | He explains difficult terms concerning comprehensive sufficiency in details, resources, the eighteen emptinesses, fields and houses, servants, “numerous,” and “gather together,” among others〔0259a25–0259b22〕. |
| Single gateway | He distinguishes Daochang Guan's use of principle as the gateway from Guangzhai's use of teaching as the gateway. He also explains 「九十」 tr. “the number ‘ninety’” with 「文語從略，即九十六也。」 tr. “The wording is abbreviated; it means ninety-six”〔T34n1719 0259b26〕, then continues by distinguishing the house-gateway and vehicle-gateway. |
| Characteristics of the house | He explains that the four great elements should apply throughout the three realms and records someone else's correlation of the parable with dependent and primary recompense, followed by his own further distinction〔0260a14–0260a22〕. |
| Arising of fire | Beginning from “suddenly” in the root scripture and the alternate graph in the root treatise, he unfolds 「本無今有」 tr. “formerly nonexistent, now existent” and records explanations by the Chengshi masters, Dilun masters, Zhang'an, Tripiṭaka masters, and others〔0260a23–0260b29〕. |
| Thirty children | He explains it as 「意云三乘各十而已」 tr. “The meaning is simply that each of the three vehicles has ten”〔T34n1719 0260c09〕 and lists the ten knowledges: worldly, others' minds, suffering, origination, cessation, path, dharma, comparison, exhaustion, and nonarising〔0260c10–0260c13〕. |
In the passage on the arising of fire, the Wenjuji first uses 「歘然」 tr. “suddenly”〔T34n1719 0260a23〕 and later 「釋欻然」 tr. “explaining ‘suddenly’”〔T34n1719 0260b29〕, whereas the root treatise uses 炊然. Each of the three graph forms remains tied to its own text.
V. Explanations of Various Masters
The root treatise records seven alternative-explanation events in this unit; the first and third events each contain two branches.
| No. | Wording of the Alternative Explanation | Treatment in the Root Treatise |
|---|---|---|
| I | 「又例法說，應有中根四眾歡喜，而今無者，一謂經家存略，二例前後可知，後文在〈法師品〉中〔云云〕。」 tr. “Again, following the example of the Dharma-teaching, there should be joy among the fourfold assembly of middling capacity. As it is absent here, one explanation says the compiler of the scripture abbreviated it; a second says it can be known by analogy with what precedes and follows, the later text occurring in the Dharma Teachers chapter, and so forth”〔T34n1718 0065c28〕. | The explanations of abbreviation by the compiler and inference from what precedes and follows are both listed; no further choice is made here. |
| II | Someone says: 「身子新舊兩疑，千二百止有新疑。」 tr. “Śāriputra had both old and new doubts, while the twelve hundred had only new doubt”〔T34n1718 0066a08〕. | The root treatise next asks: if those of superior capacity had fewer doubts while those of middling and lesser capacity had more, why explain it in reverse? |
| III | 「舊以十方虛空慈悲所被處名國，三千為邑，一四天下為聚落；又大千為國，中千為邑，小千為聚落。」 tr. “An old explanation called the place throughout the empty space of the ten directions reached by compassion the country, the trichiliocosm the town, and one set of four continents the village. Another took the great-thousand as the country, the middle-thousand as the town, and the small-thousand as the village”〔T34n1718 0066b08〕. | Two mappings of country, town, and village are recorded. The root treatise explicitly says neither is now used, then cites the Great Treatise and establishes the mapping to three lands. |
| IV | Daochang Guan (Huiguan of Daochang Monastery) says: 「實相理不異，慧亦宜一，出無異路故言一門。」 tr. “The principle of the true mark does not differ, so wisdom too should be one; because there is no different road of exit, it says ‘a single gateway’”〔T34n1718 0067a03〕. | The root treatise challenges taking principle alone as the gateway: principle itself has neither passage nor obstruction. |
| V | Guangzhai Fayun says: 「三界雖曠、九十雖多，論於出要唯是佛教，故言一門。」 tr. “Though the three realms are vast and the ninety are many, when discussing the essential means of exit there is only the Buddha's teaching; therefore it says ‘a single gateway’”〔T34n1718 0067a04〕. | The root treatise challenges taking teaching alone as the gateway: many receive the scripture, but they have not necessarily all escaped. |
| VI | 「周障屈曲譬大小腸，又云譬心〔云云〕。」 tr. “Its encircling obstructions and bends illustrate the large and small intestines; another explanation says they illustrate the mind, and so forth”〔T34n1718 0067a21〕. | The contemplative explanation records both correlations, to the large and small intestines and to the mind, without deciding between them here. |
| VII | 「或者，支佛出沒不同，或小乘攝或中乘攝」 tr. “Alternatively, because pratyekabuddhas appear and disappear differently, they may be included in the Lesser Vehicle or included in the middle vehicle”〔T34n1718 0067a29〕. | Both modes of including pratyekabuddhas are retained. The root treatise explains their common point by saying that all have the nature of the ten knowledges. |
The Wenjuji records additional alternative views and questions at the mirror level, including pervasive parable/no parable, the eighth consciousness as the house, the source of the ninety-six paths, the correlation with dependent and primary recompense, and various masters' explanations of “formerly nonexistent, now existent.” All belong to Zhanran's commentarial layer and are not mixed into the seven root-treatise events above.
VI. Terminology
| Term | Meaning in the Root Treatise |
|---|---|
| 中根譬說 · parable-teaching for those of middling capacity | The sequence in which a parable opens and reveals the teaching so that those of middling capacity gain understanding. The root treatise distributes its opening and revelation, gaining of understanding, confirmation, and definitive prediction across four chapters. |
| 請三 · three branches of the request | Śāriputra first personally states freedom from doubt, then states that his companions have perplexity, and finally requests universally on behalf of the fourfold assembly. |
| 答三／發起二 · three branches of the reply / two branches of initiation | The Buddha's reply divides into initiation, parable, and exhortation to believe; initiation further divides into rebuke and drawing-in. |
| 前三後一 · first three and last one | The root treatise uses this to indicate the causes and conditions requested; Zhanran further explains it as the beginning-to-end basis. |
| 總譬六 · six elements of the general parable | The elder, house, single gateway, five hundred people, arising of fire, and thirty children. |
| 長者三 · three aspects of the elder | Name and conduct, rank and designation, and virtue and work. Rank and designation further divides into the worldly elder, world-transcending elder, and elder in contemplation of mind. |
| 世長者十德 · ten virtues of the worldly elder | Noble lineage, high rank, great wealth, commanding power, profound wisdom, advanced age, pure conduct, complete propriety, praise from those above, and allegiance from those below, in that order. |
| 三土 · three lands | The root treatise takes the land of true recompense as country, the land of expedient means with remainder as town, and the land of shared habitation as village. |
| 田、宅、僮僕 · fields, houses, and servants | Fields provide nourishment and illustrate dhyāna-concentration supporting prajñā; a house shelters the body and illustrates the real sphere as wisdom's support; servants attend and carry out commands and illustrate skillful knowledge and vision. |
| 宅門、車門 · house-gateway and vehicle-gateway | The house-gateway is the essential road for leaving birth-and-death and belongs to the expression of the skillful teaching; the vehicle-gateway is the gateway of the Great Vehicle and belongs to the expression of the perfect teaching. |
| 五百人／五道 · five hundred people / five paths | The root treatise uses the five hundred people to illustrate living beings of the five paths. |
| 所燒／能燒 · what is burned / what burns | The characteristics of the house that is burned illustrate the recompense of the six paths; the fire that burns illustrates the eight sufferings and five turbidities. The two remain distinct. |
| 事釋／觀釋 · phenomenal explanation / contemplative explanation | The passage from halls and galleries through beams and rafters is first distinguished according to the three realms, four great elements, life faculty, consciousness, and so forth; it is then explained contemplatively in terms of the upper and lower body, skin and flesh, two feet, spine, and other features. |
| 三十子 · thirty children | The root treatise takes ten as bodhisattva children and twenty and thirty as children of the two vehicles. It also records both inclusion of pratyekabuddhas in the Lesser Vehicle and their inclusion in the middle vehicle. |
| 十智之性 · nature of the ten knowledges | The root treatise says only that all the children possess the nature of the ten knowledges but not the nature of wisdom that knows things as they really are. The individual names of the ten are supplied by the Wenjuji. |
VII. Similes · Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
The general parable does not take only the single image of a 「火宅」 tr. “burning house.” Its six elements simultaneously establish a person, place, exit, inhabitants, disaster, and family relationship. The elder is first established through the three aspects of name and conduct, rank and designation, and virtue and work as one capable of knowing and rescuing. The house, single gateway, and five hundred people then identify where living beings dwell and their path of escape. The house's deterioration and the arising of fire respectively reveal what is burned and what burns. The thirty children, finally, explain the meaning of 「子」 tr. “the relationship of children” through prior training in the Buddha-Dharma and corresponding natures and desires.
Two sets of levels within the same parable passage must be kept distinct. First, the root scripture narrates the elder, house, people, fire, and children of the parable, after which the root treatise correlates each item with its doctrinal meaning; the doctrinal meanings in the later correlation may not be put backward into the mouths of the figures in the root scripture. Second, the characteristics of the house first receive a phenomenal explanation and then a contemplative explanation. The former correlates hall, gallery, walls, pillar bases, beams, rafters, and other features with the three realms and the structure of life; the latter turns to contemplate the upper and lower body, skin and flesh, two feet, spine, and so forth. They are not a single blended correspondence table.
The Fahua Xuanzan correlates seven chapters with seven parables and lists the burning house first〔T34n1723 0734b16〕. Later, it explains house by taking the maturation consciousness as “family” and living beings dwelling together as “house”〔T34n1723 0745b19〕. This supplies a cross-reading from another ancient commentary and remains distinct from this Wenju passage's own accounts of family and house, single gateway, what is burned, and what burns.
At the end of this unit, the single-gateway passage mentions only that the children are first rescued with the three carts and later equally bestowed the great cart, in order to distinguish the house-gateway from the vehicle-gateway. The detailed unfolding of the three carts and great cart still belongs to the specific parables that follow. The root treatise preserves the thirty children's listed sequence of ten, twenty, and thirty; Zhanran further explains this as ten for each of the three vehicles. The two levels coexist without replacing one another.
VIII. Placement of the Editions
1. Eight Variant Families at Ten Locations in the Strict T1718 Domain
[Da] is the Taishō base text and [Jia] the reading of the Hōryūji witness. The two asterisk notes respectively refer back to the numbered note in the same family.
| body loc | Note ID | [Da] | [Jia] | Short Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0066a02 | 0066001 | 輩 | 背 | stating that his companions have perplexity |
| 0066a03 | asterisk, corresp 0066001 | 輩 | 背 | companions are those practicing together |
| 0066a17 | 0066002 | 是引 | 引是 | below, this is the drawing-in that consoles |
| 0066a21 | 0066003 | 中 | absent in Jia | in the Śākyamuni passage |
| 0066b22 | 0066004 | 儀 | 議 | beings and deportment submit |
| 0066c14 | 0066005 | 贍 | 瞻 | comprehensive sufficiency in details |
| 0067a01 | 0067001 | 統 | 繞 | gathering them together as his household |
| 0067a11 | 0067002 | 車門 | 門車 | if the house-gateway is the vehicle-gateway |
| 0067a17 | 0067003 | 頹 | 隤 | crumbling illustrates diminution |
| 0067a20 | asterisk, corresp 0067003 | 頹 | 隤 | crumbling illustrates aging and decay |
The variant field for Jia at 0066a21 is an empty reading, not another graph, and is therefore recorded as 「甲本缺」 tr. “absent in Jia.” The two asterisk locations do not create new variants; each ties the second occurrence of a graph to the same variant family.
2. Adjacent Apparatus in the Wenjuji and Root Scripture
The parallel Wenjuji domain has one pair: 已 [CB] / 巳 [Da]〔T34n1719 0260a12〕, in the short context 「如來已住安隱涅槃」 tr. “the Tathāgata already abides in peaceful and secure nirvāṇa.”
The three root-scripture passages in this unit have the following variant notes:
| loc | [Da] | Other Witness | Short Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0012b14 | 衰邁，財富 | 衰返財遇 [Gong] | advanced in years and of immeasurable wealth |
| 0012b17 | 隤 | 頹 [Bo] | the walls crumbling |
| 0012b17 | 周 | 週 [Bo] | all around, at the same moment |
| 0012b19 | 火 | 大 [Gong] [Bo] | the elder saw this great fire |
The last variant shares a physical line number with the semantic endpoint of this unit, but its graph occurs after 「在此宅中」 tr. “within this house” and belongs to the opening of the next specific parable. It is therefore recorded separately as an adjacent location.
3. Inline Notes, Gaiji, and Page Anchors
All four inline notes in the strict T1718 domain read〔云云〕 and are not treated as quotations in the body text. The number of non-Unicode gaiji markers in the T1718 domain, the parallel T1719 domain, and the three T0262 root-scripture passages is zero; no gaiji comparison table is therefore required.
Every〔loc〕 in this apparatus is attached to the nearest line marker preceding the first graph of the cited passage. For a range-style location, the beginning likewise records the actual position of the citation's first graph, while the endpoint marks only the cited domain. A page anchor is not identical with a section boundary: one physical line can contain the ending graphs of one passage and the opening graphs of the next. Thus root-scripture line〔0012b19〕 must still be divided according to the actual sequence between 「在此宅中」 tr. “within this house” and the following 「長者見是大火」 tr. “the elder saw this great fire.”