妙法蓮華經文句 信解品 · 領付家業譬・合譬
窮子早已不在門外。
他可以自由出入長者之家，知道金銀珍寶，清楚倉庫裡有多少、該取什麼、該給什麼。長者甚至把家業交給他料理；他也真的受命，沒有漏失。
可是，經文偏偏在這裡添上一句：他連一餐都沒有希求取得的意思。
這是整段最深的落差。不是他不知道，不是他做不到，也不是父親不信任他。他能知、能說、能為菩薩開示，卻一直把自己理解成替別人辦事的人。
『我只是受命。』
『我只是借著父親的力量說。』
『這些家業雖從我手中出入，終究不是我的一分。』
因此，長者沒有立刻把一切推到他面前。先給一天的工價，使他不再恐懼；再與他彼此信任，使他出入無難；再命他領知家事，使他在已經接觸的大法中漸生欣樂。父親一路沒有吝惜，兒子的心卻需要從下劣、自足與無分之感中漸漸通泰。
到了正式付業，長者所做的也不只是交出一張財物清單。
他召集親族、國王、大臣與眾人，當眾說明：這是我的兒子，是我所生；他從前逃走，我多年尋找；今日所有一切，都是兒子所有；先前經他手中出入的，也都是他所知道的。
原來，兒子早已熟悉家業，卻要等父親公開說出父子關係，才知道『我所知道的』也是『我所應得的』。
所以他的歡喜叫作不求自得。
在三藏中，他本來不求；在方等中，他因小乘受呵而覺得大法無望；在般若中，他已能領知，仍認為不是己分。他不是辛苦追逐一個早已想要的寶藏，而是在從未敢想自己有分之時，忽然聽見：如佛子所應得者，現在都已得到。
合譬最後把責任說得很清楚。佛沒有吝惜智慧，沒有把大法藏起來不給；昔日沒有早付，只因二乘人樂著小法，當時尚未能承受。佛以方便力隨他們所樂而說，卻始終以大乘教化。
這使『寶藏自然來到』不是偶然的幸運，也不是佛忽然改變心意。父親早已知道這是自己的兒子；兒子早已在家業之中。今日真正改變的，是那句盤踞已久的自我判定——『我沒有這一分。』
我們也可能把已經聽聞、已經實行、已經替人說出的法，長久安置在『那是別人的事』裡。這個譬喻沒有抹去窮子的遲疑：下劣之心尚未捨，便照實說尚未捨；大志要到心意漸已通泰時才成就。四大弟子最大的震動，恰恰發生在佛為他們說破：你們昔來真是佛子。
有時，最難跨過的並不是家門。
是明明已在家中，仍不敢相信自己是子。
The poor son is no longer outside the gate.
He can freely enter and leave the elder’s house. He knows its gold, silver, and precious things; he knows how much the storehouses contain, what should be taken, and what should be given. The elder even places the family estate in his charge, and he truly carries out the commission without loss.
Yet precisely here the scripture adds a sentence: he has no thought of seeking so much as a single meal.
This is the passage’s deepest disjunction. It is not that he does not know, cannot act, or lacks the father’s trust. He can know, speak, and explain the Dharma to bodhisattvas, yet he continues to understand himself as someone merely conducting another person’s business.
“I am only carrying out a commission.”
“I speak only by relying on the father’s power.”
“Although this estate passes in and out through my hands, no share of it is ultimately mine.”
The elder therefore does not immediately place everything before him. First he gives him a day’s wages so that he no longer fears. Then mutual trust allows him to enter and leave without difficulty. Then he commands him to understand and manage the household affairs, so that within the great Dharma he has already encountered he gradually develops joy and delight. The father is never withholding along this path, but the son’s mind must gradually open beyond baseness, contentment with little, and the feeling that he has no share.
When the time comes formally to entrust the estate, the elder does more than hand over an inventory of possessions.
He summons relatives, the king, ministers, and the people and publicly declares: this is my son, born of me. He once fled, and I searched for him for many years. Everything I possess today belongs to my son. Whatever formerly passed in and out through his hands is also known to him.
The son has long been familiar with the estate, yet only when the father publicly declares their relation does he understand that “what I know” is also “what I should receive.”
His joy is therefore called gaining without seeking.
Under the Tripiṭaka teaching he originally did not seek it. Under the Vaipulya teaching, being rebuked on account of the Lesser made him think the great Dharma beyond his hope. Under the Prajñā teaching, he could already understand and manage it, yet still believed it was not his share. He does not labor after a treasure he has always desired. Just when he has never dared imagine that he has a share, he suddenly hears: what a buddha-son should receive has now all been received.
At the end, the application of the parable states responsibility clearly. The Buddha did not begrudge His wisdom or hide away the great Dharma. He did not entrust it earlier only because practitioners of the two vehicles delighted in the Lesser and could not yet bear it. By the power of skillful means, the Buddha taught in accordance with what they delighted in, yet He was always teaching them through the Great Vehicle.
Thus the treasure’s “coming of itself” is neither accidental good fortune nor a sudden change in the Buddha’s intention. The father has always known this is his son; the son has long been within the family estate. What truly changes today is the long-entrenched judgment of self: “I have no share in this.”
We too may place a Dharma we have already heard, practiced, and explained to others for a long time under the heading “that is someone else’s affair.” This parable does not erase the poor son’s hesitation. While his inferior mind has not yet been relinquished, it says truthfully that it has not been relinquished; only when his mind gradually opens does the great aspiration mature. The greatest shock for the four great disciples comes precisely when the Buddha makes clear to them: throughout the past, you truly have been buddha-sons.
Sometimes the hardest threshold is not the doorway of the house.
It is already being within the house and still not daring to believe oneself a son.
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 0086a23〕。段/行首〔T34 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨（換頁一枚）。
〔T34 0086a23〕「過是已後」下，是第四領付家業譬，近領火宅等賜大車，遠領法說中無上道。就此為二：初領，後付。又各為二，共領火宅等賜車中四意，亦是〈方便品〉顯實四意。初章二者：一、心相體信，即領上免難；二、委以家業，漸以通泰成就大志，即領上索車。後章二者：一、付家業，即領等賜大車；二、得付欣悅，即領上得車歡喜也。由心相體信故得委以家業，家業既諳悉備知見則成就大志，由意志通泰故得付與家業，與家業故是則歡喜，由有遠近，若不先教傭作與一日之價，豈得相體委業付財。內合由三藏斷結，堪並聞《大集》、受折《淨名》、轉教《般若》，而致付財耳。當知傭作取價即是遠由，體信委業即是近由。又前誘引譬中，有齊教領，始自道樹終訖出宅；又有探領，始自法身終訖思盡。今領亦二，始探領慈悲四位調熟，終領付財究竟一味，遠近始終合論五味。何者，即遣傍人，傍人所說乃譬《華嚴》圓頓，此教最初，傍人譬牛，所說譬乳，內合從佛出十二部經，即初味也，以此擬二乘人，無機不受迷悶躃地，於其全生如乳味也。次明密遣二人說除糞法，此譬息大之後鹿苑說三，於小即信革凡成聖，如轉乳為酪，內合從十二部出修多羅，即第二味也。次明心相體信入出無難，譬三藏之後說方等淨名揚大折小，二乘聞大不謗、折小不退，良以三藏斷結取一日價故，得恣其褒貶，若未斷結不堪聞揚大，如前不受勸門，亦不堪聞折小，如前不受誡門，而今不謗不退者，心相體信故也。親既證小則信大不虛，得涅槃價故體折不瞋，雖非己事而不疑謗，此心淳熟如從酪出生蘇，內合從修多羅出方等經，第三味也。次明「長者自知將死不久」下，譬方等心相體信入出無難已後委以家業，使其領教為大菩薩說摩訶般若，既領知眾物貫統法門，心明口辯彌益慕樂，但恨住小非是己分，脫更開許豈不樂哉，於是心漸通泰成就大志，如似生蘇出於熟蘇，是從方等出摩訶般若，第四味也。次「臨欲終時而命其子」者，此譬般若之後判天性定父子，會三歸一付財與記說《法華》之教，開佛知見示真實相，菩薩疑除、聲聞作佛，悉以如來滅度而滅度之，如從熟蘇出於醍醐，是從摩訶般若出大涅槃，即第五味也。四大弟子深得佛意，探領一化五味之教，始終次第其文出此也。 領家業文為二：一、相體信，二、命領業。就體信復二：先明體信，二猶居本位。今初相者是互相信也，謂於三藏中得涅槃價此既不虛，今為菩薩說此大乘亦復非虛，此即子信父也。佛知此等見思已斷聞必不謗，無漏根利聞微生信，此即父信子也。由此見尊特身，聞大乘教，名此為入；復被訶折，猶見丈六說小乘法，名此為出，大小出入而無疑難也。第二，「然其所止猶在本處」者，雖復入出無難得聞大乘，而謂是菩薩之事非己智分，不肯迴小向大，猶居羅漢不言未來當得作佛，此領大集淨名生蘇之教也，從世尊爾時長者有疾下，第二委以家業，此領《大品》佛命轉教《般若》熟蘇之教也。就此為二：一、命知家事，二、受命領知。二章各為四。初四者，一、明時節，二、正命知家事，三、誡令體我心，四、勅無令漏失。初，「將死不久」者，有機則應為生，機盡應謝為死，今化機將畢，應謝非久也。「語窮子言我今多有」下，第二，命知家事。「金」即別教理，「銀」即通教理，《大品》所明真諦不出此二，而云「多有」者，理則非多，約種種門亦得言多，例如空非十八，約破十八法名十八空也。勸學中明一切法門皆是珍寶也。「倉」是定門，即百八三昧；「庫」是慧門，十八空境也。通別兩種定慧倉庫，包藏一切禪定智慧無所闕少，內充外溢故云「盈溢」。「其中多少」者，說於般若，則有廣、略二門。菩薩行般若，應知略、廣相，略則為少、廣則為多，自行為取、化他為與。《大品》中云「汝當為菩薩說」，故云「汝悉知之」。「我心如是」下，第三，誡體。「我心」者，佛以般若為心，汝今傳燈當隨佛意說也。又二乘人本解是析法空，命當體此意者，命轉教用誡令同我體法空也。昔時被命謂傳燈與他，今乃知佛令我識體之門，故言「當體此意」。「今我與汝便為不異」者，釋此有三：一、被加令說與佛不異；二、就理以諸法皆如故得不異，善吉如、如來如，一如無二如，故言便為不異；三、就今時，始悟父子天性本來不異，而二乘人自謂被加異耳。「宜加用心」下，第四，勅無令漏失也。汝為菩薩說般若教無令漏失，二者就理此即汝法後時當用，是故無令漏失也。「即受教勅」下，第二，受命。又為四：一、正受命領知。二、無悕取，善吉雖說般若，自謂我無其分也。三、未捨劣心猶居本處者，住羅漢位，雖復慕大亦未定言欲作菩薩也；未捨下劣心者，雖復恥小，亦未定言捨於小證也。四「復經少時父知子意」下，即是領上索車譬，鄙棄先心欲求大道大機發也。 〔T34 0087b03〕問： 何時名少時？ 答： 一云說《般若》竟，於異處遊觀，尋思所領大乘法門生心貪樂，為失為不失，如此等尋思，即是大乘機發時也。此時去《法華》未遠故言少時。又當說無量義時大乘機發。何以知然？無量義中明七種方便，無量漸頓從一法生。既聞此說，思惟昔之三藏三乘悉從一法生，如是三乘亦應入一，如是思時漸已通泰大心即發，故言成就大志也。 「臨欲終時」下，第二，正付家業。又為二：謂一、付業，二、歡喜。初有四：一、付業時，二、命子聚眾為證，三、結會父子，四、正付家業。初，付時，臨欲終者是明時節，化緣將訖，靈山八載說《法華經》，唱入涅槃時也。 「而命其子」下，第二，聚眾，即是二萬億佛所受化之徒，名之為子，大機熟人十方雲集也。上四眾圍繞者是也。「并會親族」者，舊云分身如親族，十地如國王，九地如大臣，八地如剎利，七地如居士。北人用分身為親族，多寶為國王也，十地為大臣，八地為剎利，三十心為居士。若爾，迹門說法，分身、多寶並未現前，何得指此耶？彼解云，正是身子懷疑之時，於《法華》中未能生信，是故多寶、分身一時來證。若疑除信解、受記已竟，復用多寶何所證耶？故知法說之時多寶已出，但出經者言不疊安，為作次第置因門後耳。今謂此是人情，無以取據。說迹門近事未用古證，若說本門遠事，必須先證昔。今不用彼解，依《薩云經》〔云云〕。今明十方法身菩薩影響者為親族，影響之眾多是釋迦昔日同業，並共如來於二萬億佛所共開化之，於其悉是伯叔之行，故用此為親族。國王者，一切漸頓諸經，無不稱所詮之處為經王，當機益物興廢有時，部部不同名之為國，皆言第一即是王。又此經會通諸教，豈非聚集國王？故無量義中先已收集，彼云「初說四諦十二緣生，次說方等十二部經，次說摩訶般若華嚴海空」，此則普集諸經，融通漸頓會入此典，故名會國王也。彌勒等諸大菩薩，皆是等覺為大臣。初地至九地為剎利，法王種性中生。三十心為居士。此等皆從釋迦受化。 「諸君當知」下，第三，結會父子。實從我受學，實是我子；從我起解，是我所生。我實曾於二萬億佛所甞教大法，故我實是父。「於某城中」者，此經西國文多，度此甚少，或可說昔名字國土如大通智勝因緣，今簡略名字直言某甲。是諸眾生背此大乘，起無明闇遁入生死，故言「捨吾逃走」。備經六趣，故云「五十餘年」。「昔在本城懷憂推覓」，自昔法身地中，常以二智觀覓可化之機也。始於今日感應道交，故云「忽於是間會遇見之」。 「今我所有」下，第四，正付家業。一切大乘萬行萬德，故云一切所有也。「先所出內是子所知」者，追指昔日《大品》領教所委有廣略般若共不共法，是汝所知即是汝有，故《法華》但明佛之知見，不更廣說一切行相也。「窮子聞父此言」下，第二，即是得付歡喜，領上各乘大車得未曾有，自顧無心希望佛道，而今忽聞得記作佛，故云不求自得也。三藏中本心不求，方等中恥小望絕故不求，般若中雖領非己分故不求，如此不求而今自得也。「世尊大富長者」下，第二，合譬。光宅合之或前或後，釋之甚略。今但依文點意不復子派。合譬略者，貴在得意不俟費辭。「大富長者」，合父子相失譬。譬文有四，但合父子總得餘意，如來合父，似則合子。似有二義：一、取大機為子，昔未逃逝既非真位，猶居外凡故云似也；取小機為子者，小機似像大乘根性耳。子既逃父，貶之言似〔云云〕。 〔T34 0088a14〕問： 初釋品云已得入真，此那言似？ 答： 此合子逃父時，是故言似。品初明子開悟時，汝問非也。 從「如來常說我等為子」下，合父子相見譬，但合長者見子便識。從「我等以三苦故」下，合追誘譬，上有傍、追二誘，今合亦二。上初遣傍追，次再追，次放捨；今合兩門之無機。「何為見捉自念無罪」，合無大機也；「樂著小法」者，合有小志不合放捨。「今日世尊令我等」下，合二誘譬。上有齊教探領，今合二意。從「蠲除」下，合齊教，具陳上事。從「我等於中勤加精進」下，合上尋與除糞。「得至涅槃」下，合上先取其價也。從「然世尊先知我等」下，合上探領，上譬有四，今合三，不合正教作，指上勤加除糞即兼之，不更合也。上言遙見，今言先知；上言羸瘦憔悴，今言心著弊欲；上言即脫瓔珞更著麁弊，今言便見棄捨不為分別寶藏之分。從「以方便力說如來智慧」下，合付家業譬。上有由、有付，今合亦二。由為兩：一、相信，二、委業。今合亦二。一、相信有二：先、合體信。「以方便力說如來智慧」者，舊云，如來智慧之因，持作二乘之果。今明帶三乘方便，說大乘實相，故言以方便力於我等前說大乘法。亦是合出入無難，以方便力出辯二乘，以佛智力入明實相。若不體信，豈於我前明佛慧耶？從「我等從佛得涅槃一日之價」下，合猶在本處也。從「我等又因如來智慧」下，合領家業。上有命有受，今但合受。受有四：一、受命，二、無希取，三、不捨下劣，四、漸通泰，今但合二。初，合受命、領業。「而自於此」下，合無希取兼得諸也。「無志願」者，明佛加威力令如佛心而說也，故我不志願。「所以者何」下，釋無希取意。以方便力隨小乘心說言無分，由此不知真是佛子，所以不取。「佛以方便力隨我等說」者，佛帶方便力，以實相法共二乘說，我等不識不共之意，故非佛子。「今我等方知」下，合付家業。上有二：有付、有喜；今合亦二。上付業有四，今則總合付與。付有二：一、明佛本於大無悋；二、釋無悋，正由樂小不早付大耳。此經中下舉今證昔，今理唯一故知昔三非實，但為未堪，故於大前毀呰小心，欲令捨偽取真，定知非悋，然佛實以大乘而教化也。「我等說本無心」下，合歡喜，亦是於三不求之意也。
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.
本段從『過了這一段時間以後』以下，解釋第四個領受並付與家業的譬喻。就近處說，它領會火宅譬中平等賜給大車的意思；從遠處說，它領會法說中無上道的意思。
一、領與付：四意前後相承
這一譬先分為領、付兩章，兩章又各分二段，合起來領會火宅譬平等賜車的四意，也就是〈方便品〉顯示真實的四意。領章的兩段是：第一，父子彼此信任，領會先前免除危難；第二，把家業委託給兒子，兒子的心漸漸通達開展，成就大志，領會先前索求車乘。付章的兩段是：第一，正式付與家業，領會平等賜給大車；第二，得到付與而欣喜，領會得到車乘而歡喜。
因為父子彼此體會而信任，長者才能把家業委託給窮子；窮子熟悉家業，對其中一切都知道得很完備，便成就大志；因為心意已經通達開展，長者才能把家業正式交給他；因為得到家業，他便生起歡喜。這幾件事前後相承。
其中又有遠因與近因。假如長者先前不曾雇窮子工作，給他一天的工錢，後來又怎能與他彼此信任，把家業委託給他，最後再把財物交付給他？在法義上，因為聲聞人在三藏教中斷除煩惱繫縛，後來才承受得了並聞《大集》、在《淨名》中受呵折、又在《般若》中代佛轉教，終於來到付財之時。因此，雇作取價是遠因，彼此信任而委託家業是近因。
先前的誘引譬中又有兩種領會。一是齊教領，從道樹下開始，直到走出火宅；二是探領，從法身之地開始，直到思惑滅盡。現在的領會也兼有這兩面：遠處探取佛以慈悲四位調熟眾生的開始，近處領到最後付財、究竟一味的終點。把遠近、始終合起來說，便成為五味的次第。
二、從乳至醍醐：五段調熟
第一味是乳。長者派遣身旁的人，身旁人所說的話譬喻《華嚴》的圓頓教法。這是最初的教法：身旁人譬如牛，所說的教法譬如乳；在法義上，從佛出生十二部經，便是第一味。用這種教法試探二乘人，他們沒有相應的根機，不能領受，迷悶倒地；對於完全未經調熟的人來說，這就像乳的滋味。
第二味是酪。長者接著暗中派兩個人，說除糞的工作；這譬喻停止說大法以後，在鹿苑說三乘。二乘人對小法便能相信，由凡夫轉成聖者，如同把乳轉成酪；在法義上，從十二部經出修多羅，便是第二味。
第三味是生蘇。三藏教以後，佛說方等、《淨名》，稱揚大乘、呵折小乘。二乘人聽到大法而不毀謗，受到對小乘的呵折也不退轉，正因為他們已在三藏教中斷結，取得一天的工錢，所以能任由佛褒揚大乘、貶折小乘。若還沒有斷結，既承受不了稱揚大乘，如同先前不能接受勸進；也承受不了呵折小乘，如同先前不能接受誡止。現在之所以不謗不退，正因父子已能彼此信任。二乘人親自證得小果，便相信大法不虛；已得涅槃之價，面對呵折也不生瞋。雖然仍以為大法不是自己的事，卻不再懷疑毀謗。這顆心漸漸淳熟，如同由酪轉成生蘇；在法義上，從修多羅出方等經，便是第三味。
第四味是熟蘇。從長者自知將死不久以下，譬喻二乘人在方等中已能彼此信任、出入無難以後，佛把家業委託給他們，使他們領受教法，為大菩薩宣說摩訶般若。他們既能領知眾多財物，貫通統攝各種法門，心裡明白、口才無礙，對大法愈來愈仰慕欣樂；只是仍遺憾自己住在小乘，認為大法不是自己的分。假如佛再為他們開許，他們怎會不歡喜？這就像從生蘇出熟蘇；在法義上，從方等出摩訶般若，便是第四味。
第五味是醍醐。長者臨終而命兒子聚眾，譬喻般若之後，佛判明天性，確定父子，會三歸一，付財授記，宣說《法華》；由此開佛知見，顯示真實相。菩薩疑惑消除，聲聞人將得作佛，一切都以如來的滅度而得滅度，如同從熟蘇出醍醐；在法義上，從摩訶般若出大涅槃，便是第五味。
四大弟子深深領會佛意，向遠處探領一代教化五味的始終次第。這一整段文字，正是他們把這條次第說出的地方。
三、彼此信任，卻仍住在本處
領家業分成兩段：第一是彼此信任，第二是長者命窮子領知家業。彼此信任又分兩層：先說信任已成，再說窮子仍住在原來的位置。
所謂『相』，是父子互相信任。在三藏教中，二乘人已取得涅槃之價，知道這個小果真實不虛；現在佛為菩薩說大乘，他們便也相信大乘並非虛妄。這是兒子信父親。佛又知道他們已斷見惑、思惑，聽聞大法必不毀謗；他們的無漏根性銳利，聽到微妙教法便能生信。這是父親信兒子。
由於這份互信，他們見到尊特身、聽聞大乘教法，稱為『入』；後來又受呵責折伏，仍見丈六身、聽聞小乘法，稱為『出』。在大小教法之間出入，他們不再疑惑為難。
可是，經文接著說窮子仍住在原來的地方。二乘人雖能出入無難，也聽到大乘，卻仍認為那是菩薩的事，不是自己智慧所應有的一分；他們不肯迴轉小乘而向大乘，仍居羅漢之位，也不說自己將來會成佛。這便領會《大集》《淨名》所代表的生蘇教法。
四、長者命知家事
從長者有病以下，是第二段委託家業，領會《大品》中佛命二乘人轉教般若的熟蘇教法。這一段先分為長者命窮子知道家事、窮子受命領知兩章，兩章各有四節。
命知家事的第一節是時機。『將死不久』在譬喻中說長者生命將盡；在法義上，有可化之機，應身便示現為生，眾生的化機已盡，應身便示現消逝。現在教化的機緣將要完畢，應身不久便會隱謝。
第二節是正式命他知道家事。金譬喻別教之理，銀譬喻通教之理；《大品》所明的真諦不出這兩種。之所以說『多有』，不是理體本身有許多，而是從種種法門來說，可以稱為多。譬如空並非本有十八個，只是約破十八種法而說十八空；勸學中所明的一切法門，也都稱為珍寶。
倉譬喻定門，也就是百八三昧；庫譬喻慧門，也就是十八空境。通、別兩種定慧的倉庫，含藏一切禪定智慧，沒有欠缺；內部充滿，還向外盈溢，所以經文說倉庫盈溢。
所謂其中有多少，是說般若有廣、略二門。菩薩行般若，應知道略相與廣相；略稱為少，廣稱為多。自行稱為取，化導他人稱為與。《大品》中有命菩薩說法的話，所以經文說，這一切你都知道。
第三節是誡令窮子體會長者之心。長者說『我的心就是如此』；在法義上，佛以般若為心，二乘人現在傳燈說法，應當隨順佛意而說。二乘人本來所解的是析法空；佛命他們體會自己的意思，就是命他們轉教時同於佛所體會的體法空。
從前受命時，他們以為自己只是把佛的燈傳給別人；現在他們才知道，佛命他們認識體法空這一門，所以說應當體會這個意思。
長者又說自己與窮子從此沒有差異。本論列出三種解釋：第一，二乘人受佛力加被而說法，所說與佛沒有差異；第二，從理上說，一切法都同於真如，須菩提之如與如來之如，同是一如，沒有兩種如，所以沒有差異；第三，就現在說，二乘人開始悟到父子天性本來沒有差異，只是他們從前自以為受佛加被，仍與佛不同。
第四節是囑咐他用心，不要有所漏失。第一層意思是：你為菩薩宣說般若教，不能有所漏失。第二層從理上說：這本來就是你的法，後來自己會用到，所以也不能漏失。
五、受命領知與『少時』二解
從窮子接受教誡以下，是受命領知，也分四節。第一，他正式受命，領知眾多財物。第二，善吉雖說般若，卻沒有希求取得的心，仍認為自己對此沒有一分。第三，他尚未捨去低劣之心，仍住在原處：雖然仰慕大乘，卻還沒有決定說自己要作菩薩；雖然對小乘感到羞恥，也還沒有決定說自己要捨去小果之證。
第四，經過一小段時間，父親知道兒子的心意已漸漸通達。這領會先前索車譬的意思：二乘人開始鄙棄先前只求小果之心，想要追求大道，大乘根機於是發動。
那麼，什麼時候稱為『少時』？本論並錄兩種解釋。
第一解說：講完《般若》以後，二乘人在別處遊行觀察，反覆思量自己所領受的大乘法門，心中生起貪慕欣樂，又想：這樣的領受究竟會失去，還是不會失去？這些尋思正是大乘根機發動之時。這時距離《法華》已不遠，所以稱為少時。
第二解說：將要宣說《無量義經》時，大乘根機發動。怎麼知道呢？《無量義經》說七種方便，無量的漸、頓教法都從一法而生。他們聽到這種說法，便思量從前的三藏三乘既然都從一法而生，三乘也應當會入一法。這樣思量時，心便漸漸通達開展，大心隨即發起，所以經文說成就大志。
六、命子聚眾：舊說、答辯與本論今解
從長者臨欲終時以下，是第二章正式付與家業。這一章又分為付業與歡喜兩段。付業有四節：第一是付業的時機，第二是命兒子召集大眾作證，第三是結會父子關係，第四是正式付與家業。
第一，所謂臨欲終時，是說教化的時機將盡。佛在靈山八年宣說《法華經》，並宣告將入涅槃，這就是付業的時節。
第二，長者命兒子並召集大眾。兒子譬喻佛在二萬億佛所教化的弟子；大乘根機成熟的人從十方如雲聚集，也就是上文四眾圍繞的眾人。
經文又說召集親族。舊說把分身佛配為親族，十地配為國王，九地配為大臣，八地配為剎利，七地配為居士。北人則把分身佛配為親族，多寶佛配為國王，十地配為大臣，八地配為剎利，三十心配為居士。
本論隨即責問：若是如此，說迹門法時，多寶佛與分身佛尚未在經文中現前，怎能在這裡便以他們作配？
對方答辯說：身子正在懷疑時，對《法華》還不能生信，所以多寶佛與分身佛同時前來作證。若等疑惑消除、信解生起、授記完畢以後才來，又還要多寶佛證明什麼？因此，法說之時多寶佛其實已經出現；只是結集經文的人不把同一事件重複安置，為了排出先後次第，才把它放在因門之後。
本論批評這只是人情推想，沒有根據可取。說迹門近事，還用不到古佛作證；若要說本門久遠之事，才必須先證明往昔。因而本論不用前解，轉依《薩云經》所指的材料。
本論自己的解釋是：十方法身菩薩中隨佛助化的影響眾就是親族。這些眾人大多是釋迦佛往昔同業之人，也曾與如來一起在二萬億佛所共同開化眾生；相對於所化之子，他們都行在父輩親族的位置，所以用來譬喻親族。
國王則譬喻一切漸教、頓教諸經。各經都稱自己所詮之處為經王；隨當時根機利益眾生，各有興起與隱退的時節，一部一部各不相同，因而稱為不同國土；每部經又都說自己第一，所以稱王。這部經會通諸教，正可說是聚集諸王。
《無量義經》中已先作收集：先說四諦、十二緣生，次說方等十二部經，再說摩訶般若、華嚴海空。這就是普遍收集諸經，融通漸教與頓教，使它們會入這部經典，所以稱為會集國王。
彌勒等大菩薩都是等覺，譬喻大臣；初地至九地生在法王種性之中，譬喻剎利；三十心譬喻居士。這些大眾都曾受釋迦佛教化。
七、當眾結會父子，正式交付家業
從長者對眾人說『諸君應當知道』以下，是第三節結會父子。窮子確實從長者受學，所以確實是他的兒子；從長者的教導生起理解，便是由他所生。佛又曾在二萬億佛所教他大法，所以佛確實是父。
經文只說某城。這部經原來在西方的文字很多，傳譯到此地的很少；本論只以保留語氣提出一種可能：某城、某名也許原曾說出往昔的國土與名字，如大通智勝佛因緣那樣，現在則把名字省略，只說某甲。
眾生背離大乘，生起無明黑暗，隱遁在生死之中，所以說捨棄父親逃走。他們周遍經歷六趣，所以說五十餘年。父親從前在本城憂心尋找，譬喻佛從久遠的法身之地以來，常用權智、實智觀察尋求可以教化的根機；直到今天，眾生之感與佛之應才相交，所以說忽然在此地相遇見到。
第四節是正式付與家業。一切大乘的萬行、萬德，就是長者所有的一切。長者說先前出入的財物都是兒子所知，回指往日在《大品》中委託二乘人領教的廣、略般若，以及共、不共法。既然是你所知道的，也就是你所有的。因此，《法華》只總明佛之知見，不再廣泛重說一切行相。
八、三段不求，今日自得
從窮子聽到父親宣言以下，是第二段得到付與而歡喜，領會前面各自乘大車、得到未曾有之事。二乘人回看自己，本來沒有希求佛道的心，現在卻忽然聽到授記成佛，所以稱為不求而自得。
這份不求有三段：在三藏教中，他們本心不求大法；在方等中，他們因小乘受呵而慚恥，對大法又以為無望，所以不求；在般若中，他們雖然領知大法，仍以為不是自己的一分，所以不求。經過這三段不求，現在竟自然得到，歡喜便從這裡生起。
九、合譬先合父子相失
從四大弟子稱世尊為大富長者以下，進入第二大段合譬。光宅的合譬有時放在前，有時放在後，解釋得很簡略。本論現在只依經文點明各意，不再細分枝派。合譬所以簡略，是因要緊之處在領會譬意，不須再費許多言辭。
大富長者合父子相失譬。開譬原有四項，合譬只以父、子總合，其餘意思也就含在其中：如來合父，『似佛子』合子。
『似』有兩種意思。若取大乘根機的人為子，他們在尚未逃走以前還沒有進入真實之位，仍居外凡，所以說似；若取小乘根機的人為子，小乘根機只是形似大乘根性，所以也說似。兒子既已逃離父親，經文用『似』來貶稱他。
有人因此問：品初解釋信解時，明明說已經入真，這裡為何又說只是似？
回答是：這裡所合的是兒子逃離父親之時，所以說似；品初所說的是兒子開悟之時。兩句所指的時候不同，不能拿後時的開悟責難逃父時的貶稱。
十、合相見、追誘與二誘
從如來常說四大弟子為子以下，合父子相見譬；本論只合長者看見兒子便認出他。
從四大弟子說自己因三苦而受熱惱以下，合追誘譬。開譬有傍人追逐、再次追逐，隨後放捨；合譬則先合勸、誡兩門都沒有相應的大乘根機。『我不曾侵犯你，為何捉我』與『自己想來並無罪過』，合沒有大乘根機；『樂著小法』合已有小志，這裡不另合放捨。
從今日世尊命他們思惟以下，合兩種誘引。開譬有齊教領、探領，這裡也合兩意。蠲除諸法戲論之糞，合二使把事情完整告知窮子；在其中勤加精進，合立即給他除糞的工作；得到涅槃一天的工價，合窮子先取得工錢。這些都屬齊教領。
從世尊早已知道他們以下，合探領。開譬有四項，合譬只明說三項，沒有另合正式教他工作；前面勤加精進、蠲除糞穢的話已兼含此意，所以不再重合。開譬說父親遠遠看見兒子，合譬說世尊早已知道；開譬說兒子羸瘦憔悴，合譬說心著低劣欲求；開譬說父親脫去瓔珞、換穿粗弊衣服，合譬說便放棄他們，不為他們分別如來知見寶藏的一分。
十一、合領家業：能說大法，仍自謂無分
從佛以方便力說如來智慧以下，合付家業譬。開譬有前因、有付與，合譬也分這兩面。前因有二：彼此信任與委託家業。
先合彼此信任。對於佛以方便力說如來智慧，舊解說，是把如來智慧的因拿來作二乘之果。本論今解則說，佛帶著三乘方便，宣說大乘實相，所以是在二乘人面前說大乘法。這也合出入無難：以方便力出而分辨二乘，以佛智慧之力入而明示實相。若佛與二乘人還不能彼此信任，怎會在他們面前明說佛慧？
接著，四大弟子說自己從佛得到涅槃一天的工價，並把它當作大得，合仍住本處。他們對大乘沒有志求，正如窮子仍住原處。
從他們又因如來智慧而為菩薩開示演說以下，合領家業。開譬有長者命令與窮子受命，這裡只明合受命。受命原有四項：受命、無希取、不捨下劣之心、漸漸通泰；合文在此明合前兩項，其餘意也兼含其中。
他們為菩薩開示演說，是合受命領業；自己對此沒有志願，是合無希取。他們能像佛心那樣宣說，是佛威力加被，自己卻沒有求取大法的志願。
為什麼沒有希取？佛隨順小乘人的心，以方便力對他們說，使他們以為自己對佛智慧沒有一分；他們由此不知道自己真是佛子，所以不取。佛帶著方便力，把實相法與二乘人共說；他們不認識其中不共之意，便自以為並非佛子。
十二、合正式付與：佛本來沒有吝惜
從四大弟子今日才知道世尊以下，合正式付與家業。開譬有付業、有歡喜，合譬也有兩段。開譬的付業原有時節、聚眾作證、結會父子、正付家業四項，合文在此總合付與。
付與又分兩意。第一，佛本來對大法沒有吝惜；第二，解釋佛既然不吝惜，為何沒有及早付與。原因正是眾生樂著小法，當時還不能承受，所以沒有早說大法。
經文接著用今日證明往昔：今日所顯之理只有一個，因此可知從前所說的三乘並非究竟真實，只因眾生尚不能承受，佛才作方便施設。佛從前在大乘菩薩面前呵責聲聞人樂小，是要他們捨去虛偽、取向真實；由此確知，佛並非吝惜。佛實際上始終以大乘教化。
最後，四大弟子說自己本來沒有希求，合得到付與而歡喜，也再次總結三藏、方等、般若三段不求。從前一次又一次說『不是我的』，如今法王大寶自然來到，如佛子所應得的一切都已得到。
Beginning with “after this,” this passage explains the fourth parable, understanding and entrusting the family estate. Proximately, it understands the meaning of equally bestowing the great carts in the burning-house parable. Remotely, it understands the meaning of the unsurpassed path in the Dharma teaching.
I. Understanding and Entrustment: Four Meanings in Causal Sequence
This parable is first divided into the two chapters of understanding and entrustment, each of which is further divided into two passages. Together they understand the four meanings of equally bestowing the carts in the burning-house parable, which are also the four meanings of revealing the real in the “Skillful Means” chapter. The two passages of understanding are, first, mutual trust between father and son, which understands their earlier escape from danger; and second, commissioning the son with the family estate, through which his mind gradually opens and the great aspiration matures, understanding the earlier asking for the carts. The two passages of entrustment are, first, formally entrusting the family estate, which understands the equal bestowal of the great carts; and second, rejoicing upon receiving the entrustment, which understands the joy of obtaining the carts.
Because father and son apprehend and trust one another, the elder can commission the poor son with the family estate. Once familiar with the estate and thoroughly knowledgeable about everything in it, the poor son matures in his great aspiration. Because his mind has opened, the elder can formally hand the estate over to him. Because he receives the estate, joy arises. These events follow one another in sequence.
They also have remote and proximate causes. If the elder had not earlier employed the poor son and given him a day’s wages, how could he later have established mutual trust with him, commissioned him with the estate, and finally entrusted the possessions to him? In Dharma terms, it was because śrāvakas had severed the bonds of affliction under the Tripiṭaka teaching that they could later bear hearing the Great Collection, receive rebukes in the Vimalakīrti, transmit the teaching on the Buddha’s behalf in the Prajñā, and finally arrive at the entrustment of the possessions. Employment and receiving wages are therefore the remote cause; mutual trust and the commission with the estate are the proximate cause.
The preceding parable of inducement also had two modes of understanding. The first, correspondence with the teaching, began beneath the tree of the Way and extended through leaving the burning house. The second, exploratory understanding, began at the ground of the dharma body and extended through the exhaustion of delusions of thought. The present understanding likewise includes both aspects: remotely it explores the beginning of the Buddha’s maturing living beings through four stages of compassion, while proximately it understands the culmination in the final entrustment of possessions and the ultimate single flavor. When remote and proximate, beginning and end are combined, they form the sequence of the five flavors.
II. From Milk to Clarified Essence: Five Stages of Maturation
The first flavor is milk. The elder sends an attendant, and the words spoken by that attendant represent the perfect and sudden teaching of the Avataṃsaka. This is the initial teaching: the attendant is like the cow, and the teaching he speaks is like milk. In Dharma terms, the Buddha gives rise to the scriptures in twelve divisions, and this is the first flavor. When this teaching is used to test practitioners of the two vehicles, they lack the corresponding capacity, cannot receive it, and fall unconscious to the ground. For those not yet matured in any way, this is like the flavor of milk.
The second flavor is curds. The elder then secretly sends two men who speak of work clearing dung. This represents ceasing to teach the great Dharma and teaching the three vehicles at the Deer Park. Practitioners of the two vehicles can trust the lesser Dharma and turn from ordinary beings into noble ones, like milk turning into curds. In Dharma terms, the sūtras emerge from the scriptures in twelve divisions, and this is the second flavor.
The third flavor is raw ghee. After the Tripiṭaka teaching, the Buddha teaches the Vaipulya and the Vimalakīrti, praising the Great Vehicle and reproving the Lesser Vehicle. Practitioners of the two vehicles hear the great Dharma without slandering it and receive reproach for the Lesser without retreating, precisely because they have already severed fetters under the Tripiṭaka teaching and obtained a day’s wages. They can therefore let the Buddha praise the Great and censure the Lesser. Had they not yet severed fetters, they could no more bear praise of the Great than they had formerly accepted exhortation, and no more bear censure of the Lesser than they had formerly accepted admonition. They now neither slander nor retreat precisely because father and son can trust one another. Practitioners of the two vehicles personally realize the lesser fruit and therefore trust that the great Dharma is not false; having obtained the wages of nirvāṇa, they also do not become angry when reproved. Though they still believe the great Dharma is not their own affair, they no longer doubt or slander it. Their minds gradually mature, like curds turning into raw ghee. In Dharma terms, the Vaipulya scriptures emerge from the sūtras, and this is the third flavor.
The fourth flavor is refined ghee. Beginning with the elder’s knowledge that his death is near, the parable represents practitioners of the two vehicles who, after establishing mutual trust and becoming able to enter and leave without difficulty during the Vaipulya period, are commissioned by the Buddha with the family estate and receive the teaching-command to explain the Mahāprajñāpāramitā to great bodhisattvas. Able to understand and manage the many possessions and to penetrate and gather the various Dharma gates, they become clear in mind and unobstructed in eloquence, increasingly admiring and delighting in the great Dharma. They regret only that they remain in the Lesser Vehicle and believe that the great Dharma is not their own share. If the Buddha were now to grant it to them, how could they fail to rejoice? This is like raw ghee producing refined ghee. In Dharma terms, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā emerges from the Vaipulya, and this is the fourth flavor.
The fifth flavor is clarified essence. When the elder approaches death and commands the son to assemble the people, it represents the period after the Prajñā teaching: the Buddha’s determining the natural relation, confirming father and son, gathering the three into the one, entrusting the possessions, bestowing predictions, and teaching the Lotus. The knowledge and vision of the Buddha are thereby opened and the real mark revealed. The doubts of bodhisattvas are removed, śrāvakas will attain buddhahood, and all are brought to extinction through the Tathāgata’s extinction, like refined ghee producing clarified essence. In Dharma terms, the Great Nirvāṇa emerges from the Mahāprajñāpāramitā, and this is the fifth flavor.
The four great disciples deeply understand the Buddha’s intent and explore remotely the sequential beginning and end of the five flavors throughout His lifetime of teaching. This entire passage is where they articulate that sequence.
III. Mutual Trust, Yet Still Remaining in the Original Place
Understanding the family estate has two passages: first mutual trust, then the elder’s commanding the poor son to understand and manage the estate. Mutual trust itself has two layers: first, trust is established; second, the poor son still remains in his original place.
“Mutual” means that father and son trust one another. Under the Tripiṭaka teaching, practitioners of the two vehicles have already received the wages of nirvāṇa and know that this lesser fruit is real and not false. When the Buddha now teaches the Great Vehicle to bodhisattvas, they can therefore trust that the Great Vehicle is not false. This is the son’s trust in the father. The Buddha, for His part, knows that they have severed the delusions of view and thought and will certainly not slander the great Dharma upon hearing it. Their uncontaminated faculties are sharp, so they can give rise to faith when they hear the wondrous teaching. This is the father’s trust in the son.
Because of this mutual trust, seeing the body adorned with special marks and hearing the Mahāyāna teaching is called “entering.” Later, receiving reproof while still seeing the sixteen-foot body and hearing the Lesser-Vehicle Dharma is called “leaving.” As they enter and leave between the great and lesser teachings, doubt no longer creates difficulty for them.
Yet the scripture next says that the poor son still remains in his original place. Though practitioners of the two vehicles can enter and leave without difficulty and also hear the Great Vehicle, they still believe that it is the affair of bodhisattvas and not a share proper to their own wisdom. They refuse to turn from the Lesser toward the Great, remain in the arhat position, and do not say that they will become buddhas in the future. This understands the raw-ghee teaching represented by the Great Collection and the Vimalakīrti.
IV. The Elder Commands Him to Know the Household Affairs
Beginning with the elder’s illness is the second passage, the commission with the family estate. It understands the refined-ghee teaching of the Large Prajñāpāramitā, where the Buddha commands practitioners of the two vehicles to transmit the prajñā teaching. This passage is first divided into the elder’s command that the poor son know the household affairs and the poor son’s reception of the command and understanding of the estate, with four parts in each.
The first part of the command is its occasion. In the parable, “knowing that his death was near” means that the elder’s life is almost over. In Dharma terms, when there are capacities to be transformed, the response body manifests birth; when the capacities of living beings to receive transformation are exhausted, the response body manifests disappearance. The present occasion for transformation is nearing completion, and the response body will soon withdraw from view.
The second part is the formal command to know the household affairs. Gold represents the principle of the Distinct Teaching, and silver the principle of the Shared Teaching. The ultimate truth elucidated in the Large Prajñāpāramitā does not go beyond these two. “Much” does not mean that principle itself is many, but that it may be called much in terms of the various Dharma gates. Emptiness, for example, is not originally eighteen distinct things; eighteen emptinesses are taught in relation to breaking eighteen kinds of dharma. All Dharma gates elucidated in the exhortation to study are likewise called precious things.
The storehouse represents the gate of concentration, namely the 108 samādhis. The treasury represents the gate of wisdom, namely the objects of the eighteen emptinesses. The storehouses and treasuries of concentration and wisdom in the Shared and Distinct Teachings contain every form of meditative concentration and wisdom without deficiency. Filled within and overflowing outwardly, they are called brimming storehouses and treasuries.
“How much there is within them” means that prajñā has extensive and abbreviated gates. Bodhisattvas practicing prajñā should know its abbreviated and extensive aspects: the abbreviated is called little and the extensive is called much. Taking is one’s own practice, and giving is guiding others. The Large Prajñāpāramitā contains words commanding bodhisattvas to teach the Dharma, and therefore the scripture says that all these things are known to you.
The third part admonishes the poor son to understand the elder’s mind. The elder says, “My mind is like this.” In Dharma terms, the Buddha takes prajñā as His mind. Practitioners of the two vehicles now transmit the lamp and teach the Dharma and should speak in accord with the Buddha’s intent. What they originally understood was analytical emptiness of dharmas. In commanding them to apprehend His own meaning, the Buddha commands them, when transmitting the teaching, to accord with the integral emptiness of dharmas that He apprehends.
When first commanded, they believed they were merely passing the Buddha’s lamp on to others. Only now do they know that the Buddha commands them to understand the gate of integral emptiness of dharmas, and so He says they should apprehend this meaning.
The elder further says that from this point there is no difference between himself and the poor son. The root treatise lists three explanations. First, practitioners of the two vehicles teach the Dharma through the empowerment of the Buddha, and what they say does not differ from what the Buddha says. Second, in terms of principle, all dharmas are the same suchness: Subhūti’s suchness and the Tathāgata’s suchness are one and the same, not two suchnesses, and therefore there is no difference. Third, in relation to the present, practitioners of the two vehicles begin to awaken to the fact that the natural relation of father and son has always been without difference; formerly, however, they believed they spoke only through the Buddha’s empowerment and thus remained different from Him.
The fourth part instructs him to be attentive and allow no loss. The first meaning is that in explaining the prajñā teaching to bodhisattvas, he must not leave anything out. The second is in terms of principle: because this was originally his own Dharma and he will later use it himself, he must not let any of it be lost.
V. Receiving the Command and Understanding the Estate; Two Explanations of “A Short Time”
Beginning with the poor son’s reception of the instruction is the passage on receiving the command and understanding the estate, also divided into four parts. First, he formally receives the command and comes to know the many possessions. Second, although Subhūti teaches prajñā, he has no thought of seeking or obtaining it and continues to believe he has no share. Third, he has not yet relinquished his inferior mind and remains in his original place. Although he admires the Great Vehicle, he has not resolved to say that he will become a bodhisattva; although ashamed of the Lesser Vehicle, he has not resolved to say that he will relinquish realization of the lesser fruit.
Fourth, after a short time the father knows that the son’s mind has gradually opened. This understands the meaning of the earlier parable of asking for the carts: practitioners of the two vehicles begin to disdain their former minds, which sought only the lesser fruit, and wish to pursue the great path. Their Mahāyāna capacity is thereby activated.
When, then, is it called “a short time”? The root treatise records two explanations.
The first explanation says that after the Prajñā teaching, practitioners of the two vehicles travel and contemplate elsewhere. They repeatedly consider the Mahāyāna Dharma gates they have received and understood, and longing and delight arise in their minds. They also wonder: will this understanding ultimately be lost or not? These reflections are precisely the activation of Mahāyāna capacity. Because the Lotus is no longer far away, this is called a short time.
The second explanation says that Mahāyāna capacity is activated when the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings is about to be taught. How is this known? That scripture says that the seven kinds of skillful means and the immeasurable gradual and sudden teachings arise from a single Dharma. Hearing this, they consider that since the former three vehicles of the Tripiṭaka teaching all arose from a single Dharma, the three vehicles should also converge in a single Dharma. While they reflect in this way, their minds gradually open and the great resolve immediately arises. Therefore the scripture says that the great aspiration matured.
VI. Commanding the Son to Assemble the People: Old Explanations, Defense, and the Root Treatise’s Present Interpretation
Beginning with the elder’s approach to death is the second chapter, the formal entrustment of the family estate. This chapter is divided into entrustment and joy. Entrustment has four parts: first, the occasion for entrustment; second, commanding the son to assemble the people as witnesses; third, joining and confirming the father-son relation; and fourth, formally entrusting the estate.
First, “when he was about to die” means that the occasion for transformation is nearing its end. The Buddha teaches the Lotus Sutra for eight years at Vulture Peak and declares that He will enter nirvāṇa. This is the time for entrusting the estate.
Second, the elder commands his son and assembles the people. The son represents disciples transformed by the Buddha in the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas. Those whose Mahāyāna capacities have matured gather like clouds from the ten directions; these are the people described above as the surrounding fourfold assembly.
The scripture further says to gather the relatives. An old explanation correlates transformation bodies with relatives, the tenth ground with the king, the ninth with ministers, the eighth with kṣatriyas, and the seventh with householders. Northern exegetes instead correlate transformation bodies with relatives, the Buddha Prabhūtaratna with the king, the tenth ground with ministers, the eighth with kṣatriyas, and the thirty minds with householders.
The root treatise immediately challenges this: if so, Prabhūtaratna and the transformation bodies had not yet appeared in the scripture when the Dharma teaching of the Trace Gate was given. How could they already be used in this correlation?
The opponents defend their view by saying that while Śāriputra was still in doubt and unable to give rise to faith in the Lotus, Prabhūtaratna and the transformation bodies came together to bear witness. If they came only after doubt had been removed, faith and understanding had arisen, and predictions had been bestowed, what would remain for Prabhūtaratna to attest? Prabhūtaratna had therefore actually already appeared during the Dharma teaching. The scripture’s compilers simply did not place the same event twice; to arrange a sequence, they positioned it after the section on causes.
The root treatise criticizes this as a conjecture based on human sentiment with no evidence to support it. The proximate events of the Trace Gate do not yet require an ancient buddha’s testimony. Only when the distant matters of the Origin Gate are to be taught must the past first be attested. The root treatise therefore does not adopt the preceding explanation and instead turns to material indicated in the Sayun Sutra.
The root treatise’s own explanation is that the influencing assembly of dharma-body bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions who follow the Buddha and assist His teaching are the relatives. Most shared past karma with Śākyamuni Buddha and had also joined the Tathāgata in teaching and transforming living beings in the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas. In relation to the sons being transformed, they all occupy the position of the father’s generation of relatives and therefore represent relatives.
The king represents all scriptures of the gradual and sudden teachings. Each scripture calls the subject it expounds king among scriptures. Each arises and withdraws at its own time in accordance with the capacities that benefit living beings, as though belonging to different realms; each scripture also declares itself foremost, and therefore is called a king. This scripture integrates all the teachings and may fittingly be said to assemble the kings.
The Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings has already gathered them in advance: it first teaches the four truths and twelve links of dependent arising, next the Vaipulya scriptures in twelve divisions, and then the Mahāprajñāpāramitā and the oceanic emptiness of the Avataṃsaka. This gathers the scriptures universally, integrates the gradual and sudden teachings, and brings them into this scripture. It is therefore called assembling the kings.
The great bodhisattvas such as Maitreya are at the stage of equivalent awakening and represent ministers. The first through ninth grounds are born into the lineage of the Dharma king and represent kṣatriyas. The thirty minds represent householders. All these members of the assembly had received Śākyamuni Buddha’s instruction.
VII. Publicly Joining Father and Son and Formally Entrusting the Family Estate
Beginning with the elder’s words to the assembly, “Gentlemen, you should know,” is the third part, joining and confirming father and son. The poor son truly studied under the elder and so is truly his son. Because his understanding arose from the elder’s instruction, he was born from him. The Buddha had also taught him the great Dharma in the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas, and therefore the Buddha is truly the father.
The scripture says only “a certain city.” The original text of this scripture was extensive in the West, but little was translated and transmitted here. The root treatise offers only a guarded possibility: a certain city and a certain name may originally have identified the former realm and name, as in the causal account of the Buddha Great Universal Wisdom Excellence, but the name is now omitted and only “so-and-so” remains.
Living beings turn away from the Great Vehicle, give rise to the darkness of ignorance, and flee into concealment within birth and death. Therefore the text says that the son abandoned his father and fled. They range throughout the six destinies, and therefore it says more than fifty years. The father’s former worry and search in his original city represents the Buddha, from the distant ground of the dharma body onward, constantly using provisional and real wisdom to contemplate and seek capacities that can be transformed. Only today do living beings’ stimulus and the Buddha’s response intersect, and therefore the text says they suddenly meet in this place.
The fourth part is formally entrusting the family estate. All the ten thousand practices and ten thousand virtues of the Great Vehicle are everything the elder possesses. His saying that the son knows all possessions that previously went out and came in refers back to the extensive and abbreviated prajñā and the shared and distinct Dharmas that practitioners of the two vehicles were commissioned to understand in the Large Prajñāpāramitā. Since they are known to you, they are also yours. The Lotus therefore elucidates the Buddha’s knowledge and vision as a whole and does not extensively repeat every mode of practice.
VIII. Three Periods of Non-Seeking, Gained of Itself Today
Beginning with the poor son’s hearing his father’s declaration is the second passage, rejoicing upon receiving the entrustment. It understands the preceding event of each person mounting a great cart and gaining the unprecedented. Looking back at themselves, practitioners of the two vehicles originally had no wish to seek the Buddha Way, yet now suddenly hear predictions that they will become buddhas. This is therefore called gaining of itself without seeking.
This non-seeking has three periods. Under the Tripiṭaka teaching, their original minds do not seek the great Dharma. In the Vaipulya period, being reproved on account of the Lesser makes them ashamed, while they also regard the great Dharma as beyond hope, so they do not seek it. In the Prajñā period, though they understand and manage the great Dharma, they still believe it is not their share, so they do not seek it. After these three periods of non-seeking, they now unexpectedly gain it of itself, and their joy arises from this.
IX. The Application First Applies the Separation of Father and Son
Beginning with the four great disciples’ comparison of the World-Honored One to a great wealthy elder is the second major passage, the application of the parable. Guangzhai sometimes places the application before and sometimes after, and his explanation is very brief. The root treatise now only identifies each meaning according to the scripture and does not further divide its branches. The application is brief because the essential task is to understand the parable’s meaning; many further words are unnecessary.
The great wealthy elder applies the parable of father and son becoming separated. The opening parable originally had four items, but the application gathers them under father and son, implicitly including the remaining meanings. The Tathāgata corresponds to the father, and “seeming to be a buddha-son” corresponds to the son.
“Seeming” has two meanings. If persons with Mahāyāna capacity are taken as the sons, before fleeing they have not yet entered the real and still remain outer ordinary beings, and therefore they are said to seem. If persons with Lesser-Vehicle capacity are taken as the sons, their lesser capacity merely resembles a Mahāyāna disposition, and therefore they too are said to seem. Since the son has fled the father, the scripture uses “seeming” to speak of him disparagingly.
Someone therefore asks: in explaining faith and understanding at the beginning of the chapter, the text plainly says that they had already entered the real. Why does it say here that they merely seem?
The answer is that this application concerns the time when the son fled his father, and therefore says that he seemed. The chapter’s opening concerns the time when the son awakens. The two sentences refer to different times; one cannot use the later awakening to challenge the disparaging description at the time of flight.
X. Applying Their Meeting, Pursuit and Inducement, and the Two Inducements
Beginning with the Tathāgata’s constant statement that the four great disciples are His sons applies the parable of father and son seeing one another. The root treatise applies only the elder’s seeing the son and recognizing him immediately.
Beginning with the four great disciples’ statement that the three sufferings torment them applies the parable of pursuit and inducement. The opening parable has an attendant pursue them, renewed pursuit, and then release. The application first applies the absence of corresponding Mahāyāna capacity in both exhortation and admonition. “I have not wronged you; why do you seize me?” and “he himself thought that he had committed no offense” apply the absence of Mahāyāna capacity. “Delighting in the lesser Dharma” applies the presence of lesser aspiration. Release is not separately applied here.
Beginning with the World-Honored One’s present command that they contemplate applies the two modes of inducement. The opening parable has correspondence with the teaching and exploratory understanding, and both meanings are applied here. Clearing away the dung of conceptual proliferation concerning all dharmas applies the two messengers’ full statement of the work to the poor son. Diligently exerting themselves therein applies assigning him the work of clearing dung. Obtaining the day’s wages of nirvāṇa applies the poor son’s first receiving his wages. All these belong to correspondence with the teaching.
Beginning with the World-Honored One’s prior knowledge of them applies exploratory understanding. The opening parable has four items, but the application explicitly states only three and does not separately apply the formal instruction to work. The preceding words on diligent effort and clearing away dung already include that meaning, so it is not applied again. The opening parable says that the father sees the son from afar; the application says that the World-Honored One knew beforehand. The opening parable says that the son is weak, thin, haggard, and worn; the application says that their minds cling to base desires. The opening parable says that the father removes his necklaces and changes into coarse, soiled clothing; the application says that He lets them go and does not distinguish for them a share in the treasure of the Tathāgata’s knowledge and vision.
XI. Applying Understanding the Family Estate: Able to Teach the Great Dharma, Yet Still Claiming No Share
Beginning with the Buddha’s teaching of Tathāgata-wisdom through the power of skillful means applies the parable of entrusting the family estate. The opening parable has the preceding cause and the entrustment, and the application likewise has these two aspects. The preceding cause has two parts: mutual trust and commission with the family estate.
It first applies mutual trust. An old explanation says that the Buddha’s teaching of Tathāgata-wisdom through the power of skillful means uses the cause of the Tathāgata’s wisdom as the fruit of the two vehicles. The root treatise’s present explanation instead says that the Buddha carries the skillful means of the three vehicles while teaching the real mark of the Great Vehicle, and therefore teaches the Mahāyāna Dharma before practitioners of the two vehicles. This also applies entering and leaving without difficulty: through the power of skillful means He goes out and distinguishes the two vehicles; through the power of buddha-wisdom He enters and elucidates the real mark. If the Buddha and practitioners of the two vehicles could not yet trust one another, how could He openly elucidate buddha-wisdom before them?
The four great disciples next say that they received the day’s wages of nirvāṇa from the Buddha and regarded this as a great attainment, applying their continued residence in the original place. They had no aspiration to seek the Great Vehicle, just as the poor son still remained where he was.
Beginning with their further explanation and exposition to bodhisattvas through Tathāgata-wisdom applies understanding the family estate. The opening parable has the elder’s command and the poor son’s reception of it; here only the reception is explicitly applied. The original reception had four items: receiving the command, no wish to take, not relinquishing the inferior mind, and gradual openness. The application explicitly applies the first two here, while also including the remaining meanings.
Their explanation and exposition for bodhisattvas applies receiving the command and understanding the estate; their own lack of aspiration applies having no wish to take. Their ability to teach with a mind like the Buddha’s comes from the empowering majesty of the Buddha, yet they themselves have no aspiration to seek the great Dharma.
Why do they have no wish to take? The Buddha accords with the minds of Lesser-Vehicle practitioners and teaches them through the power of skillful means, causing them to believe that they have no share in buddha-wisdom. They therefore do not know that they truly are buddha-sons and so do not take it. Carrying the power of skillful means, the Buddha teaches the Dharma of the real mark together with practitioners of the two vehicles. Unable to recognize its distinct meaning, they believe themselves not to be buddha-sons.
XII. Applying the Formal Entrustment: The Buddha Was Never Sparing
Beginning with the four great disciples’ realization only today concerning the World-Honored One applies the formal entrustment of the family estate. The opening parable has both entrustment and joy, and the application likewise has two passages. Entrustment in the opening parable originally had four items—occasion, assembling witnesses, joining father and son, and formally entrusting the estate—but the application here gathers them together under entrustment.
Entrustment has two further meanings. First, the Buddha was never sparing with the great Dharma. Second, it explains why, if He was not sparing, He did not entrust it early. The reason is precisely that living beings delighted in the Lesser and could not yet bear it, and therefore the great Dharma was not taught early.
The scripture next uses today to demonstrate the past. Because the principle revealed today is only one, we know that the three vehicles formerly taught were not ultimately real but were skillful means established because living beings could not yet bear the truth. When the Buddha formerly reproved śrāvakas before Mahāyāna bodhisattvas for delighting in the Lesser, it was to make them relinquish falsehood and turn toward the real. We thereby know with certainty that the Buddha was not sparing. In fact, He was always teaching through the Great Vehicle.
Finally, the four great disciples say that they originally had no wish to seek, applying their joy upon receiving the entrustment and again summarizing the three periods of non-seeking under the Tripiṭaka, Vaipulya, and Prajñā teachings. Again and again in the past they said, “It is not mine.” Now the Dharma king’s great treasure comes of itself, and everything that buddha-sons should receive has been received.
窮子已經可以自由出入長者之家，也已受命知道金銀珍寶、倉庫多少，甚至能替長者處理取與。他缺的不是家業知識，也不是辦事能力；他仍缺的是一句最根本的確認：『這些原來也是我的。』
〈信解品〉把這個遲到的確認寫成一段很長的路。先有傭作取價，才有彼此信任；先能領知家業，才漸漸成就大志；直到長者當眾結會父子，正式宣言一切所有皆為子有，窮子才在不曾希求之中得到未曾有。智者把領與付分開，正是要顯出：能聽、能說、能代為料理，與真正知道自己是子，並不是同一時刻完成。
一、為何不是先付家業，而是先說『彼此信任』？
本論先把領與付各分二段：相體信、委以家業，付與家業、得付歡喜。這四段又依次領會免難、索車、等賜、歡喜。它們之間有明確因次：因為彼此信任，長者才能委託家業；因為兒子熟悉家業，心意才能漸漸通達；因為大志成就，長者才能正式交付；因為家業真正成為子有，歡喜才隨之生起。
所以，最初的關鍵不是財物，而是信任。兒子已親自證得涅槃之價，便相信父親現在所說的大乘也不虛；父親知道兒子的見惑、思惑已斷，聽聞大法不會毀謗，便相信兒子已能承受。兒子信父，父也信子，經文的『心相體信』才成為雙向的事。
這份互信有一個可見的結果：二乘人見尊特身、聞大乘教，可以進入；受呵折以後仍見丈六身、聞小乘法，也可以出來。在大小教法之間出入，他們不再因聽見不同而毀謗或退轉。家門尚未正式交付，出入之路已經打開。
二、既然出入無難，為何仍停在本處？
因為不疑大法，還不等於認定大法與自己有分。二乘人雖能聞大、受折，也不再疑謗，心裡仍把大乘看作菩薩的事，把自己安置在羅漢之位。他們不肯迴小向大，也不說自己將來會成佛；這正是經文說的『所止猶在本處』。
本論因此沒有把信任寫成一個瞬間完成的轉變。互信先消除了出入的疑難，卻沒有立刻消除『這不是我的』。兒子已在家中工作，仍把自己看成受雇之人；已能接觸大法，仍以為只是替菩薩傳說。所住的地方不只是一個位置，也是他對自己所能得者的判定。
遠因與近因也由此分明。先前雇作、取得一天之價，是遠因；如今相體信、受委家業，是近因。若沒有小果作為已得之價，他承受不了後來的褒貶；若沒有後來的互信，他又走不到領業與付業。經文讓每一段所得成為下一段的前因，卻不把中間所得提前說成最後所得。
三、知道金銀倉庫，為何還沒有一餐希取之心？
長者命窮子知道家事時，說的不只是財物名稱。本論逐一解釋金、銀、倉、庫、多少、取與：金銀指向通、別二理；倉庫分為定門、慧門，內含百八三昧與十八空；多少是般若的廣、略二門；取是自行，與是化他。窮子受命以後，能領知這些法門，也能為菩薩開示演說。
可是，能力增長沒有立刻改變他的自我判定。他以為自己只是承佛之命，把燈傳給別人，所以雖能說般若，仍認為自己沒有其中一分。長者因此不只命他知道，還要他『體會我的心』：佛以般若為心，轉教之人不只傳遞語句，也要由自己原來所解的析法空，體會佛所命的體法空。
『從此沒有差異』於是開出三層意思。第一，二乘人受佛力加被而說，所說與佛不異；第二，一切法同一真如，須菩提之如與如來之如沒有兩個；第三，到如今才悟父子天性本來不異。前兩層已讓他能說、能體，第三層才正觸及他一直不敢承認的父子關係。
長者又囑咐他用心，莫使法有所漏失。一面是受命為菩薩說般若，應把教法完整傳出；另一面是這本來就是他自己的法，後來自己也要受用。窮子當時只懂得前一面，父親的囑咐卻已把後一面含在其中。
四、何以『復經少時』之後，才成就大志？
受命領知原有四段：正式受命，沒有希取，仍未捨低劣之心，最後才漸漸通泰。二乘人雖已仰慕大乘，還沒有決定要作菩薩；雖已羞恥於小，也還沒有決定捨去小果。經文用『少時』安放這個尚在變化中的心。
本論並錄兩解。一解把少時放在講完《般若》以後：二乘人到別處遊觀，反覆思量自己所領的大乘法門，開始貪慕欣樂，又思考這份領受究竟會不會失去；距《法華》已不遠，故名少時。另一解放在將說《無量義經》之時：聽見無量漸頓皆從一法而生，便思量過去三乘也應會入一法，由此漸漸通泰，大心發起。
兩解都沒有把大志寫成外加的一句命令。兒子在已領知的法門中反覆思量，從『只替別人管理』轉到自己也生欣樂；或者從諸法由一而出，想到三乘也應入一。成就大志，正發生在他重新理解自己已經聽過、說過、領過的家業之時。
五、為何正式付業時，要召集親族、國王與大眾？
因為這次不再只是私下委託辦事，而是當眾確定父子、宣告家業歸屬。長者命兒子並召集親族、國王、大臣、剎利、居士，待眾人齊集，才說這是自己所生之子，一切財物皆為子有。
本論在這裡保存一段爭論。舊說把分身、十地至七地依次配作親族、國王、大臣、剎利、居士；北人又以分身、多寶、十地、八地、三十心另作配當。本論追問：若多寶與分身在迹門法說時尚未現前，怎能指為當時的會眾？對方答稱，多寶與分身其實在身子懷疑時便已來證，只是經家為安次第而後置。本論明說這只是人情推想，無據可取，因而不用。
本論自己的解釋，以十方法身菩薩中隨佛助化之眾為親族；他們多是釋迦往昔同業，也曾在二萬億佛所與如來共同開化眾生。諸經各稱所詮之處為經王，各隨機緣興廢而如不同國土；如今諸教會入此典，便如國王會集。彌勒等大菩薩配大臣，初地至九地配剎利，三十心配居士；眾人都曾受釋迦教化。
這一大會要證明的不是窮子突然被收養。長者當眾追述：兒子確曾從自己受學，理解也由自己的教導而生；自己又曾在二萬億佛所教他大法，因此這是真子，自己也是真父。父子關係早已存在，公開宣言使窮子不再只以雇工身分理解自己。
六、所謂『正付家業』，究竟付了什麼？
長者說一切所有財物皆為子有，先前所出所入也都是兒子知道的。本論把一切所有解作大乘萬行萬德；先所出內，則回指般若時曾委託他領知的廣、略般若與共、不共法。從前他已知道、已管理、已宣說，如今長者才明說：你所知道的，也就是你所有的。
所以，正付並非把一份全然陌生的財物交到兒子手上。它使先前的領知改變歸屬：不是只替別人保管，而是自己本來有分；不是只靠外力說法，而是父子天性本來不異。經文用公開的父子宣言，把『能知』與『子有』接在一起。
本論又以某城、逃走與尋覓回看這段關係。眾生背離大乘，因無明而遁入生死，周遍六趣，如同離父漂泊五十餘年；佛從法身之地以二智觀察可化之機，直到今日感應相交，才說忽然相遇。相遇發生在今日，父子卻不是今日才成為父子。
七、既然從未希求，歡喜從何而來？
窮子聽見父親當眾宣言，立刻大歡喜，得到未曾有。他所歡喜的正是『不求自得』：本來沒有希求佛道，如今忽然聽見自己得記作佛。
本論把不求分成三段。在三藏教中，本心不求大法；在方等中，因小乘受呵而羞恥，又覺得大法無望，所以不求；在般若中，雖然已領知大法，仍以為不是自己的一分，所以不求。三段境遇不同，『無分』的自我判定卻一路未破。
因此，歡喜不是因為欲望終於得到滿足。恰恰相反，他從未敢把佛道列入自己的希求。如今父親宣告一切皆為子有，寶藏自然來到；這份所得越過了他原先對自己的估量，所以稱為未曾有。
八、合譬如何把家業故事帶回四大弟子的自述？
開譬詳寫父子、家業與聚眾；合譬則由四大弟子直接說明自身經歷。大富長者合如來，似佛子合逃父之子。『似』一面可指尚未入真、仍居外凡的大乘根機，一面可指形似大乘根性的小乘根機；品初所說入真，是開悟時，這裡所說似，是逃父時，兩處所指不同。
接著，根經以三苦、熱惱、樂著小法，回合追誘時沒有大乘根機而已有小志；以蠲除戲論之糞、勤加精進、得涅槃一日之價，回合二使陳事、除糞與先取工錢；以世尊先知、心著弊欲、便見捨棄，回合父親遙見、窮子羸瘦、長者換穿粗衣。
再往下，佛以方便力說如來智慧，合父子彼此信任；二乘人以一天之價為大得，合仍居本處；他們能為菩薩開示演說，合受命領業；自己對大乘沒有志願，合無希取。譬中長者先命、窮子後受，合文只明說受的一面。
譬中所見的是長者如何接近窮子、命他工作、委他家業；合譬才逐項說出四大弟子如何聞小、聞大、轉教而仍無志求。兩段一詳一略，父子故事與法義配對在合譬中相接，卻各守自己的敘事次序。
九、佛為何沒有更早付與？
四大弟子到今日才知道，世尊對佛智慧從來沒有吝惜。付業的最後疑問因此不是『佛肯不肯給』，而是『眾生當時能不能受』。昔日沒有早付大法，正因他們樂著小法，尚未能承受；並不是佛把家業藏起來不願給子。
今日經中所明之理只有一個，反過來證明往昔三乘不是究竟實有，只是眾生未堪時的方便。佛從前在菩薩面前呵責聲聞樂小，是要他們捨去所執的虛偽而取真實；祂實際上始終以大乘教化。
整段至此才真正回答開頭的問題。二乘人早已在家業之中，卻長久自稱無分；佛早已沒有吝惜，卻隨其樂小而不早宣付。今日的得，不是佛忽然改變心意，而是兒子終於通泰，父親也當眾說破那份從未斷失的父子關係：如佛子所應得者，如今皆已得之。
文句記之眼
湛然先把智者的遠近始終收得更緊：「是則齊教為近始，探領為遠始，二終但共為一」〔T34n1719 0284a14〕。五味雖展成長程，領與付仍共同指向同一終點。祂又提醒，索車之『索』不只指開口索求，也含根機中已經發動的求大之意〔0283c24〕。
對相體信，《文句記》說「子體父以大而比小，父體子以小而無違」〔0284b19〕：兒子由已得小果比知大法不虛，父親則從兒子在小法中無違而體知其心。可是湛然隨即收住時位，指出兒子尚未真正體父，見尊特身仍不能領受〔0284b20〕。互信已成，認領仍未完成。
無希取與後來的大志，也被祂分開：「據無希取未名欣欲，既已領知增後慕樂」〔0284a24〕。先能領知，後來才增加仰慕；這正照亮經文何以要在受命之後再安置『少時』。對兩種少時，湛然分作般若後望法華未遠，以及《無量義經》時去法華極近〔0284c19–0284c25〕。
三層不異到了鏡中，也各有時位。湛然說第一層正是般若中受加而說，第二層據理密明不二，二乘當時尚不知道；第三層才就今日付財而說，二乘從前只以為自己受加說法〔0284c09–0284c12〕。這樣一分，『說得與佛不異』與『知道自己本來是子』便沒有被壓成同一件事；鏡的分層正落在領知與認領之間。
聚眾爭論中，智者只寫北人與彼解；湛然才辨北人多指相州北道地論師〔0285a03〕，並判彼解為其答救、今謂為智者重破〔0285a07〕。祂又把本論今解的親族說成與父同業而「義當伯叔」〔0285a20〕。這些辨名與伯叔之義，都是鏡中增明，不是智者原段自署。
正付家業時，《記》以財從所營、業即造作，說付財與付業「名異義同故得互舉」〔0285a01〕；又以萬行為因、萬德為果，照明『一切所有』〔0285b25〕。祂同時登錄嘉祥五雙十隻，旋即批評只顧配對數目而不求教旨〔0285c06–0286a01〕，使古解與評破都留在鏡面。
合譬的略文，湛然說是因開譬已詳，所以不再重論〔0286a02〕。祂把『見子便識』一句展成見父四、見子四，合攝前來八文〔0286a11–0286a13〕；又說「言「三苦」者，由三苦故五濁加重」〔0286a20〕。八文與五濁都是《記》的判釋，回讀合譬時可見其照明，卻不會混成智者本論已明列的項目。
最後，《記》點出合文的省略法：「上有命有受，今但合受者不合命也。既有於受必知已命。」〔0286b13〕。四大弟子既能為菩薩開示演說，已足以顯示先前受命；合譬不重說命令，並不使領業少去一環。
The poor son can now freely enter and leave the elder’s house. He has been commanded to know its gold and silver, how much its storehouses contain, and even to handle taking and giving on the elder’s behalf. He lacks neither knowledge of the estate nor the capacity to manage it. What he still lacks is the most fundamental confirmation: “These things were mine as well.”
The “Faith and Understanding” chapter writes this belated recognition as a long path. Work for wages comes before mutual trust; understanding and managing the family estate comes before the gradual maturation of the great aspiration; only when the elder publicly joins father and son and formally declares that all he possesses belongs to the son does the poor son gain the unprecedented without ever having sought it. Master Zhiyi separates understanding the estate from its entrustment precisely to show that being able to hear, speak, and manage on another’s behalf is not completed at the same moment as truly knowing oneself to be the son.
I. Why Is the Family Estate Not Entrusted First, Before “Mutual Trust” Is Established?
The root treatise first divides understanding and entrustment into two passages each: mutual trust, commission with the family estate, entrustment of the family estate, and joy upon receiving it. In sequence, these four passages understand escape from danger, asking for the carts, equal bestowal, and joy. Their causal sequence is explicit: because father and son trust one another, the elder can commission him with the estate; because the son becomes familiar with the estate, his mind can gradually open; because the great aspiration matures, the elder can formally entrust it; and because the family estate truly becomes the son’s, joy can arise.
The first key is therefore not property but trust. Having personally realized the wages of nirvāṇa, the son trusts that the father’s present teaching of the Great Vehicle is also not false. Knowing that the son has severed the delusions of view and thought and will not slander the great Dharma upon hearing it, the father trusts that he can now bear it. The son trusts the father, and the father trusts the son: the scripture’s “their minds came to trust one another” is thus reciprocal.
This mutual trust has a visible result. Practitioners of the two vehicles can enter when they see the body adorned with special marks and hear the Mahāyāna teaching; after being reproved, they can also leave when they see the sixteen-foot body and hear the Lesser-Vehicle teaching. Moving between the great and lesser teachings, they no longer slander or retreat merely because they hear something different. The house has not formally been entrusted, but the way in and out has opened.
II. If Entering and Leaving Present No Difficulty, Why Does the Son Still Remain Where He Was?
Because not doubting the great Dharma is not yet the same as recognizing that one has a share in it. Though practitioners of the two vehicles can hear the Great and receive reproach without doubt or slander, inwardly they still regard the Great Vehicle as the affair of bodhisattvas and place themselves in the arhat position. They will not turn from the Lesser toward the Great, nor do they say that they will become buddhas in the future. This is precisely what the scripture means when it says, “the place where he stayed was still the original one.”
The root treatise therefore does not present trust as a transformation completed in an instant. Mutual trust first removes the difficulty of entering and leaving, yet it does not immediately remove “this is not mine.” The son works within the house but continues to regard himself as a hired laborer. He can already encounter the great Dharma, yet believes he only transmits it for bodhisattvas. Where he remains is not merely a location; it is also his judgment about what he can receive.
The remote and proximate causes consequently become distinct. Earlier employment and the receipt of a day’s wages are the remote cause; mutual trust and the present commission with the family estate are the proximate cause. Without the Lesser-Vehicle fruit as wages already received, he could not bear the later praise and censure. Without the later mutual trust, he could not reach either understanding or receiving the estate. The scripture makes each attainment the preceding cause of the next passage without prematurely calling an intermediate attainment the final one.
III. Why Does Knowing the Gold, Silver, and Storehouses Still Not Produce the Wish to Obtain Even One Meal?
When the elder commands the poor son to know the household affairs, he refers to more than the names of possessions. The root treatise explains gold, silver, storehouse, treasury, quantity, taking, and giving one by one. Gold and silver point to the shared and distinct principles; storehouse and treasury are the gates of concentration and wisdom, containing the 108 samādhis and eighteen emptinesses; quantity means the extensive and abbreviated gates of prajñā; taking is one’s own practice, and giving is transforming others. Once commissioned, the poor son can understand these Dharma gates and explain and expound them for bodhisattvas.
Yet increasing capacity does not immediately alter his judgment of himself. He thinks he merely carries out the Buddha’s command and passes the lamp to others, so even though he can teach prajñā, he still believes he has no share in it. The elder therefore not only commands him to know but also tells him to “understand my mind.” The Buddha takes prajñā as His mind. One who transmits the teaching must not merely relay its words but, from the analytical emptiness of dharmas that he formerly understood, apprehend the integral emptiness of dharmas that the Buddha commands him to teach.
“From this point there was no difference” therefore opens three meanings. First, practitioners of the two vehicles speak through the empowerment of the Buddha, and what they say does not differ from what the Buddha says. Second, all dharmas share one suchness: Subhūti’s suchness and the Tathāgata’s suchness are not two. Third, only today do they awaken to the fact that the natural relation of father and son has always been without difference. The first two meanings already enable him to speak and understand; only the third directly touches the father-son relation he has never dared acknowledge.
The elder further instructs him to be attentive and let none of the Dharma be lost. On one side, having been commanded to teach prajñā to bodhisattvas, he should transmit the teaching completely. On the other, this Dharma was originally his own and he himself will later enjoy its use. At the time, the poor son understands only the first side, but the father’s instruction already contains the second.
IV. Why Does the Great Aspiration Mature Only “After a Short Time”?
The original commission to understand and manage the estate has four passages: the formal command, absence of any wish to take, failure yet to relinquish the inferior mind, and finally gradual openness. Though practitioners of the two vehicles already admire the Great Vehicle, they have not resolved to become bodhisattvas. Though ashamed of the Lesser, they have not resolved to relinquish the Lesser-Vehicle fruit. The scripture’s “short time” gives a place to this still-changing mind.
The root treatise records two explanations. One places the short time after the teaching of the Prajñā scriptures: practitioners of the two vehicles travel elsewhere, repeatedly contemplate the Mahāyāna Dharma gates they have come to understand, begin to desire and delight in them, and consider whether this understanding might be lost; because the Lotus is no longer far away, this is called a short time. The other explanation places it when the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings is about to be taught: hearing that the immeasurable gradual and sudden teachings arise from a single Dharma, they consider that the former three vehicles should also converge in a single Dharma, and their minds thereby gradually open as the great resolve arises.
Neither explanation presents the great aspiration as a command imposed from without. The son repeatedly considers the Dharma gates he already understands, moving from “merely managing them for someone else” to delighting in them himself; or, from the many teachings’ emergence out of one, he considers that the three vehicles should also enter the one. The great aspiration matures precisely as he reinterprets the family estate he has already heard, taught, and understood.
V. Why Must Relatives, the King, and the Assembly Be Summoned When the Estate Is Formally Entrusted?
Because this is no longer a private commission to conduct business, but a public confirmation of father and son and a declaration of who owns the estate. The elder orders his son to summon the relatives, king, ministers, kṣatriyas, and householders. Only after they have assembled does he declare that this is his own begotten son and that all his possessions belong to him.
The root treatise preserves a dispute here. An old explanation correlates transformation bodies and bodhisattvas from the tenth through the seventh grounds respectively with relatives, king, ministers, kṣatriyas, and householders. Northern exegetes make another correlation using transformation bodies, Prabhūtaratna, the tenth ground, the eighth ground, and the thirty minds. The root treatise asks: if Prabhūtaratna and the transformation bodies had not yet appeared during the Dharma-teaching section of the Trace Gate, how could they be identified as members of the assembly at that time? The opponents answer that Prabhūtaratna and the transformation bodies had in fact already come to bear witness when Śāriputra was in doubt, but the scripture compiler placed them later to preserve the sequence. The root treatise expressly says that this is merely a conjecture based on human sentiment, without evidence to support it, and therefore does not use it.
The root treatise’s own explanation takes as relatives those dharma-body bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions who follow the Buddha and assist His teaching. Many shared past karma with Śākyamuni and had also joined the Tathāgata in teaching and transforming living beings in the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas. Each scripture calls the subject it expounds king among scriptures, and each arises or declines according to capacities and conditions as though belonging to a different realm; now all teachings converge in this scripture, like kings gathering together. Great bodhisattvas such as Maitreya correspond to ministers, the first through ninth grounds to kṣatriyas, and the thirty minds to householders. All had received Śākyamuni’s instruction.
This great assembly does not prove that the poor son has suddenly been adopted. The elder publicly recounts that the son truly studied under him and that his understanding arose from his teaching. He had also taught him the great Dharma in the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas. Thus this is the true son, and he is the true father. Their relation has long existed; the public declaration prevents the poor son from continuing to understand himself only as a hired laborer.
VI. What Exactly Is Entrusted in the “Formal Entrustment of the Family Estate”?
The elder says that all he possesses belongs to the son and that whatever previously passed in and out was known to him. The root treatise explains “all that he possesses” as the ten thousand practices and ten thousand virtues of the Great Vehicle. What previously “went out and came in” refers back to the extensive and abbreviated prajñā and the shared and distinct Dharmas he had been commissioned to understand during the Prajñā period. Formerly he knew, managed, and taught them; only now does the elder say explicitly: what you know is also what you own.
Formal entrustment therefore does not place wholly unfamiliar possessions in the son’s hands. It changes the ownership of what he already understands: he is not merely keeping it for others but has always had a share in it; he does not teach only through power borrowed from without, for the natural relation of father and son has always been without difference. Through a public declaration of father and son, the scripture joins “able to know” with “belonging to the son.”
The root treatise also looks back at the city, flight, and search. Living beings turn away from the Great Vehicle, flee through ignorance into birth and death, and range throughout the six destinies, like a son wandering for more than fifty years after leaving his father. From the ground of the dharma body, the Buddha uses the two wisdoms to contemplate capacities that can be transformed; only today, when stimulus and response intersect, does the text say they suddenly meet. The encounter occurs today, but they do not first become father and son today.
VII. If He Never Sought It, Where Does the Joy Come From?
Hearing his father’s public declaration, the poor son immediately rejoices greatly and gains the unprecedented. What he rejoices in is precisely “gaining without seeking”: he originally did not seek the Buddha Way, yet now suddenly hears that he will receive a prediction of buddhahood.
The root treatise divides non-seeking into three periods. Under the Tripiṭaka teaching, his original mind does not seek the great Dharma. Under the Vaipulya teaching, he is ashamed because the Lesser Vehicle is rebuked and regards the great Dharma as beyond hope, so he does not seek it. Under the Prajñā teaching, though he already understands and manages the great Dharma, he still believes that it is not his own share, so he does not seek it. The circumstances differ in these three periods, but the self-judgment “I have no share” remains unbroken throughout.
Joy therefore does not arise because a desire is finally satisfied. On the contrary, he has never dared include the Buddha Way among his aspirations. Now the father declares that everything belongs to the son, and the treasure comes of itself. This attainment exceeds his former estimation of himself and is therefore called unprecedented.
VIII. How Does the Application of the Parable Return the Story of the Estate to the Four Great Disciples’ Own Account?
The opening parable describes father and son, the family estate, and the assembled witnesses in detail. Its application lets the four great disciples directly explain their own experience. The great wealthy elder corresponds to the Tathāgata, and “seeming to be a buddha-son” corresponds to the son who fled his father. “Seeming” can refer on one side to a Mahāyāna capacity that has not yet entered the real and still remains an outer ordinary being, and on the other to a Lesser-Vehicle capacity that resembles a Mahāyāna disposition. The chapter’s opening reference to entering the real concerns the time of awakening; “seeming” here concerns the time of flight from the father. The two passages refer to different times.
The root scripture next uses the three sufferings, torment, and delight in the Lesser Dharma to apply the period of pursuit and inducement, when they had no Mahāyāna capacity but did possess lesser aspirations. Clearing away the dung of conceptual proliferation, diligent effort, and receiving the day’s wages of nirvāṇa apply the two messengers’ statement of the work, clearing dung, and first taking the wages. The World-Honored One’s prior knowledge, their minds’ attachment to base desires, and His letting them go apply the father’s distant seeing, the poor son’s weakness and thinness, and the elder’s changing into coarse clothing.
The Buddha’s next teaching of Tathāgata-wisdom through skillful means applies the mutual trust of father and son. Practitioners of the two vehicles regarding one day’s wages as a great attainment applies their still remaining where they were. Their ability to explain and expound for bodhisattvas applies being commissioned with the family estate. Their own lack of aspiration for the Great Vehicle applies having no wish to take. In the parable the elder first gives the command and the poor son later receives it; the application explicitly states only the receiving side.
In the parable, we see how the elder approaches the poor son, employs him, and commissions him with the estate. Only in the application do the four great disciples describe item by item how they heard the Lesser, heard the Great, transmitted the teaching, and yet still had no aspiration to seek. One section is detailed and the other abbreviated. The father-son story and its Dharma meanings meet in the application while each preserves its own narrative sequence.
IX. Why Did the Buddha Not Entrust It Earlier?
Only today do the four great disciples understand that the World-Honored One was never sparing with buddha-wisdom. The final question concerning entrustment is therefore not “Was the Buddha willing to give?” but “Could living beings receive it then?” The great Dharma was not entrusted earlier precisely because they delighted in the Lesser and could not yet bear it, not because the Buddha hid the family estate and refused to give it to His son.
The principle elucidated in today’s scripture is only one. In retrospect, this proves that the three vehicles of the past were not ultimately real but were skillful means used when living beings were not yet ready. When the Buddha formerly reproved śrāvakas before bodhisattvas for delighting in the Lesser, it was to make them relinquish the falsehood to which they clung and take up the real. In fact, He was always teaching them through the Great Vehicle.
Only here does the whole passage truly answer its opening question. Practitioners of the two vehicles had long been within the family estate, yet called themselves without a share. The Buddha had never been sparing, yet followed their delight in the Lesser and did not declare the entrustment early. Today’s attainment does not mean that the Buddha has suddenly changed His mind. The son has finally opened, and the father publicly reveals the relation of father and son that was never severed: all that buddha-sons should receive has now been received.
Through the Eye of the Wenjuji
Zhanran first draws Master Zhiyi’s remote and proximate beginnings and endings into a tighter relation: “Thus correspondence with the teaching is the proximate beginning, exploratory understanding is the remote beginning, and the two endings together are only one”〔T34n1719 0284a14〕. Although the five flavors unfold as a long course, understanding and entrustment still point together toward a single culmination. He also reminds us that “asking” in asking for the carts refers not only to verbal request but also to the desire for the Great already arising within one’s capacity〔0283c24〕.
Regarding mutual trust, the Wenjuji says, “The son apprehends the father by comparing the Great with the Lesser; the father apprehends the son through his being without opposition in the Lesser”〔0284b19〕. The son infers from the Lesser-Vehicle fruit already attained that the great Dharma is not false, while the father apprehends the son’s mind from his lack of opposition within the Lesser Dharma. Yet Zhanran immediately preserves the stage: the son does not yet truly apprehend the father, for he still cannot receive the body adorned with special marks〔0284b20〕. Mutual trust is established; recognition of inheritance is not.
He also distinguishes the absence of any wish to take from the later great aspiration: “With regard to having no wish to take, it is not yet called joyful desire; once he has understood and managed it, his later admiration and delight increase”〔0284a24〕. Understanding comes first; admiration grows afterward. This illuminates precisely why the scripture places “a short time” after the commission. Regarding the two explanations of “a short time,” Zhanran distinguishes the period after the Prajñā teaching, when the Lotus is not far away, from the time of the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings, when the Lotus is extremely near〔0284c19–0284c25〕.
In the mirror, each of the three meanings of non-difference also has its own stage. Zhanran says that the first concerns speaking under empowerment during the Prajñā period; the second secretly elucidates nonduality in terms of principle, which practitioners of the two vehicles did not yet know at the time; and the third concerns today’s entrustment of the estate, whereas in the past practitioners of the two vehicles believed that they spoke only under empowerment〔0284c09–0284c12〕. With this distinction, “speaking without difference from the Buddha” and “knowing that one has always been the son” are not compressed into a single event. The mirror’s stratification falls precisely between understanding the estate and recognizing one’s inheritance.
In the dispute concerning the assembly, Master Zhiyi writes only of Northern exegetes and the opposing explanation. Zhanran identifies the Northerners more specifically as the Northern Route Dilun masters of Xiangzhou〔0285a03〕, judges the opponents’ explanation to be their defensive answer, and identifies “now I say” as Master Zhiyi’s renewed refutation〔0285a07〕. He further explains that the relatives in the root treatise’s present interpretation share past karma with the father and so “in meaning correspond to elder and younger paternal uncles”〔0285a20〕. These identifications and the meaning of paternal uncles are clarifications added in the mirror, not labels assigned by Master Zhiyi in the root passage.
At the formal entrustment of the estate, the Wenjuji explains that possessions are what is managed and activity is what is performed, so entrusting possessions and entrusting the estate are “different in name but the same in meaning, and therefore may be used for one another”〔0285a01〕. It also illuminates “all that he possesses” by taking the ten thousand practices as causes and the ten thousand virtues as fruits〔0285b25〕. Zhanran also records Jiaxiang’s five pairs and ten single items, then criticizes that interpretation for attending only to the number of correlations without seeking the purport of the teaching〔0285c06–0286a01〕. Both the old interpretation and its refutation thus remain visible in the mirror.
Zhanran says that the application is abbreviated because the opening parable has already been given in detail〔0286a02〕. He expands “seeing the son, he recognized him at once” into the four items of seeing the father and the four of seeing the son, gathering the eight preceding passages〔0286a11–0286a13〕. He also says, “As for the words ‘three sufferings,’ because of the three sufferings the five turbidities become more severe”〔0286a20〕. The eight passages and five turbidities are judgments of the Wenjuji: they illuminate the application when read back through it, but are not confused with items Master Zhiyi had explicitly enumerated in the root treatise.
Finally, the Wenjuji identifies the application’s method of abbreviation: “Above there are both command and reception; now the application applies only reception and does not apply the command. Since reception is present, we necessarily know that a command was already given”〔0286b13〕. The four great disciples’ ability to explain and expound for bodhisattvas already suffices to show the prior command. The application’s not repeating it does not remove a link from their understanding of the estate.
考據Apparatus
本單元承〈信解品〉窮子譬的傭作、相近與領業，進入長者正式付與家業及四大弟子以法合譬之處。智者先以領、付二章回攝免難、索車、等賜、歡喜四意，再由遠近二由、五味次第，逐句解釋相體信、命領業、付業、歡喜，末依經文次序點出合譬。所帖根經、同品回指、諸經引文、湛然鏡釋、古解與十九組校異，以下各守其本文字面並列。
一、科判定位
嚴格域為 T34n1718〔0086a23–0088b29〕，讀本正文四千零五十字，其中漢字三千三百四十六。起句是「「過是已後」下，是第四領付家業譬」〔T34n1718 0086a23〕；末句是「「我等說本無心」下，合歡喜，亦是於三不求之意也。」〔0088b28，末字在 0088b29〕。同一行隨後另起一段「八十六行半偈，初七十」〔0088b29〕，已屬下一單元。
本單元在〈信解品〉窮子長譬中先開譬、後合譬。開譬以領、付為兩章，領章再分相體信、委以家業，付章再分付家業、得付欣悅；合譬則依根經次序回合父子相失、相見、追誘、二誘、領業、付業與歡喜。正文脈絡如下：
| 次第 | 行域 | 本論內容 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 0086a23–0086b03 | 總標領、付；各分二章，回領免難、索車、等賜、歡喜四意 |
| 二 | 0086b04–0086b11 | 遠由、近由；齊教領、探領的遠近始終 |
| 三 | 0086b11–0086c12 | 乳、酪、生蘇、熟蘇、醍醐五味次第 |
| 四 | 0086c12–0086c24 | 領家業第一章：相體信、入出無難而仍居本處 |
| 五 | 0086c24–0087a25 | 領家業第二章前半：命知家事四節 |
| 六 | 0087a25–0087b12 | 領家業第二章後半：受命四節及「少時」二解 |
| 七 | 0087b12–0087b16 | 正付家業總科：付業、歡喜；付業又分四節 |
| 八 | 0087b16–0087c15 | 命子聚眾為證；並錄舊說、北人說、彼解與本論今解 |
| 九 | 0087c15–0087c25 | 結會父子：受學、生解、曾教大法、逃走與推覓 |
| 十 | 0087c25–0088a01 | 正付家業：一切所有、先所出內 |
| 十一 | 0088a01–0088a06 | 得付歡喜：三段不求而今自得 |
| 十二 | 0088a06–0088a16 | 合譬總標、父子相失及「似／入真」問答 |
| 十三 | 0088a16–0088a22 | 合父子相見與追誘 |
| 十四 | 0088a22–0088b02 | 合齊教、探領二誘 |
| 十五 | 0088b02–0088b21 | 合付家業之由：體信、本處、受命、無希取 |
| 十六 | 0088b21–0088b29 | 合付與歡喜：佛於大無悋，昔未早付只因樂小 |
本論在總標中把因次寫成一條相承之路：由相體信而得委業，由備知家業而成大志，由意志通泰而得付業，因得家業而歡喜。領與付雖可分科，前後並非四個互不相涉的項目。
二、成立與傳本
本單元所在卷六上，卷端署「天台智者大師說」〔T34n1718 0074c06〕。神逈序的署名是「鏡中沙門神逈述」〔0001a04〕；序中又記「隋朝奉煬帝勅，撰此之玄文，迺是灌頂法師私記，合二十卷」〔0001a23〕，並記治定層「至唐天寶中歲在戊子，有東陽郡清泰寺朗和尚」〔0001a25〕。因此，義說依卷端歸智者，傳錄與治定依序文分層誌明；序署不倒作本單元段內署名。
本域正文現存十九組 <app> 對舉校記，其中五組甲本空讀；另有兩枚所傳行內夾註，沒有星號回指校、單邊校記或省略式校記，也沒有待解算外字。這些異存足以顯示現行字面並非只見一種形態，卻不能單憑十九組校項重建治定以前的完整譜系。正文從大正本，甲本異讀逐項並錄。
三、所帖經文與所引
（一）根經嚴格域與四段全文
本單元所消根經在本倉《妙法蓮華經》封印本 canon/tiantai/fahua/treatise/04_xinjie/04_xinjie_source.md 第九至十二行，第一行自「過是已後」起；大正藏本為 T09n0262〔0017a27–0017c09〕。當相共四段、七百七十二字，其中漢字六百四十一。
| 項目 | 磁碟值 |
|---|---|
| 本倉封印本 | canon/tiantai/fahua/treatise/04_xinjie/04_xinjie_source.md 第九至十二行；第九行內自「過是已後」起 |
| 大正藏原檔 | /Users/master/Projects/tripitaka/xml-p5-master/T/T09/T09n0262.xml |
| 當相起句 | 「過是已後，心相體信」〔0017a27〕 |
| 當相末句 | 「如佛子所應得者皆已得之。」〔0017c09〕 |
| 當相分母 | 四段；七百七十二字；六百四十一個漢字 |
| 大正藏原檔雜湊 | fea561821c9312376cf537fb7ad699abd242ea618a7d5edfcfad052bf456eb29 |
| 本倉封印本雜湊 | 63cc52c87adc1e6e64cc7c01785889846592c31e35a787426abef07553a6e690 |
| 段 | T09n0262 行錨 | 逐字經文 |
|---|---|---|
| 一 | 0017a27 | 過是已後，心相體信，入出無難，然其所止猶在本處。 |
| 二 | 0017a29 | 「世尊，爾時長者有疾，自知將死不久。語窮子言：『我今多有金銀珍寶，倉庫盈溢，其中多少、所應取與，汝悉知之。我心如是，當體此意。所以者何？今我與汝，便為不異，宜加用心，無令漏失。』爾時窮子，即受教勅，領知眾物，金銀珍寶及諸庫藏，而無悕取一飡之意。然其所止故在本處，下劣之心亦未能捨。復經少時，父知子意漸已通泰，成就大志，自鄙先心。臨欲終時，而命其子并會親族、國王、大臣、剎利、居士，皆悉已集，即自宣言：『諸君當知！此是我子，我之所生。於某城中、捨吾逃走，伶俜辛苦五十餘年，其本字某。我名某甲，昔在本城懷憂推覓，忽於此間遇會得之。此實我子，我實其父。今我所有一切財物，皆是子有，先所出內，是子所知。』 |
| 三 | 0017b15 | 「世尊！是時窮子聞父此言，即大歡喜，得未曾有，而作是念：『我本無心有所希求，今此寶藏自然而至。』 |
| 四 | 0017b18 | 「世尊！大富長者則是如來，我等皆似佛子，如來常說我等為子。世尊！我等以三苦故，於生死中受諸熱惱，迷惑無知，樂著小法。今日世尊令我等思惟，蠲除諸法戲論之糞，我等於中勤加精進，得至涅槃一日之價。既得此已，心大歡喜，自以為足，而便自謂：『於佛法中勤精進故，所得弘多。』然世尊先知我等，心著弊欲，樂於小法，便見縱捨，不為分別：『汝等當有如來知見寶藏之分。』世尊以方便力，說如來智慧。我等從佛，得涅槃一日之價，以為大得；於此大乘，無有志求。我等又因如來智慧，為諸菩薩開示演說，而自於此無有志願。所以者何？佛知我等心樂小法，以方便力、隨我等說；而我等不知真是佛子。今我等方知世尊，於佛智慧無所悋惜。所以者何？我等昔來真是佛子，而但樂小法，若我等有樂大之心，佛則為我說大乘法。於此經中唯說一乘，而昔於菩薩前，毀呰聲聞樂小法者，然佛實以大乘教化。是故我等，說本無心有所悕求。今法王大寶自然而至，如佛子所應得者皆已得之。」 |
（二）《文句》帖語與根經逐段對位
| T34n1718 帖語 | 行錨 | T09n0262 今本 | 行錨 | 字面狀態 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
「過是已後」下 | 0086a23 | 過是已後 | 0017a27 | 相合 |
心相體信 | 0086a27 | 心相體信 | 0017a28 | 相合 |
「然其所止猶在本處」者 | 0086c20 | 然其所止猶在本處 | 0017a28 | 相合 |
從世尊爾時長者有疾下 | 0086c24 | 世尊，爾時長者有疾 | 0017a29 | 疏去經文句讀 |
「將死不久」者 | 0086c29 | 自知將死不久 | 0017a29 | 疏截取末四字 |
「語窮子言我今多有」下 | 0087a01 | 語窮子言：『我今多有金銀珍寶 | 0017b01 | 疏合併經文內外引號 |
「其中多少」者 | 0087a09 | 其中多少、所應取與 | 0017b02 | 相合 |
「汝悉知之」 | 0087a12 | 汝悉知之 | 0017b02 | 相合 |
「我心如是」下 | 0087a13 | 我心如是 | 0017b02 | 相合 |
「今我與汝便為不異」者 | 0087a18 | 今我與汝，便為不異 | 0017b03 | 經文有逗點 |
「宜加用心」下 | 0087a22 | 宜加用心，無令漏失 | 0017b04 | 相合 |
「即受教勅」下 | 0087a25 | 爾時窮子，即受教勅 | 0017b04 | 疏截取 |
二、無悕取 | 0087a26 | 而無悕取一飡之意 | 0017b05 | 疏以科名縮寫 |
三、未捨劣心猶居本處者 | 0087a27 | 然其所止故在本處，下劣之心亦未能捨 | 0017b06 | 疏調整語序成科名 |
「復經少時父知子意」下 | 0087b02 | 復經少時，父知子意漸已通泰 | 0017b07 | 疏截取 |
「臨欲終時」下 | 0087b12 | 臨欲終時 | 0017b08 | 相合 |
「而命其子」下 | 0087b16 | 而命其子并會親族 | 0017b08 | 疏截取 |
「并會親族」者 | 0087b19 | 并會親族、國王、大臣、剎利、居士 | 0017b09 | 相合 |
「諸君當知」下 | 0087c15 | 諸君當知！此是我子 | 0017b10 | 相合 |
「於某城中」者 | 0087c17 | 於某城中、捨吾逃走 | 0017b11 | 相合 |
「捨吾逃走」 | 0087c21 | 捨吾逃走 | 0017b11 | 相合 |
「昔在本城懷憂推覓」 | 0087c22 | 昔在本城懷憂推覓 | 0017b12 | 相合 |
「忽於是間會遇見之」 | 0087c24 | 忽於此間遇會得之 | 0017b13 | 是／此、會遇見／遇會得並錄 |
「今我所有」下 | 0087c25 | 今我所有一切財物 | 0017b14 | 疏截取 |
「先所出內是子所知」者 | 0087c26 | 先所出內，是子所知 | 0017b14 | 經文有逗點 |
「窮子聞父此言」下 | 0088a01 | 是時窮子聞父此言 | 0017b15 | 根經多「是時」 |
「世尊大富長者」下 | 0088a06 | 世尊！大富長者則是如來 | 0017b18 | 疏去歎號並截取 |
「大富長者」 | 0088a09 | 大富長者則是如來 | 0017b18 | 相合 |
從「如來常說我等為子」下 | 0088a16 | 如來常說我等為子 | 0017b19 | 相合 |
從「我等以三苦故」下 | 0088a18 | 我等以三苦故 | 0017b19 | 相合 |
「樂著小法」者 | 0088a21 | 迷惑無知，樂著小法 | 0017b20 | 疏截取 |
「今日世尊令我等」下 | 0088a22 | 今日世尊令我等思惟 | 0017b21 | 疏截取 |
從「蠲除」下 | 0088a23 | 蠲除諸法戲論之糞 | 0017b21 | 疏截取 |
從「我等於中勤加精進」下 | 0088a24 | 我等於中勤加精進 | 0017b22 | 相合 |
「得至涅槃」下 | 0088a25 | 得至涅槃一日之價 | 0017b22 | 疏截取 |
從「然世尊先知我等」下 | 0088a26 | 然世尊先知我等 | 0017b24 | 相合 |
從「以方便力說如來智慧」下 | 0088b02 | 世尊以方便力，說如來智慧 | 0017b26 | 根經多「世尊」與逗點 |
從「我等從佛得涅槃一日之價」下 | 0088b10 | 我等從佛，得涅槃一日之價 | 0017b27 | 根經有逗點 |
從「我等又因如來智慧」下 | 0088b11 | 我等又因如來智慧 | 0017b29 | 相合 |
「而自於此」下 | 0088b15 | 而自於此無有志願 | 0017c01 | 相合 |
「無志願」者 | 0088b15 | 無有志願 | 0017c01 | 根經多「有」 |
「所以者何」下 | 0088b17 | 所以者何？佛知我等心樂小法 | 0017c01 | 當相域內第二見 |
「佛以方便力隨我等說」者 | 0088b19 | 以方便力、隨我等說 | 0017c02 | 根經主語承前句，疏重置主語 |
「今我等方知」下 | 0088b21 | 今我等方知世尊 | 0017c03 | 疏截取 |
「我等說本無心」下 | 0088b28 | 我等，說本無心有所悕求 | 0017c08 | 根經有逗點及後文 |
（三）合譬回指的同品前文
合譬另以『上言／上有』回指本品前文；這些經句仍在同一封印本〈信解品〉，不併入上列七百七十二字當相分母。
| T34n1718 回指 | 行錨 | T09n0262 前文 | 行錨 | 封印本行 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
「何為見捉自念無罪」 | 0088a20 | 我不相犯，何為見捉？ | 0016c27 | 七 |
| 同上第二半 | 0088a20 | 于時窮子，自念無罪 | 0016c28 | 七 |
上初遣傍追 | 0088a19 | 即遣傍人，急追將還 | 0016c25 | 七 |
次放捨 | 0088a20 | 我今放汝，隨意所趣 | 0017a05 | 七 |
具陳上事 | 0088a23 | 時二使人即求窮子，既已得之，具陳上事 | 0017a11 | 八 |
先取其價 | 0088a25 | 爾時窮子先取其價 | 0017a12 | 九 |
尋與除糞 | 0088a24 | 尋與除糞 | 0017a13 | 九 |
上言遙見 | 0088b01 | 父遙見之 | 0016c29 | 七 |
上言羸瘦憔悴 | 0088b01 | 羸瘦憔悴 | 0017a14 | 九 |
上言即脫瓔珞更著麁弊 | 0088b01 | 即脫瓔珞、細軟上服、嚴飾之具，更著麁弊垢膩之衣 | 0017a15 | 九 |
今言便見棄捨 | 0088b01 | 便見縱捨 | 0017b25 | 十二 |
末項兼涉校本：T34n1718 大正本作「棄」，甲本作「縱」〔0088b01〕；T09n0262 今本作「縱」〔0017b25〕。三方字面並錄，不以根經代疏本選讀。
（四）本經他處所指
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 | 對位 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 湛然所引 T09n0262 | 如此皆為得一佛乘、一切種智故。 | 0007b21 | 《記》〔0283c27〕作「如是皆為得一佛乘一切種智故」 |
| T09n0262 | 舍利弗當知！我見佛子等 | 0010a10 | 《記》立為索車譬本 |
| T09n0262 | 我即作是念：『如來所以出 | 0010a14 | 《記》立為免難譬本 |
| T09n0262 | 正直捨方便，但說無上道。 | 0010a19 | 《記》立為等賜譬本 |
| T09n0262 | 菩薩聞是法，疑網皆已除 | 0010a20 | 《記》立為得車歡喜譬本 |
| 智者所指 T09n0262 | 我昔曾於二萬億佛所，為無上道故，常教化汝 | 0011b10 | 本論〔0087b17、0087c03、0087c16〕三次取二萬億佛所 |
| 智者所指 T09n0262 | 爾時有佛，名大通智勝如來 | 0022a20 | 本論〔0087c18〕以大通智勝因緣作可能解 |
| 智者、湛然所指 T09n0262 | 欲令眾生開佛知見，使得清淨故 | 0007a24 | 本論〔0086c02〕作「開佛知見」；《記》〔0285c04〕作「佛之知見」 |
（五）智者所引原句與今本
1. 五味鏈：《大般涅槃經》
| T34n1718 所傳 | 行錨 | T12n0374 今本 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|---|
內合從佛出十二部經 | 0086b13 | 從佛出生十二部經 | 0449a09 |
內合從十二部出修多羅 | 0086b18 | 從十二部經出修多羅 | 0449a09 |
內合從修多羅出方等經 | 0086b27 | 從修多羅出方等經 | 0449a10 |
是從方等出摩訶般若 | 0086c07 | 從方等經出般若波羅蜜 | 0449a10 |
是從摩訶般若出大涅槃 | 0086c09 | 從般若波羅蜜出大涅槃 | 0449a11 |
今本同段譬文是「譬如從牛出乳，從乳出酪，從酪出生穌，從生穌出熟穌，從熟穌出醍醐」〔T12n0374 0449a06〕。
2. 《大品》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1718 所傳 | 《大品》中云「汝當為菩薩說」 | 0087a12 |
| T08n0223 今本命語 | 汝當教諸菩薩摩訶薩般若波羅蜜 | 0230b22 |
| T08n0223 今本眾念 | 智慧力當為諸菩薩摩訶薩說般若波羅蜜耶？為是佛力？ | 0230b25 |
T08n0223 今本未見「汝當為菩薩說」連續字串；現存命語用「教」，眾念另有「當為諸菩薩摩訶薩說」。三層字面並列。
3. 《無量義經》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1718 所傳 | 彼云「初說四諦十二緣生，次說方等十二部經，次說摩訶般若華嚴海空」 | 0087c09 |
| T09n0276 今本第一段 | 初說四諦，為求聲聞人 | 0386b21 |
| T09n0276 今本第二段 | 中於處處演說甚深十二因緣 | 0386b23 |
| T09n0276 今本第三段 | 次說方等十二部經、摩訶般若、華嚴海雲 | 0386b24 |
本論合併三處，傳「十二緣生」「華嚴海空」；T09n0276 今本作「十二因緣」「華嚴海雲」。
4. 《薩云經》指針與《薩曇分陀利經》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1718 本域 | 今不用彼解，依《薩云經》〔云云〕。 | 0087c01 |
| T34n1718 後文 | 今依《薩雲分陀利經》云「佛說法華無央數偈時， | 0113a11 |
| T09n0265 題名 | 薩曇分陀利經 | 0197a03 |
| T09n0265 今本 | 說《薩曇分陀利》〔漢言法華〕，佛說無央數偈 | 0197a12 |
| T09n0265 今本後文 | 復說無央數偈言 | 0197a25 |
『薩云／薩雲／薩曇』三形與『佛說法華無央數偈時／佛說無央數偈』並存，本相不統一題名。
5. 只標名而未逐字引句的來源
| T34n1718 逐字 | 行錨 | 紀錄 |
|---|---|---|
堪並聞《大集》、受折《淨名》、轉教《般若》 | 0086b06 | 三部只作教段指針，本句沒有各經逐字引文 |
傍人所說乃譬《華嚴》圓頓 | 0086b12 | 《華嚴》只作配教指針 |
此領《大品》佛命轉教《般若》熟蘇之教也 | 0086c25 | 明標《大品》，逐字命語見上表 |
（六）湛然所引原句與今本
以下各項只歸《法華文句記》所引，不回署為智者所引。
1. 《大經》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 《大經》中云「從牛出乳」 | 0284a19 |
| T12n0374 今本 | 譬如從牛出乳 | 0449a06 |
2. 《淨名》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 譬如須彌山王顯于大海，安處眾寶師子之座，蔽於一切諸來大眾 | 0284b22 |
| T14n0475 今本 | 譬如須彌山王顯于大海，安處眾寶師子之座，蔽於一切諸來大眾 | 0537b23 |
3. 《藥師》字面
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 《藥師》中「巍巍堂堂如星中之月」 | 0284b24 |
| T14n0450《藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經》今本近文 | 功德巍巍，身善安住，焰網莊嚴，過於日月 | 0405a12 |
| T14n0581《佛說八師經》平行字面 | 巍巍堂堂，猶星中月 | 0965a11 |
T14n0450 未見鏡引全串；T14n0581 有近乎逐字的平行句，題名卻不是《藥師》。兩件事分列。
4. 《大集》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 《大集》中「集二界中間」 | 0284b25 |
| T13n0397 今本 | 於欲色天二界中間出大坊庭 | 0001b18 |
今本有「二界中間」，未見鏡句的連續「集二界中間」。
5. 《大品》廣略相
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 第二十一〈方便品〉云「須菩提白佛：如佛所說若廣若略，諸菩薩云何求耶？佛言：如是！如是！若菩薩摩訶薩學是廣攝般若，則知一切法廣略相。」 | 0284c04 |
| T34n1719 本書前出同引 | 須菩提白佛言：如佛所說若廣若略，諸菩薩等云何求耶？ | 0225c24 |
T08n0223 現存本第二十一品題作〈出到品〉，全卷未見『若廣若略／廣攝般若／廣略相』連續字串。兩處鏡引照錄，不以另一段文字補成今本。
6. 《般若》佛力句
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 豈聲聞人敢有所說？有所說者皆是佛力。 | 0284c13 |
| T08n0223 今本 | 諸佛弟子所說法、所教授，皆是佛力 | 0230b28 |
| T08n0223 今本續文 | 一切聲聞、辟支佛實無是力能為菩薩摩訶薩說般若波羅蜜 | 0230c02 |
鏡句把今本相鄰兩意收成問答式短句。
7. 菩提流支《法界論》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 菩提流支《法界論》云：「佛成道後四十二年說法華經。」 | 0285a01 |
| T49n2035 後出保存 | 佛成道後。四十二年說法華經 | 0162c21 |
本地大正藏未見獨立題為《法界論》的今本；完全字面除《記》外，另見後出 T49n2035。後見只作保存線索。
8. 《無量義經》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 彼經既云「諸經無量皆從一出」 | 0285b16 |
| T09n0276 今本 | 說法無量，義亦無量。無量義者，從一法生 | 0385c23 |
鏡句是收束式表述；今本連續字面如表。
9. 《薩曇分陀利經》
| 層位 | 逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|
| T34n1719 所引 | 若三請之時佛未說經，何得經云「佛說無央數偈時」 | 0285a14 |
| T09n0265 今本 | 說《薩曇分陀利》〔漢言法華〕，佛說無央數偈 | 0197a12 |
鏡句比今本多「時」；來源題名由《記》回指本論〈多寶品〉。
四、文句記釋要〔鏡〕
鏡本卷端署「唐天台沙門湛然述」〔T34n1719 0151a05〕。《法華文句記》的對應域始於「「第四領付譬」者，是第四五合為一段」〔0283c16〕，止於「今既付與仍兼上三，須出其意。」〔0286b16，末字在 0286b17〕。下一句「「上開譬有四相失」等者」〔0286b17〕已入下一單元。
湛然先把本論四意再接回〈方便品〉四處偈文：大機動為索車譬本，佛歡喜為免難譬本，正直捨方便為等賜譬本，菩薩聞法悟入為得車歡喜譬本〔0283c29–0284a05〕。祂又說齊教是近始、探領是遠始，二者終點合一〔0284a14〕；此為鏡面對本論遠近始終的疏通。
相體信處，《記》以「若不互釋相義不成」〔0284b19〕收緊「相」字，再分「子體父以大而比小，父體子以小而無違」〔0284b19〕。對三層不異，祂以般若時、理上不二與今時付財分層〔0284c09–0284c12〕；對「少時」二答，則分般若後望法華未遠與無量義時去法華極近〔0284c19–0284c25〕。
聚眾異解中，本論只稱「北人」與「彼解」；《記》才辨「北人」多指相州北道地論師〔0285a03〕，並把「彼解云」判為地論師救、「今謂」判為重破〔0285a07〕。本論今解的親族，《記》再釋作同業相關而「義當伯叔」〔0285a20〕。這些人名辨識與伯叔判語均屬湛然鏡釋。
正付家業處，《記》說付財與付業「名異義同故得互舉」〔0285a01〕，又以萬行為因、萬德為果，說明所付之藏〔0285b25–0285b28〕。祂錄嘉祥將前文結成五雙十隻〔0285c06–0285c22〕，隨後以「況三種與五雙理自相反〔云云〕」〔0285c26〕及「不求教旨用教何耶？」〔0286a01〕加以評破；五雙不是智者本域自列的法數。
合譬處，《記》釋略合為開譬已詳〔0286a02〕，並由結緣不壞解大小二機皆稱「似」〔0286a03〕。又把「但合長者見子便識」展成見父四、見子四，一句含前八文〔0286a11–0286a13〕；把三苦連到五濁加重〔0286a20〕；把息化分成四層〔0286a27〕。八文、五濁與息化四分都只見鏡釋，不能反署為本論原句。
本鏡面沒有另展開四個本論細項：倉為百八三昧、庫為十八空〔T34n1718 0087a05〕；「宜加用心」的教、理二意〔0087a23〕；三藏、方等、般若三段不求〔0088a03〕；付中佛本無悋與樂小故未早付〔0088b22〕。這一無見只限〔T34n1719 0283c16–0286b17〕的對應域。
五、諸家異釋
本論在嚴格域內自錄「一云」一見、「又當說」一見、「舊云」二見、「北人」一見、「彼解云」一見、「今謂」一見、「今不用」一見、「或可說」一見及「光宅」一見；『有人云／或言／解者不同／又云』均未見。各支依本論次序如下：
| 議題 | 層位 | 本論逐字 | 行錨 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 少時 | 第一解 | 一云說《般若》竟，於異處遊觀，尋思所領大乘法門生心貪樂，為失為不失，如此等尋思，即是大乘機發時也。此時去《法華》未遠故言少時。 | 0087b04 |
| 少時 | 第二解 | 又當說無量義時大乘機發。何以知然？無量義中明七種方便，無量漸頓從一法生。既聞此說，思惟昔之三藏三乘悉從一法生，如是三乘亦應入一，如是思時漸已通泰大心即發，故言成就大志也。 | 0087b07 |
| 聚眾 | 舊說 | 舊云分身如親族，十地如國王，九地如大臣，八地如剎利，七地如居士。 | 0087b19 |
| 聚眾 | 北人說 | 北人用分身為親族，多寶為國王也，十地為大臣，八地為剎利，三十心為居士。 | 0087b21 |
| 聚眾 | 彼解 | 彼解云，正是身子懷疑之時，於《法華》中未能生信，是故多寶、分身一時來證。若疑除信解、受記已竟，復用多寶何所證耶？故知法說之時多寶已出，但出經者言不疊安，為作次第置因門後耳。 | 0087b24 |
| 聚眾 | 本論自判 | 今謂此是人情，無以取據。說迹門近事未用古證，若說本門遠事，必須先證昔。 | 0087b28 |
| 聚眾 | 本論取據 | 今不用彼解，依《薩云經》〔云云〕。 | 0087c01 |
| 聚眾 | 本論今解 | 今明十方法身菩薩影響者為親族，影響之眾多是釋迦昔日同業，並共如來於二萬億佛所共開化之，於其悉是伯叔之行，故用此為親族。 | 0087c02 |
| 某城、某甲 | 本論可能解 | 或可說昔名字國土如大通智勝因緣，今簡略名字直言某甲。 | 0087c18 |
| 合譬分法 | 光宅說與本論評語 | 光宅合之或前或後，釋之甚略。今但依文點意不復子派。合譬略者，貴在得意不俟費辭。 | 0088a07 |
| 似／入真 | 本論問答 | 問：初釋品云已得入真，此那言似？答：此合子逃父時，是故言似。品初明子開悟時，汝問非也。 | 0088a14 |
| 方便力說智慧 | 舊說與本論今解 | 舊云，如來智慧之因，持作二乘之果。今明帶三乘方便，說大乘實相，故言以方便力於我等前說大乘法。亦是合出入無難，以方便力出辯二乘，以佛智力入明實相。若不體信，豈於我前明佛慧耶？ | 0088b05 |
前兩種聚眾配當之後，本論先設難，再錄彼解，繼而明說「今謂」與「今不用」，最後提出自己的親族、國王、大臣、剎利、居士配當。登錄順序本身保留了設難、答辯、駁語與今解的層次。
六、術語
| 術語 | 本論所指 |
|---|---|
| 領／付 | 領兼回領前說與領知家業；付是付業、付財與付與家業 |
| 相體信 | 「相」是父子互相信；子信大教不虛，父知子聞大不謗 |
| 委業／付業 | 委業是命知、領知家事；付業是後來正式宣言家業皆為子有 |
| 遠由／近由 | 傭作取一日價是遠由；相體信而委業是近由 |
| 齊教領／探領 | 前者自道樹至出宅，後者自法身至思盡；本論合論遠近始終 |
| 五味 | 乳、酪、生蘇、熟蘇、醍醐，依本論列序配五段說法 |
| 入／出 | 見尊特身、聞大乘名入；受訶後仍見丈六、聞小乘名出 |
| 本處 | 聞大仍以為菩薩之事，自己仍居羅漢位與小乘自分 |
| 金／銀 | 金配別教理，銀配通教理；「多有」約能詮之門多 |
| 倉／庫 | 倉是定門、百八三昧；庫是慧門、十八空境 |
| 多少／取與 | 少、多是般若略廣二門；取是自行，與是化他 |
| 我心／體意 | 佛以般若為心；二乘由析法空轉教同體法空 |
| 不異 | 本論列三式：被加說法與佛不異、諸法皆如故不異、今悟父子天性本來不異 |
| 無令漏失 | 一就為菩薩說般若教，一就此法後時當用 |
| 少時 | 一解在說般若後，一解在將說《無量義經》時 |
| 通泰／大志 | 心意漸開，鄙棄先前只求小果之心，大乘機發 |
| 靈山八載 | 本論用以說明付業時節；《記》另引四十二年之說，二數各守原文 |
| 影響者 | 隨佛示現、助化之眾，本論以之解親族 |
| 人情／不疊安 | 「人情」是本論批前解無可取據；「不疊安」出自被駁的彼解 |
| 某城／某甲 | 經文不具城名、人名；本論只以「或可」提出大通智勝因緣的可能解 |
| 一切所有 | 本論配一切大乘萬行萬德 |
| 出內 | 根經與本論均保存此字面；本論回指昔日般若領教 |
| 不求自得 | 三藏本心不求，方等恥小望絕，般若領而自謂無分；今忽聞得記 |
| 似 | 本論分大機、小機二義，又以逃父時與開悟時答「似／入真」之難 |
| 棄／縱捨 | 本論大正本作棄，甲本作縱；根經今本作縱 |
| 無悋 | 佛本不吝於大法；昔未早付，是因眾生樂小而未堪 |
本域字面未見五時八教、化儀、化法、藏通別圓、迹門十妙、本門十妙、一念三千七個後世約詞。
七、譬喻・互讀・承衍
本章的中心意象不是家業突然從無到有，而是窮子已被長者信任、已能出入、已領知倉庫多少，心中卻仍無一餐希取之意。金銀珍寶、倉庫盈溢、取與多少，逐層顯出能知、能說與自認有分之間的差距。直到長者聚眾宣言父子，先前所管之業才明說為子所有；歡喜因而落在「不求自得」，不是另得一份此前不存在的財物。
五味譬把這一長程置入從乳至醍醐的次第。本論逐列傍人、密遣二人、相體信、委業與正付五段，並各以《大般涅槃經》五味鏈相接；乳、酪、生蘇、熟蘇、醍醐的數目與順序固定，不互易。領付家業又近領火宅等賜大車、遠領〈方便品〉無上道，故與前一組法說、譬說之交互相照見：法說已明所歸，窮子譬則使信任、領知、付與與歡喜成為可見的敘事。
合譬不是把譬段所配之法倒回去當作長者故事的經文自說。根經先說大富長者即如來、四大弟子皆似佛子，再依自身經歷回合追誘、除糞、取價、領業與得付；本論也以「依文點意」循此順序。開譬詳敘金銀倉庫與聚眾宣言，合譬則撮意回收，二者詳略不同而前後相應。
與《無量義經》互讀，本論以三段所傳語說諸經會入此典；與《大般涅槃經》互讀，五味鏈提供從乳至醍醐的譬本；與《般若經》互讀，佛命菩薩說法與一切所說皆是佛力，照見受命而說仍自謂無分。與本經二萬億佛所、大通智勝因緣及開佛知見等處互讀，則可見父子、親族、某城與正付之說各有本經遠近支點。
湛然承此章辨北人、彼解，疏通付財與付業，並以嘉祥五雙十隻作另一組承衍材料；祂隨即批評只對數而失教旨。故五雙可作古德互讀，不能倒作智者本章原列。
八、校本定位
（一）十九組【大】／【甲】異讀
| 次 | 行錨 | 錨型 | 【大】 | 【甲】 | 短境 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | 0086a26 | 數字錨 0086001 | 車 | 大車 | 共領火宅等賜車中四意 |
| 二 | 0086b10 | 數字錨 0086002 | 位 | 味 | 慈悲四位調熟 |
| 三 | 0086b17 | 數字錨 0086003 | 革 | 隔 | 革凡成聖 |
| 四 | 0086c06 | 數字錨 0086004 | 之 | 甲本缺 | 般若之後 |
| 五 | 0086c07 | 數字錨 0086005 | 說 | 甲本缺 | 財與記說《法華》 |
| 六 | 0086c08 | 數字錨 0086006 | 以 | 已 | 悉以如來滅度 |
| 七 | 0086c12 | 數字錨 0086007 | 文 | 文又 | 領家業文 |
| 八 | 0087a12 | 數字錨 0087001 | 云 | 言 | 故云「汝悉知之」 |
| 九 | 0087a16 | 數字錨 0087002 | 命 | 命令 | 命轉教 |
| 十 | 0087b06 | 數字錨 0087003 | 去 | 去般若 | 此時去《法華》 |
| 十一 | 0087b10 | 數字錨 0087004 | 是 | 此 | 如是三乘 |
| 十二 | 0087b13 | 數字錨 0087005 | 謂 | 甲本缺 | 謂一、付業 |
| 十三 | 0087c17 | 數字錨 0087006 | 甞 | 常 | 甞教大法 |
| 十四 | 0087c21 | 數字錨 0087007 | 言 | 云 | 故言「捨吾逃走」 |
| 十五 | 0088a01 | 數字錨 0088001 | 窮 | 實 | 窮子聞父此言 |
| 十六 | 0088b01 | 數字錨 0088002 | 棄 | 縱 | 便見棄捨 |
| 十七 | 0088b05 | 數字錨 0088003 | 力說 | 甲本缺 | 以方便力說如來智慧 |
| 十八 | 0088b23 | 數字錨 0088004 | 付 | 付與 | 付有二 |
| 十九 | 0088b25 | 數字錨 0088005 | 下 | 甲本缺 | 此經中下舉今證昔 |
十九組都是數字錨對舉式 <app>；其中第四、第五、第十二、第十七、第十九為甲本空讀。嚴格域的星號 corresp 回指型、單邊 <note type="mod"> 型與『首末字加字數』省略型皆為零。
（二）所傳夾註
| 行錨 | 讀者形逐字 |
|---|---|
| 0087c02 | 「今不用彼解，依《薩云經》〔云云〕。」 |
| 0088a14 | 「子既逃父，貶之言似〔云云〕。」 |
兩枚 <note place="inline"> 都以〔云云〕留在所屬句內，不計入十九組校異。
（三）外字、目錄與頁錨
嚴格域的 <g> 標籤與未解外字實數均為零；這只表示本域沒有待解算外字，不推出全卷無外字。
讀者原典採換頁一枚、段首行內精錨，現見〔T34 0086a23〕、〔T34 0087b03〕、〔T34 0088a14〕三枚。考據中的每條逐字引文則另依引句首字前最近的大正藏 <lb> 定位；同一讀者頁錨不能替代逐句行錨。嚴格域末句與下一單元起句共用〔0088b29〕，其收界另依段落邊界分開。
This unit continues the poor-son parable in the “Faith and Understanding” chapter from employment, approach, and understanding the estate into the elder’s formal entrustment of the family estate and the four great disciples’ application of the parable through the Dharma. Master Zhiyi first uses the two chapters of understanding and entrustment to gather the four meanings of escape from danger, asking for the carts, equal bestowal, and joy. Through the remote and proximate causes and the sequence of the five flavors, he then explains phrase by phrase mutual trust, the command to understand the estate, entrustment, and joy, before identifying the application according to the scripture’s sequence. The attached root scripture, intrachapter references, scriptural citations, Zhanran’s mirror explanations, old interpretations, and nineteen transmitted variants are recorded below in their respective textual layers.
I. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
The strict domain is T34n1718〔0086a23–0088b29〕, containing 4,050 characters in the reader text, of which 3,346 are Han characters. It begins with 「「過是已後」下，是第四領付家業譬」 tr. “‘Beginning with “after this” is the fourth parable, understanding and entrusting the family estate’”〔T34n1718 0086a23〕 and ends with 「「我等說本無心」下，合歡喜，亦是於三不求之意也。」 tr. “‘Beginning with “we say that originally we had no wish,” it applies joy and is also the meaning of the three periods of non-seeking’”〔0088b28, final graph at 0088b29〕. A separate passage beginning later on the same line, 「八十六行半偈，初七十」 tr. “‘of the eighty-six and a half lines of verse, the first seventy’”〔0088b29〕, already belongs to the next unit.
Within the poor son’s extended parable in the “Faith and Understanding” chapter, this unit first opens the parable and then applies it. The opening parable has the two chapters of understanding and entrustment. Understanding is divided into mutual trust and commission with the estate; entrustment is divided into entrusting the estate and joy upon receiving it. The application then returns in scriptural order to the separation of father and son, their meeting, pursuit and inducement, the two modes of inducement, understanding the estate, entrusting it, and joy. The structure of the root treatise is as follows:
| Sequence | Line Domain | Root-Treatise Content |
|---|---|---|
| I | 0086a23–0086b03 | General heading of understanding and entrustment; each divided into two passages, gathering the four meanings of escape from danger, asking for the carts, equal bestowal, and joy |
| II | 0086b04–0086b11 | Remote and proximate causes; remote and proximate beginnings and endings in correspondence with the teaching and exploratory understanding |
| III | 0086b11–0086c12 | Sequence of the five flavors: milk, curds, raw ghee, refined ghee, and clarified essence |
| IV | 0086c12–0086c24 | First chapter of understanding the estate: mutual trust, entering and leaving without difficulty, yet remaining in the original place |
| V | 0086c24–0087a25 | First half of the second chapter of understanding the estate: four parts in the command to know the household affairs |
| VI | 0087a25–0087b12 | Second half of the second chapter of understanding the estate: four parts in receiving the command and two explanations of 「少時」 tr. “‘a short time’” |
| VII | 0087b12–0087b16 | General division of formally entrusting the estate: entrustment and joy; entrustment further divided into four parts |
| VIII | 0087b16–0087c15 | Commanding the son to assemble witnesses; old explanation, Northern explanation, opposing explanation, and the root treatise’s present interpretation |
| IX | 0087c15–0087c25 | Joining father and son: study under the father, understanding born from his teaching, earlier instruction in the Great Dharma, flight, and search |
| X | 0087c25–0088a01 | Formally entrusting the estate: all that is possessed and what formerly went out and came in |
| XI | 0088a01–0088a06 | Joy upon receiving the entrustment: three periods of non-seeking and present spontaneous attainment |
| XII | 0088a06–0088a16 | General heading of the application, separation of father and son, and the question and answer concerning 「似／入真」 tr. “‘seeming / entering the real’” |
| XIII | 0088a16–0088a22 | Applying the meeting of father and son and pursuit and inducement |
| XIV | 0088a22–0088b02 | Applying the two modes of inducement: correspondence with the teaching and exploratory understanding |
| XV | 0088b02–0088b21 | Applying the causes of entrusting the estate: mutual trust, original place, receiving the command, and no wish to take |
| XVI | 0088b21–0088b29 | Applying entrustment and joy: the Buddha was never sparing with the Great, and did not entrust it early only because beings delighted in the Lesser |
In its general heading, the root treatise writes the causal sequence as one continuous path: mutual trust enables the commission with the estate; complete knowledge of the estate matures the great aspiration; the opening of intention and aspiration enables entrustment; and receiving the estate gives rise to joy. Although understanding and entrustment can be divided analytically, the four passages are not unrelated items.
II. Formation and Transmission
At the head of fascicle six, part one, the attribution reads 「天台智者大師說」 tr. “‘spoken by the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai’”〔T34n1718 0074c06〕. The attribution to Shenjiong’s preface reads 「鏡中沙門神逈述」 tr. “‘composed by the śramaṇa Shenjiong of Jingzhong’”〔0001a04〕. The preface also records 「隋朝奉煬帝勅，撰此之玄文，迺是灌頂法師私記，合二十卷」 tr. “‘in the Sui dynasty, by command of Emperor Yang, this profound text was compiled; it is Master Guanding’s private record, in twenty fascicles altogether’”〔0001a23〕 and the redactional layer 「至唐天寶中歲在戊子，有東陽郡清泰寺朗和尚」 tr. “‘in the Tang Tianbao era, in the middle year wuxu, there was Master Lang of Qingtai Monastery in Dongyang Commandery’”〔0001a25〕. The doctrinal exposition is therefore attributed to Master Zhiyi according to the fascicle heading, while recording and redaction are stratified according to the preface. The preface attribution is not retrospectively treated as an attribution within this unit.
The present domain contains nineteen paired <app> variants, five of which have an empty reading in witness A. It also contains two transmitted inline notes, with no starred cross-reference variants, unilateral notes, abbreviated variants, or unresolved gaiji. These variants suffice to show that the present wording was not transmitted in only one form, but nineteen variant units alone cannot reconstruct a complete stemma preceding the redaction. The body follows the Taishō text and records the readings of witness A individually.
III. Sutra Passages Explained and Works Cited
1. Strict Root-Scripture Domain and the Four Complete Passages
The root scripture explained in this unit appears in lines nine through twelve of this repository’s sealed Lotus Sutra text, canon/tiantai/fahua/treatise/04_xinjie/04_xinjie_source.md, beginning within line nine at 「過是已後」 tr. “‘after this.’” In the Taishō canon it is T09n0262〔0017a27–0017c09〕. The four passages contain 772 characters, of which 641 are Han characters.
| Item | Disk Value |
|---|---|
| Sealed Repository Text | canon/tiantai/fahua/treatise/04_xinjie/04_xinjie_source.md, lines nine through twelve; beginning within line nine at 「過是已後」 tr. “‘after this’” |
| Taishō Source File | /Users/master/Projects/tripitaka/xml-p5-master/T/T09/T09n0262.xml |
| Domain Opening | 「過是已後，心相體信」 tr. “‘after this, their minds came to trust one another’”〔0017a27〕 |
| Domain Closing | 「如佛子所應得者皆已得之。」 tr. “‘all that buddha-sons should receive has been received’”〔0017c09〕 |
| Domain Denominator | Four passages; 772 characters; 641 Han characters |
| Taishō Source SHA-256 | fea561821c9312376cf537fb7ad699abd242ea618a7d5edfcfad052bf456eb29 |
| Sealed Repository Text SHA-256 | 63cc52c87adc1e6e64cc7c01785889846592c31e35a787426abef07553a6e690 |
| Passage | T09n0262 Line Anchor | Verbatim Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| I | 0017a27 | 過是已後，心相體信，入出無難，然其所止猶在本處。tr. “After this, their minds came to trust one another, and there was no difficulty in entering or leaving. Yet the place where he stayed was still the original one.” |
| II | 0017a29 | 「世尊，爾時長者有疾，自知將死不久。語窮子言：『我今多有金銀珍寶，倉庫盈溢，其中多少、所應取與，汝悉知之。我心如是，當體此意。所以者何？今我與汝，便為不異，宜加用心，無令漏失。』爾時窮子，即受教勅，領知眾物，金銀珍寶及諸庫藏，而無悕取一飡之意。然其所止故在本處，下劣之心亦未能捨。復經少時，父知子意漸已通泰，成就大志，自鄙先心。臨欲終時，而命其子并會親族、國王、大臣、剎利、居士，皆悉已集，即自宣言：『諸君當知！此是我子，我之所生。於某城中、捨吾逃走，伶俜辛苦五十餘年，其本字某。我名某甲，昔在本城懷憂推覓，忽於此間遇會得之。此實我子，我實其父。今我所有一切財物，皆是子有，先所出內，是子所知。』tr. “World-Honored One, at that time the elder fell ill and knew that his death was near. He said to the poor son: ‘I now possess much gold, silver, and precious things, and my storehouses and treasuries are brimming. You know fully how much is in them and what should be taken and given. My mind is like this; you should understand its meaning. Why? From this point, you and I are no different. You should be attentive and allow nothing to be lost.’ The poor son then received the instruction and came to know all the possessions—the gold, silver, precious things, storehouses, and treasuries—yet had no thought of seeking so much as a single meal. The place where he stayed was still the original one, and he had not yet relinquished his inferior mind. After a short time, the father knew that the son’s mind had gradually opened, that his great aspiration had matured, and that he disdained his former mind. When the elder was about to die, he ordered his son to assemble the relatives, king, ministers, kṣatriyas, and householders. When all had gathered, he declared: ‘Gentlemen, you should know! This is my son, born of me. In a certain city he abandoned me and fled, wandering alone in hardship for more than fifty years. His original name was so-and-so, and my name is so-and-so. Formerly, in my original city, I worried and searched for him. Suddenly I encountered and found him here. This is truly my son, and I am truly his father. All the possessions I now have belong to my son. Whatever formerly went out and came in is known to him.’” |
| III | 0017b15 | 「世尊！是時窮子聞父此言，即大歡喜，得未曾有，而作是念：『我本無心有所希求，今此寶藏自然而至。』tr. “World-Honored One! At that time, hearing these words of his father, the poor son rejoiced greatly and gained the unprecedented. He formed this thought: ‘Originally I had no wish to seek anything. Now this treasure has come of itself.’” |
| IV | 0017b18 | 「世尊！大富長者則是如來，我等皆似佛子，如來常說我等為子。世尊！我等以三苦故，於生死中受諸熱惱，迷惑無知，樂著小法。今日世尊令我等思惟，蠲除諸法戲論之糞，我等於中勤加精進，得至涅槃一日之價。既得此已，心大歡喜，自以為足，而便自謂：『於佛法中勤精進故，所得弘多。』然世尊先知我等，心著弊欲，樂於小法，便見縱捨，不為分別：『汝等當有如來知見寶藏之分。』世尊以方便力，說如來智慧。我等從佛，得涅槃一日之價，以為大得；於此大乘，無有志求。我等又因如來智慧，為諸菩薩開示演說，而自於此無有志願。所以者何？佛知我等心樂小法，以方便力、隨我等說；而我等不知真是佛子。今我等方知世尊，於佛智慧無所悋惜。所以者何？我等昔來真是佛子，而但樂小法，若我等有樂大之心，佛則為我說大乘法。於此經中唯說一乘，而昔於菩薩前，毀呰聲聞樂小法者，然佛實以大乘教化。是故我等，說本無心有所悕求。今法王大寶自然而至，如佛子所應得者皆已得之。」tr. “World-Honored One! The great wealthy elder is the Tathāgata, and we all seem to be buddha-sons, for the Tathāgata has constantly said that we are His sons. World-Honored One! Because of the three sufferings, amid birth and death we have undergone every torment. Confused and ignorant, we delighted in the lesser Dharma. Today the World-Honored One has caused us to contemplate and clear away the dung of conceptual proliferation concerning all dharmas. We diligently exerted ourselves therein and reached the day’s wages of nirvāṇa. Having obtained this, we rejoiced greatly, considered it sufficient, and said to ourselves: ‘Because we diligently exerted ourselves within the Buddha Dharma, what we have attained is vast and abundant.’ Yet the World-Honored One knew beforehand that our minds clung to base desires and delighted in the lesser Dharma, so He let us go and did not distinguish for us: ‘You should have a share in the treasure of the Tathāgata’s knowledge and vision.’ Through the power of skillful means, the World-Honored One taught Tathāgata-wisdom. We received from the Buddha the day’s wages of nirvāṇa and regarded it as a great attainment; we had no aspiration to seek this Great Vehicle. Through Tathāgata-wisdom we also explained and expounded it for bodhisattvas, yet we ourselves had no aspiration for it. Why? The Buddha knew that our minds delighted in the lesser Dharma, and through the power of skillful means He taught in accordance with us; yet we did not know that we truly were buddha-sons. Only now do we understand that the World-Honored One was not sparing with buddha-wisdom. Why? Throughout the past we truly have been buddha-sons, but delighted only in the lesser Dharma. If we had possessed minds delighting in the Great, the Buddha would have taught the Mahāyāna Dharma to us. In this scripture only the One Vehicle is taught. Although in the past śrāvakas were reproved before bodhisattvas for delighting in the lesser Dharma, the Buddha was in fact teaching through the Great Vehicle. Therefore we say that originally we had no wish to seek anything. Now the Dharma king’s great treasure has come of itself, and all that buddha-sons should receive has been received.” |
2. Phrase-by-Phrase Alignment of the Wenju’s Attached Words with the Root Scripture
| Wording in T34n1718 | Line Anchor | Present T09n0262 | Line Anchor | Literal Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
「過是已後」下 tr. “beginning with ‘after this’” | 0086a23 | 過是已後 tr. “after this” | 0017a27 | Agreement |
心相體信 tr. “their minds came to trust one another” | 0086a27 | 心相體信 tr. “their minds came to trust one another” | 0017a28 | Agreement |
「然其所止猶在本處」者 tr. “as for ‘yet the place where he stayed was still the original one’” | 0086c20 | 然其所止猶在本處 tr. “yet the place where he stayed was still the original one” | 0017a28 | Agreement |
從世尊爾時長者有疾下 tr. “beginning with ‘World-Honored One, at that time the elder fell ill’” | 0086c24 | 世尊，爾時長者有疾 tr. “World-Honored One, at that time the elder fell ill” | 0017a29 | The commentary removes the scripture’s punctuation |
「將死不久」者 tr. “as for ‘his death was near’” | 0086c29 | 自知將死不久 tr. “knew that his death was near” | 0017a29 | The commentary extracts the final four graphs |
「語窮子言我今多有」下 tr. “beginning with ‘he said to the poor son, I now possess much’” | 0087a01 | 語窮子言：『我今多有金銀珍寶 tr. “he said to the poor son: ‘I now possess much gold, silver, and precious things’” | 0017b01 | The commentary combines the scripture’s inner and outer quotation marks |
「其中多少」者 tr. “as for ‘how much is within them’” | 0087a09 | 其中多少、所應取與 tr. “how much is within them and what should be taken and given” | 0017b02 | Agreement |
「汝悉知之」 tr. “‘you know all of it’” | 0087a12 | 汝悉知之 tr. “you know all of it” | 0017b02 | Agreement |
「我心如是」下 tr. “beginning with ‘my mind is like this’” | 0087a13 | 我心如是 tr. “my mind is like this” | 0017b02 | Agreement |
「今我與汝便為不異」者 tr. “as for ‘from this point, you and I are no different’” | 0087a18 | 今我與汝，便為不異 tr. “from this point, you and I are no different” | 0017b03 | The scripture has a comma |
「宜加用心」下 tr. “beginning with ‘you should be attentive’” | 0087a22 | 宜加用心，無令漏失 tr. “you should be attentive and allow nothing to be lost” | 0017b04 | Agreement |
「即受教勅」下 tr. “beginning with ‘received the instruction’” | 0087a25 | 爾時窮子，即受教勅 tr. “the poor son then received the instruction” | 0017b04 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
二、無悕取 tr. “second, no wish to take” | 0087a26 | 而無悕取一飡之意 tr. “yet had no thought of seeking so much as a single meal” | 0017b05 | The commentary abbreviates the scripture as a heading |
三、未捨劣心猶居本處者 tr. “third, not yet relinquishing the inferior mind and still remaining in the original place” | 0087a27 | 然其所止故在本處，下劣之心亦未能捨 tr. “the place where he stayed was still the original one, and he had not yet relinquished his inferior mind” | 0017b06 | The commentary changes the order to form a heading |
「復經少時父知子意」下 tr. “beginning with ‘after a short time, the father knew the son’s mind’” | 0087b02 | 復經少時，父知子意漸已通泰 tr. “after a short time, the father knew that the son’s mind had gradually opened” | 0017b07 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
「臨欲終時」下 tr. “beginning with ‘when he was about to die’” | 0087b12 | 臨欲終時 tr. “when he was about to die” | 0017b08 | Agreement |
「而命其子」下 tr. “beginning with ‘he commanded his son’” | 0087b16 | 而命其子并會親族 tr. “he commanded his son to assemble the relatives” | 0017b08 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
「并會親族」者 tr. “as for ‘assemble the relatives’” | 0087b19 | 并會親族、國王、大臣、剎利、居士 tr. “assemble the relatives, king, ministers, kṣatriyas, and householders” | 0017b09 | Agreement |
「諸君當知」下 tr. “beginning with ‘gentlemen, you should know’” | 0087c15 | 諸君當知！此是我子 tr. “gentlemen, you should know! This is my son” | 0017b10 | Agreement |
「於某城中」者 tr. “as for ‘in a certain city’” | 0087c17 | 於某城中、捨吾逃走 tr. “in a certain city he abandoned me and fled” | 0017b11 | Agreement |
「捨吾逃走」 tr. “‘abandoned me and fled’” | 0087c21 | 捨吾逃走 tr. “abandoned me and fled” | 0017b11 | Agreement |
「昔在本城懷憂推覓」 tr. “‘formerly, in my original city, I worried and searched’” | 0087c22 | 昔在本城懷憂推覓 tr. “formerly, in my original city, I worried and searched” | 0017b12 | Agreement |
「忽於是間會遇見之」 tr. “‘suddenly I met and saw him here’” | 0087c24 | 忽於此間遇會得之 tr. “suddenly I encountered and found him here” | 0017b13 | The forms 是／此 and 會遇見／遇會得 are both recorded |
「今我所有」下 tr. “beginning with ‘all that I now possess’” | 0087c25 | 今我所有一切財物 tr. “all the possessions I now have” | 0017b14 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
「先所出內是子所知」者 tr. “as for ‘what formerly went out and came in is known to the son’” | 0087c26 | 先所出內，是子所知 tr. “what formerly went out and came in is known to the son” | 0017b14 | The scripture has a comma |
「窮子聞父此言」下 tr. “beginning with ‘the poor son heard these words of his father’” | 0088a01 | 是時窮子聞父此言 tr. “at that time the poor son heard these words of his father” | 0017b15 | The root scripture additionally has 「是時」 tr. “‘at that time’” |
「世尊大富長者」下 tr. “beginning with ‘World-Honored One, the great wealthy elder’” | 0088a06 | 世尊！大富長者則是如來 tr. “World-Honored One! The great wealthy elder is the Tathāgata” | 0017b18 | The commentary omits the exclamation mark and extracts the phrase |
「大富長者」 tr. “‘the great wealthy elder’” | 0088a09 | 大富長者則是如來 tr. “the great wealthy elder is the Tathāgata” | 0017b18 | Agreement |
從「如來常說我等為子」下 tr. “beginning with ‘the Tathāgata constantly says that we are His sons’” | 0088a16 | 如來常說我等為子 tr. “the Tathāgata constantly says that we are His sons” | 0017b19 | Agreement |
從「我等以三苦故」下 tr. “beginning with ‘because of the three sufferings, we’” | 0088a18 | 我等以三苦故 tr. “because of the three sufferings, we” | 0017b19 | Agreement |
「樂著小法」者 tr. “as for ‘delighting in the lesser Dharma’” | 0088a21 | 迷惑無知，樂著小法 tr. “confused and ignorant, delighting in the lesser Dharma” | 0017b20 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
「今日世尊令我等」下 tr. “beginning with ‘today the World-Honored One has caused us’” | 0088a22 | 今日世尊令我等思惟 tr. “today the World-Honored One has caused us to contemplate” | 0017b21 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
從「蠲除」下 tr. “beginning with ‘clear away’” | 0088a23 | 蠲除諸法戲論之糞 tr. “clear away the dung of conceptual proliferation concerning all dharmas” | 0017b21 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
從「我等於中勤加精進」下 tr. “beginning with ‘we diligently exert ourselves therein’” | 0088a24 | 我等於中勤加精進 tr. “we diligently exert ourselves therein” | 0017b22 | Agreement |
「得至涅槃」下 tr. “beginning with ‘reach nirvāṇa’” | 0088a25 | 得至涅槃一日之價 tr. “reach the day’s wages of nirvāṇa” | 0017b22 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
從「然世尊先知我等」下 tr. “beginning with ‘yet the World-Honored One knew us beforehand’” | 0088a26 | 然世尊先知我等 tr. “yet the World-Honored One knew us beforehand” | 0017b24 | Agreement |
從「以方便力說如來智慧」下 tr. “beginning with ‘through the power of skillful means, taught Tathāgata-wisdom’” | 0088b02 | 世尊以方便力，說如來智慧 tr. “through the power of skillful means, the World-Honored One taught Tathāgata-wisdom” | 0017b26 | The root scripture additionally has 「世尊」 tr. “‘World-Honored One’” and a comma |
從「我等從佛得涅槃一日之價」下 tr. “beginning with ‘we received from the Buddha the day’s wages of nirvāṇa’” | 0088b10 | 我等從佛，得涅槃一日之價 tr. “we received from the Buddha the day’s wages of nirvāṇa” | 0017b27 | The root scripture has a comma |
從「我等又因如來智慧」下 tr. “beginning with ‘through Tathāgata-wisdom we also’” | 0088b11 | 我等又因如來智慧 tr. “through Tathāgata-wisdom we also” | 0017b29 | Agreement |
「而自於此」下 tr. “beginning with ‘yet we ourselves, concerning this’” | 0088b15 | 而自於此無有志願 tr. “yet we ourselves had no aspiration for this” | 0017c01 | Agreement |
「無志願」者 tr. “as for ‘without aspiration’” | 0088b15 | 無有志願 tr. “had no aspiration” | 0017c01 | The root scripture additionally has 「有」 tr. “‘have’” |
「所以者何」下 tr. “beginning with ‘why?’” | 0088b17 | 所以者何？佛知我等心樂小法 tr. “why? The Buddha knew that our minds delighted in the lesser Dharma” | 0017c01 | Second occurrence within the present domain |
「佛以方便力隨我等說」者 tr. “as for ‘through the power of skillful means the Buddha taught in accordance with us’” | 0088b19 | 以方便力、隨我等說 tr. “through the power of skillful means He taught in accordance with us” | 0017c02 | The root scripture carries the subject over from the preceding sentence; the commentary restates it |
「今我等方知」下 tr. “beginning with ‘only now do we understand’” | 0088b21 | 今我等方知世尊 tr. “only now do we understand that the World-Honored One” | 0017c03 | The commentary extracts the phrase |
「我等說本無心」下 tr. “beginning with ‘we say that originally we had no wish’” | 0088b28 | 我等，說本無心有所悕求 tr. “we say that originally we had no wish to seek anything” | 0017c08 | The root scripture has a comma and further text |
3. Intrachapter Passages Recalled in the Application
The application also uses “as stated above / above there was” to refer back to earlier passages in the same chapter. These scriptural sentences remain within the same sealed “Faith and Understanding” text but are not included in the denominator of 772 characters above.
| T34n1718 Reference | Line Anchor | Earlier T09n0262 Wording | Line Anchor | Sealed-Text Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
「何為見捉自念無罪」 tr. “‘why am I seized? He thought himself innocent’” | 0088a20 | 我不相犯，何為見捉？ tr. “I have not wronged you; why am I seized?” | 0016c27 | Seven |
| Second half of the preceding | 0088a20 | 于時窮子，自念無罪 tr. “the poor son then thought himself innocent” | 0016c28 | Seven |
上初遣傍追 tr. “above, first sending an attendant in pursuit” | 0088a19 | 即遣傍人，急追將還 tr. “immediately dispatched an attendant in urgent pursuit to bring him back” | 0016c25 | Seven |
次放捨 tr. “next, release” | 0088a20 | 我今放汝，隨意所趣 tr. “I now release you; go wherever you wish” | 0017a05 | Seven |
具陳上事 tr. “fully stated the preceding matter” | 0088a23 | 時二使人即求窮子，既已得之，具陳上事 tr. “the two messengers then sought the poor son; having found him, they fully stated the preceding matter” | 0017a11 | Eight |
先取其價 tr. “first took his wages” | 0088a25 | 爾時窮子先取其價 tr. “the poor son then first took his wages” | 0017a12 | Nine |
尋與除糞 tr. “immediately went to clear dung” | 0088a24 | 尋與除糞 tr. “immediately went to clear dung” | 0017a13 | Nine |
上言遙見 tr. “above it says, saw from afar” | 0088b01 | 父遙見之 tr. “the father saw him from afar” | 0016c29 | Seven |
上言羸瘦憔悴 tr. “above it says, weak, thin, haggard, and worn” | 0088b01 | 羸瘦憔悴 tr. “weak, thin, haggard, and worn” | 0017a14 | Nine |
上言即脫瓔珞更著麁弊 tr. “above it says, immediately removed his necklaces and put on coarse and worn clothes” | 0088b01 | 即脫瓔珞、細軟上服、嚴飾之具，更著麁弊垢膩之衣 tr. “immediately removed his necklaces, soft upper garments, and ornamental implements, and instead put on coarse, worn, soiled clothing” | 0017a15 | Nine |
今言便見棄捨 tr. “now it says, then let them go” | 0088b01 | 便見縱捨 tr. “then let them go” | 0017b25 | Twelve |
The final item also involves the critical text. The Taishō T34n1718 reads 「棄」 tr. “‘abandon,’” while witness A reads 「縱」 tr. “‘release’”〔0088b01〕; the present T09n0262 reads 「縱」 tr. “‘release’”〔0017b25〕. All three forms are recorded without using the root scripture to replace the commentary’s reading.
4. Other Passages in the Lotus Sutra
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor | Alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| T09n0262 cited by Zhanran | 如此皆為得一佛乘、一切種智故。 tr. “All this is so that they may attain the One Buddha Vehicle and knowledge of all modes” | 0007b21 | The Wenjuji〔0283c27〕 reads 「如是皆為得一佛乘一切種智故」 tr. “‘all this is so that they may attain the One Buddha Vehicle and knowledge of all modes’” |
| T09n0262 | 舍利弗當知！我見佛子等 tr. “Śāriputra, you should know! I see the buddha-sons” | 0010a10 | The Wenjuji establishes this as the basis for the parable of asking for the carts |
| T09n0262 | 我即作是念：『如來所以出 tr. “I then formed this thought: ‘the reason the Tathāgata appeared’” | 0010a14 | The Wenjuji establishes this as the basis for the parable of escape from danger |
| T09n0262 | 正直捨方便，但說無上道。 tr. “directly set aside skillful means and teach only the unsurpassed path” | 0010a19 | The Wenjuji establishes this as the basis for the parable of equal bestowal |
| T09n0262 | 菩薩聞是法，疑網皆已除 tr. “bodhisattvas hearing this Dharma have all removed the net of doubt” | 0010a20 | The Wenjuji establishes this as the basis for the parable of joy upon receiving the carts |
| T09n0262 indicated by Master Zhiyi | 我昔曾於二萬億佛所，為無上道故，常教化汝 tr. “formerly, in the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas, for the sake of the unsurpassed path I constantly taught and transformed you” | 0011b10 | The root treatise refers to the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas three times〔0087b17, 0087c03, 0087c16〕 |
| T09n0262 indicated by Master Zhiyi | 爾時有佛，名大通智勝如來 tr. “at that time there was a buddha named Tathāgata Great Universal Wisdom Excellence” | 0022a20 | The root treatise〔0087c18〕 uses the causal account of Great Universal Wisdom Excellence as a possible explanation |
| T09n0262 indicated by Master Zhiyi and Zhanran | 欲令眾生開佛知見，使得清淨故 tr. “wishing to cause living beings to open the knowledge and vision of the Buddha and attain purity” | 0007a24 | The root treatise〔0086c02〕 reads 「開佛知見」 tr. “‘open the knowledge and vision of the Buddha’”; the Wenjuji〔0285c04〕 reads 「佛之知見」 tr. “‘the Buddha’s knowledge and vision’” |
5. Master Zhiyi’s Transmitted Citations and Present Witnesses
1. The Five-Flavor Chain: Great Parinirvāṇa Sutra
| Wording Transmitted in T34n1718 | Line Anchor | Present T12n0374 | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
內合從佛出十二部經 tr. “internally, this applies the scriptures in twelve divisions emerging from the Buddha” | 0086b13 | 從佛出生十二部經 tr. “from the Buddha arise the scriptures in twelve divisions” | 0449a09 |
內合從十二部出修多羅 tr. “internally, this applies the sūtras emerging from the twelve divisions” | 0086b18 | 從十二部經出修多羅 tr. “from the scriptures in twelve divisions emerge the sūtras” | 0449a09 |
內合從修多羅出方等經 tr. “internally, this applies the Vaipulya scriptures emerging from the sūtras” | 0086b27 | 從修多羅出方等經 tr. “from the sūtras emerge the Vaipulya scriptures” | 0449a10 |
是從方等出摩訶般若 tr. “this is the Mahāprajñāpāramitā emerging from the Vaipulya” | 0086c07 | 從方等經出般若波羅蜜 tr. “from the Vaipulya scriptures emerges the perfection of wisdom” | 0449a10 |
是從摩訶般若出大涅槃 tr. “this is the Great Nirvāṇa emerging from the Mahāprajñāpāramitā” | 0086c09 | 從般若波羅蜜出大涅槃 tr. “from the perfection of wisdom emerges the Great Nirvāṇa” | 0449a11 |
The simile in the same present-text passage reads 「譬如從牛出乳，從乳出酪，從酪出生穌，從生穌出熟穌，從熟穌出醍醐」 tr. “It is like milk coming from the cow, curds from milk, raw ghee from curds, refined ghee from raw ghee, and clarified essence from refined ghee”〔T12n0374 0449a06〕.
2. Large Prajñāpāramitā
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Wording transmitted in T34n1718 | 《大品》中云「汝當為菩薩說」 tr. “the Large Prajñāpāramitā says, ‘you should teach the bodhisattvas’” | 0087a12 |
| Present T08n0223 command | 汝當教諸菩薩摩訶薩般若波羅蜜 tr. “you should teach the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas the perfection of wisdom” | 0230b22 |
| Present T08n0223 thought of the assembly | 智慧力當為諸菩薩摩訶薩說般若波羅蜜耶？為是佛力？ tr. “Is it through the power of wisdom that he should teach the perfection of wisdom to the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, or is it the Buddha’s power?” | 0230b25 |
The continuous string 「汝當為菩薩說」 tr. “‘you should teach the bodhisattvas’” is not found in the present T08n0223. The extant command uses 「教」 tr. “‘teach,’” while the assembly’s thought separately has 「當為諸菩薩摩訶薩說」 tr. “‘should teach the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas.’” The three textual layers are presented side by side.
3. Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Wording transmitted in T34n1718 | 彼云「初說四諦十二緣生，次說方等十二部經，次說摩訶般若華嚴海空」 tr. “it says: ‘first He taught the four truths and twelve links of dependent arising; next the Vaipulya scriptures in twelve divisions; next the Mahāprajñāpāramitā and the oceanic emptiness of the Avataṃsaka’” | 0087c09 |
| Present T09n0276, first passage | 初說四諦，為求聲聞人 tr. “first He taught the four truths for those seeking the śrāvaka path” | 0386b21 |
| Present T09n0276, second passage | 中於處處演說甚深十二因緣 tr. “in the middle, in place after place, He expounded the profound twelve links of dependent arising” | 0386b23 |
| Present T09n0276, third passage | 次說方等十二部經、摩訶般若、華嚴海雲 tr. “next He taught the Vaipulya scriptures in twelve divisions, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā, and the ocean-cloud of the Avataṃsaka” | 0386b24 |
The root treatise combines three passages and transmits 「十二緣生」 tr. “‘twelve links’ arising’” and 「華嚴海空」 tr. “‘oceanic emptiness of the Avataṃsaka’”; present T09n0276 reads 「十二因緣」 tr. “‘twelve links of dependent arising’” and 「華嚴海雲」 tr. “‘ocean-cloud of the Avataṃsaka.’”
4. Pointer to the Sayun Sutra and the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sutra
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Present T34n1718 domain | 今不用彼解，依《薩云經》〔云云〕。 tr. “Now I do not use that explanation, but follow the Sayun Sutra [and so forth]” | 0087c01 |
| Later passage in T34n1718 | 今依《薩雲分陀利經》云「佛說法華無央數偈時， tr. “Now, according to the Sayun Fentuoli Sutra: ‘when the Buddha spoke innumerable verses of the Lotus’” | 0113a11 |
| T09n0265 title | 薩曇分陀利經 tr. “Satan Fentuoli Sutra” | 0197a03 |
| Present T09n0265 | 說《薩曇分陀利》〔漢言法華〕，佛說無央數偈 tr. “He taught the Satan Fentuoli [in Han, ‘Dharma Flower’], and the Buddha spoke innumerable verses” | 0197a12 |
| Later present T09n0265 | 復說無央數偈言 tr. “He further spoke innumerable verses, saying” | 0197a25 |
The three forms “Sayun / Sayun / Satan” and the forms “when the Buddha spoke innumerable verses of the Lotus / the Buddha spoke innumerable verses” coexist. This unit does not normalize the title.
5. Sources Named Without Verbatim Citation
| Verbatim T34n1718 Wording | Line Anchor | Record |
|---|---|---|
堪並聞《大集》、受折《淨名》、轉教《般若》 tr. “able successively to hear the Great Collection, receive reproof in the Vimalakīrti, and transmit the Prajñā teaching” | 0086b06 | The three works serve only as pointers to teaching stages; this sentence does not quote each scripture verbatim |
傍人所說乃譬《華嚴》圓頓 tr. “what the attendant says represents the perfect and sudden teaching of the Avataṃsaka” | 0086b12 | The Avataṃsaka serves only as a pointer in the doctrinal correlation |
此領《大品》佛命轉教《般若》熟蘇之教也 tr. “this understands the refined-ghee teaching in which the Buddha commands transmission of the Prajñā in the Large Prajñāpāramitā” | 0086c25 | The Large Prajñāpāramitā is explicitly named; its verbatim command appears in the preceding table |
6. Zhanran’s Citations and Present Witnesses
Each of the following belongs only to a citation in the Fahua Wenjuji and is not attributed backward to Master Zhiyi.
1. Great Nirvāṇa Sutra
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 《大經》中云「從牛出乳」 tr. “the Great Scripture says, ‘milk comes from the cow’” | 0284a19 |
| Present T12n0374 | 譬如從牛出乳 tr. “it is like milk coming from the cow” | 0449a06 |
2. Vimalakīrti Sutra
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 譬如須彌山王顯于大海，安處眾寶師子之座，蔽於一切諸來大眾 tr. “like Mount Sumeru, king of mountains, rising above the great ocean, seated securely upon a lion throne adorned with jewels, outshining the entire arriving assembly” | 0284b22 |
| Present T14n0475 | 譬如須彌山王顯于大海，安處眾寶師子之座，蔽於一切諸來大眾 tr. “like Mount Sumeru, king of mountains, rising above the great ocean, seated securely upon a lion throne adorned with jewels, outshining the entire arriving assembly” | 0537b23 |
3. Wording Attributed to the Medicine Buddha Sutra
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 《藥師》中「巍巍堂堂如星中之月」 tr. “in the Medicine Buddha: ‘lofty and majestic like the moon among the stars’” | 0284b24 |
| Nearby wording in the present T14n0450 Scripture on the Original Vows and Merits of the Medicine Master Lapis-Lazuli Light Tathāgata | 功德巍巍，身善安住，焰網莊嚴，過於日月 tr. “His merits are lofty; His body abides well, adorned by a net of flames surpassing sun and moon” | 0405a12 |
| Parallel wording in the present T14n0581 Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Eight Teachers | 巍巍堂堂，猶星中月 tr. “lofty and majestic, like the moon among the stars” | 0965a11 |
The full mirror citation is not found in T14n0450. T14n0581 has a nearly verbatim parallel sentence, but its title is not the Medicine Buddha. These are recorded as two distinct facts.
4. Great Collection
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 《大集》中「集二界中間」 tr. “in the Great Collection: ‘assembled between the two realms’” | 0284b25 |
| Present T13n0397 | 於欲色天二界中間出大坊庭 tr. “between the two celestial realms of desire and form, a great courtyard appeared” | 0001b18 |
The present witness contains 「二界中間」 tr. “‘between the two realms’” but not the mirror’s continuous wording 「集二界中間」 tr. “‘assembled between the two realms.’”
5. Extensive and Abbreviated Aspects in the Large Prajñāpāramitā
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 第二十一〈方便品〉云「須菩提白佛：如佛所說若廣若略，諸菩薩云何求耶？佛言：如是！如是！若菩薩摩訶薩學是廣攝般若，則知一切法廣略相。」 tr. “Chapter twenty-one, ‘Skillful Means,’ says: ‘Subhūti said to the Buddha: “As the Buddha teaches, whether extensively or in brief, how should bodhisattvas seek?” The Buddha said: “So it is! So it is! If bodhisattva-mahāsattvas study this extensively encompassing prajñā, they will know the extensive and abbreviated aspects of all dharmas.”’” | 0284c04 |
| Earlier parallel citation in T34n1719 | 須菩提白佛言：如佛所說若廣若略，諸菩薩等云何求耶？ tr. “Subhūti said to the Buddha: ‘As the Buddha teaches, whether extensively or in brief, how should the bodhisattvas seek?’” | 0225c24 |
Chapter twenty-one in the present T08n0223 is titled “Going Forth,” and the continuous strings “whether extensively or in brief / extensively encompassing prajñā / extensive and abbreviated aspects” are not found in the fascicle. Both mirror citations are recorded without using another passage to reconstruct a present witness.
6. The Buddha’s Power in the Prajñā
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 豈聲聞人敢有所說？有所說者皆是佛力。 tr. “How would śrāvakas dare say anything? Whatever is said is entirely through the Buddha’s power” | 0284c13 |
| Present T08n0223 | 諸佛弟子所說法、所教授，皆是佛力 tr. “the Dharma taught and instructions given by disciples of the buddhas are entirely through the Buddha’s power” | 0230b28 |
| Continuation in present T08n0223 | 一切聲聞、辟支佛實無是力能為菩薩摩訶薩說般若波羅蜜 tr. “in truth, no śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha possesses the power to teach the perfection of wisdom to bodhisattva-mahāsattvas” | 0230c02 |
The mirror sentence gathers the two adjacent meanings in the present text into a short question and answer.
7. Bodhiruci’s Treatise on the Dharma Realm
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 菩提流支《法界論》云：「佛成道後四十二年說法華經。」 tr. “Bodhiruci’s Treatise on the Dharma Realm says: ‘The Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra forty-two years after attaining the Way’” | 0285a01 |
| Preserved in later T49n2035 | 佛成道後。四十二年說法華經 tr. “the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra forty-two years after attaining the Way” | 0162c21 |
No independent work entitled Treatise on the Dharma Realm is found in the local Taishō canon. Apart from the Wenjuji, the complete wording is also found in the later T49n2035; this later witness is only a clue to preservation.
8. Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 彼經既云「諸經無量皆從一出」 tr. “that scripture says: ‘the immeasurable scriptures all issue from the one’” | 0285b16 |
| Present T09n0276 | 說法無量，義亦無量。無量義者，從一法生 tr. “the teachings are immeasurable, and their meanings too are immeasurable; the immeasurable meanings arise from a single Dharma” | 0385c23 |
The mirror sentence is a summarizing formulation; the present continuous wording is as shown in the table.
9. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sutra
| Layer | Verbatim Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Citation in T34n1719 | 若三請之時佛未說經，何得經云「佛說無央數偈時」 tr. “if the Buddha had not taught the scripture at the time of the three requests, how could the scripture say, ‘when the Buddha spoke innumerable verses’?” | 0285a14 |
| Present T09n0265 | 說《薩曇分陀利》〔漢言法華〕，佛說無央數偈 tr. “He taught the Satan Fentuoli [in Han, ‘Dharma Flower’], and the Buddha spoke innumerable verses” | 0197a12 |
The mirror sentence has an additional 「時」 tr. “‘when,’” and the source title is identified by the Wenjuji’s reference back to the “Prabhūtaratna” chapter of the root treatise.
IV. Essential Explanations from the Wenjuji [the Mirror]
The attribution at the head of the mirror fascicle reads 「唐天台沙門湛然述」 tr. “‘composed by the Tang Tiantai śramaṇa Zhanran’”〔T34n1719 0151a05〕. The corresponding domain of the Fahua Wenjuji begins with 「「第四領付譬」者，是第四五合為一段」 tr. “‘as for the fourth parable, understanding and entrustment, this combines the fourth and fifth into one passage’”〔0283c16〕 and ends with 「今既付與仍兼上三，須出其意。」 tr. “‘now that entrustment is given, it still includes the preceding three, whose meanings must therefore be presented’”〔0286b16, final graph at 0286b17〕. The next sentence, 「「上開譬有四相失」等者」 tr. “‘as for “above, the opening parable has four items concerning separation,” and so forth’”〔0286b17〕, has already entered the next unit.
Zhanran first connects the root treatise’s four meanings to four verse passages in the “Skillful Means” chapter: activation of the great capacity is the basis for the parable of asking for the carts; the Buddha’s joy is the basis for the parable of escape from danger; 正直捨方便 tr. “directly set aside skillful means” is the basis for the parable of equal bestowal; and bodhisattvas hearing the Dharma and awakening is the basis for the parable of joy upon receiving the carts〔0283c29–0284a05〕. He further says that correspondence with the teaching is the proximate beginning, exploratory understanding the remote beginning, and their two endings are one〔0284a14〕. This is the mirror’s clarification of the root treatise’s remote and proximate beginnings and endings.
At mutual trust, the Wenjuji uses 「若不互釋相義不成」 tr. “‘unless it is explained reciprocally, the meaning of “mutual” is not established’”〔0284b19〕 to tighten the meaning of 「相」 tr. “‘mutual,’” then distinguishes 「子體父以大而比小，父體子以小而無違」 tr. “‘the son apprehends the father by comparing the Great with the Lesser; the father apprehends the son through his being without opposition in the Lesser’”〔0284b19〕. Regarding the three meanings of non-difference, Zhanran distinguishes the Prajñā period, nonduality in principle, and the present entrustment of possessions〔0284c09–0284c12〕. Regarding the two answers on 「少時」 tr. “‘a short time,’” he distinguishes the period after the Prajñā teaching when the Lotus is not far away from the time of the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings when the Lotus is extremely near〔0284c19–0284c25〕.
In the alternative explanations of assembling the people, the root treatise refers only to 「北人」 tr. “‘Northern exegetes’” and 「彼解」 tr. “‘the opposing explanation.’” Only the Wenjuji identifies 「北人」 tr. “‘Northern exegetes’” primarily as Northern Route Dilun masters of Xiangzhou〔0285a03〕 and judges 「彼解云」 tr. “‘the opposing explanation says’” to be the Dilun masters’ defense and 「今謂」 tr. “‘now I say’” to be Master Zhiyi’s renewed refutation〔0285a07〕. The Wenjuji further explains the relatives in the root treatise’s present interpretation as sharing past karma and 「義當伯叔」 tr. “‘in meaning corresponding to elder and younger paternal uncles’”〔0285a20〕. These identifications of people and the judgment concerning paternal uncles all belong to Zhanran’s mirror explanation.
At the formal entrustment of the estate, the Wenjuji says that entrusting possessions and entrusting the estate are 「名異義同故得互舉」 tr. “‘different in name but the same in meaning, and therefore may be used for one another’”〔0285a01〕. It then takes the ten thousand practices as causes and the ten thousand virtues as fruits to explain the treasure entrusted〔0285b25–0285b28〕. Zhanran records Jiaxiang’s organization of the preceding passage into five pairs and ten single items〔0285c06–0285c22〕, then criticizes it with 「況三種與五雙理自相反〔云云〕」 tr. “‘moreover, the three kinds and five pairs are in principle mutually opposed [and so forth]’”〔0285c26〕 and 「不求教旨用教何耶？」 tr. “‘if one does not seek the purport of the teaching, what use is the teaching?’”〔0286a01〕. The five pairs are not a numerical category listed by Master Zhiyi in this domain.
In the application, the Wenjuji explains that the application is abbreviated because the opening parable has already been detailed〔0286a02〕 and uses the indestructibility of the causal connection to explain why both great and lesser capacities are called 「似」 tr. “‘seeming’”〔0286a03〕. It also expands 「但合長者見子便識」 tr. “‘it applies only the elder’s seeing the son and recognizing him at once’” into four items of seeing the father and four of seeing the son, with one sentence containing the preceding eight passages〔0286a11–0286a13〕; connects the three sufferings to the intensification of the five turbidities〔0286a20〕; and divides the cessation of transformation into four layers〔0286a27〕. The eight passages, five turbidities, and fourfold cessation of transformation appear only in the mirror explanation and cannot be retrospectively attributed as words of the root treatise.
The mirror domain does not separately expand four detailed items in the root treatise: storehouse as the 108 samādhis and treasury as the eighteen emptinesses〔T34n1718 0087a05〕; the meanings in terms of teaching and principle of 「宜加用心」 tr. “‘you should be attentive’”〔0087a23〕; the three periods of non-seeking under the Tripiṭaka, Vaipulya, and Prajñā teachings〔0088a03〕; and, within entrustment, the Buddha’s original lack of stinginess and the fact that He did not entrust early because beings delighted in the Lesser〔0088b22〕. This absence is limited to the corresponding domain〔T34n1719 0283c16–0286b17〕.
V. Explanations of Various Masters
Within the strict domain, the root treatise records one occurrence of 「一云」 tr. “‘one says,’” one of 「又當說」 tr. “‘again, when it is about to be taught,’” two of 「舊云」 tr. “‘an old explanation says,’” one of 「北人」 tr. “‘Northern exegetes,’” one of 「彼解云」 tr. “‘the opposing explanation says,’” one of 「今謂」 tr. “‘now I say,’” one of 「今不用」 tr. “‘now I do not use,’” one of 「或可說」 tr. “‘perhaps it once said,’” and one of 「光宅」 tr. “‘Guangzhai.’” The expressions “someone says / some say / interpreters differ / again it is said” do not occur. The branches appear below in the root treatise’s order:
| Topic | Layer | Verbatim Root-Treatise Wording | Line Anchor |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Short Time | First explanation | 一云說《般若》竟，於異處遊觀，尋思所領大乘法門生心貪樂，為失為不失，如此等尋思，即是大乘機發時也。此時去《法華》未遠故言少時。 tr. “One says that after the Prajñā teaching they traveled and contemplated elsewhere, reflected upon the Mahāyāna Dharma gates they had received and understood, and gave rise to desire and delight, wondering whether it would be lost or not. Reflections of this kind are precisely the time when Mahāyāna capacity is activated. Because this time was not far from the Lotus, it is called a short time” | 0087b04 |
| A Short Time | Second explanation | 又當說無量義時大乘機發。何以知然？無量義中明七種方便，無量漸頓從一法生。既聞此說，思惟昔之三藏三乘悉從一法生，如是三乘亦應入一，如是思時漸已通泰大心即發，故言成就大志也。 tr. “Again, when the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings was about to be taught, Mahāyāna capacity was activated. How is this known? The Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings elucidates seven kinds of skillful means, and the immeasurable gradual and sudden teachings arise from a single Dharma. Hearing this, they considered that the former three vehicles of the Tripiṭaka teaching all arose from a single Dharma, and that these three vehicles should likewise enter the one. While they considered in this way, their minds gradually opened and the great resolve immediately arose; therefore it says that the great aspiration matured” | 0087b07 |
| Assembling the People | Old explanation | 舊云分身如親族，十地如國王，九地如大臣，八地如剎利，七地如居士。 tr. “An old explanation says that transformation bodies are like relatives, the tenth ground like the king, the ninth like ministers, the eighth like kṣatriyas, and the seventh like householders” | 0087b19 |
| Assembling the People | Northern explanation | 北人用分身為親族，多寶為國王也，十地為大臣，八地為剎利，三十心為居士。 tr. “Northern exegetes take transformation bodies as relatives, Prabhūtaratna as the king, the tenth ground as ministers, the eighth as kṣatriyas, and the thirty minds as householders” | 0087b21 |
| Assembling the People | Opposing explanation | 彼解云，正是身子懷疑之時，於《法華》中未能生信，是故多寶、分身一時來證。若疑除信解、受記已竟，復用多寶何所證耶？故知法說之時多寶已出，但出經者言不疊安，為作次第置因門後耳。 tr. “The opposing explanation says: this was precisely when Śāriputra remained in doubt and could not yet give rise to faith in the Lotus, and therefore Prabhūtaratna and the transformation bodies came at the same time to bear witness. If doubt had already been removed, faith and understanding arisen, and prediction completed, what would remain for Prabhūtaratna to attest? Thus we know that Prabhūtaratna had already appeared at the time of the Dharma teaching. The scripture’s compilers simply did not place the same event twice; to create a sequence, they positioned it after the section on causes” | 0087b24 |
| Assembling the People | Root treatise’s own judgment | 今謂此是人情，無以取據。說迹門近事未用古證，若說本門遠事，必須先證昔。 tr. “Now I say this is human conjecture, without evidence to support it. Teaching the proximate events of the Trace Gate does not yet require ancient testimony; when teaching the distant events of the Origin Gate, the past must first be attested” | 0087b28 |
| Assembling the People | Root treatise’s chosen basis | 今不用彼解，依《薩云經》〔云云〕。 tr. “Now I do not use that explanation, but follow the Sayun Sutra [and so forth]” | 0087c01 |
| Assembling the People | Root treatise’s present interpretation | 今明十方法身菩薩影響者為親族，影響之眾多是釋迦昔日同業，並共如來於二萬億佛所共開化之，於其悉是伯叔之行，故用此為親族。 tr. “The present explanation takes as relatives the influencing dharma-body bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions. Most members of this influencing assembly shared past karma with Śākyamuni and joined the Tathāgata in teaching and transforming them in the presence of two myriads of koṭis of buddhas. In relation to them, all occupy the position of elder and younger paternal uncles, and therefore are used to represent relatives” | 0087c02 |
| A Certain City and So-and-So | Root treatise’s possible explanation | 或可說昔名字國土如大通智勝因緣，今簡略名字直言某甲。 tr. “Perhaps it once stated the former name and realm, as in the causal account of Great Universal Wisdom Excellence; now the name is abbreviated and it says only so-and-so” | 0087c18 |
| Division of the Application | Guangzhai’s explanation and the root treatise’s judgment | 光宅合之或前或後，釋之甚略。今但依文點意不復子派。合譬略者，貴在得意不俟費辭。 tr. “Guangzhai applies it sometimes before and sometimes after, and explains it very briefly. Now I merely identify the meaning according to the text and do not further divide its branches. The application is brief because what matters is obtaining the meaning; there is no need to spend many words” | 0088a07 |
| Seeming / Entering the Real | Root treatise’s question and answer | 問：初釋品云已得入真，此那言似？答：此合子逃父時，是故言似。品初明子開悟時，汝問非也。 tr. “Question: in the initial explanation of the chapter it says that they had already entered the real; why does it say here that they merely seem? Answer: this applies the time when the son fled his father and therefore says ‘seem.’ The chapter’s opening explains the time when the son awakens. Your question is mistaken” | 0088a14 |
| Teaching Wisdom Through the Power of Skillful Means | Old explanation and the root treatise’s present interpretation | 舊云，如來智慧之因，持作二乘之果。今明帶三乘方便，說大乘實相，故言以方便力於我等前說大乘法。亦是合出入無難，以方便力出辯二乘，以佛智力入明實相。若不體信，豈於我前明佛慧耶？ tr. “An old explanation says that the cause of Tathāgata-wisdom is taken as the fruit of the two vehicles. The present explanation says that the Buddha carries the skillful means of the three vehicles while teaching the real mark of the Great Vehicle; therefore it says that through the power of skillful means He teaches the Mahāyāna Dharma before us. This also applies entering and leaving without difficulty: through the power of skillful means He goes out and distinguishes the two vehicles; through the power of buddha-wisdom He enters and elucidates the real mark. If there were no mutual apprehension and trust, how could He elucidate buddha-wisdom before us?” | 0088b05 |
After the first two correlations of the assembled people, the root treatise raises an objection, records the opposing explanation, then expressly says 「今謂」 tr. “‘now I say’” and 「今不用」 tr. “‘now I do not use,’” before presenting its own correlations for relatives, king, ministers, kṣatriyas, and householders. This order of registration itself preserves the layers of objection, defense, refutation, and present interpretation.
VI. Terminology
| Term | Referent in the Root Treatise |
|---|---|
| Understanding / Entrustment | Understanding includes both retrospectively understanding the preceding teaching and understanding the family estate; entrustment includes entrusting activity, possessions, and the family estate |
| Mutual Trust | 「相」 tr. “‘mutual’” means reciprocal trust between father and son: the son trusts that the great teaching is not false, and the father knows that the son will not slander it upon hearing it |
| Commission / Entrustment | Commission means being commanded to know and coming to know the household affairs; entrustment is the later formal declaration that the whole estate belongs to the son |
| Remote / Proximate Cause | Employment and receiving a day’s wages are the remote cause; mutual trust and commission with the estate are the proximate cause |
| Correspondence with the Teaching / Exploratory Understanding | The former extends from the tree of the Way through leaving the house; the latter from the dharma body through exhaustion of delusions of thought; the root treatise discusses their remote and proximate beginnings and endings together |
| Five Flavors | Milk, curds, raw ghee, refined ghee, and clarified essence, correlated with five stages of teaching in the root treatise’s order |
| Entering / Leaving | Seeing the body adorned with special marks and hearing the Great Vehicle are called entering; still seeing the sixteen-foot body and hearing the Lesser Vehicle after being reproved are called leaving |
| Original Place | Hearing the Great while still treating it as the affair of bodhisattvas and remaining within one’s arhat position and self-allocation to the Lesser Vehicle |
| Gold / Silver | Gold corresponds to the principle of the Distinct Teaching and silver to that of the Shared Teaching; 「多有」 tr. “‘possess much’” concerns the many gates that express principle |
| Storehouse / Treasury | Storehouse is the gate of concentration and the 108 samādhis; treasury is the gate of wisdom and the objects of the eighteen emptinesses |
| Quantity / Taking and Giving | Little and much are the abbreviated and extensive gates of prajñā; taking is one’s own practice, giving is transforming others |
| My Mind / Apprehend the Meaning | The Buddha takes prajñā as His mind; practitioners of the two vehicles move from analytical emptiness of dharmas toward transmitting the teaching in accord with integral emptiness of dharmas |
| Non-Difference | The root treatise lists three forms: teaching under empowerment without difference from the Buddha, non-difference because all dharmas are suchness, and present awakening that the natural relation of father and son was always without difference |
| Allow No Loss | First in relation to teaching prajñā to bodhisattvas, and second because this Dharma will later be used by oneself |
| A Short Time | One explanation places it after the Prajñā teaching; the other when the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings is about to be taught |
| Openness / Great Aspiration | The mind gradually opens, disdains its former pursuit of only the lesser fruit, and activates its Mahāyāna capacity |
| Eight Years at Vulture Peak | Used by the root treatise to explain the occasion of entrustment; the Wenjuji separately cites forty-two years, and each number remains with its own source |
| Influencing Assembly | Those who appear with and assist the Buddha’s work of transformation; used by the root treatise to explain the relatives |
| Human Conjecture / Not Placed Twice | 「人情」 tr. “‘human conjecture’” is the root treatise’s criticism that the earlier explanation has no supporting evidence; 「不疊安」 tr. “‘not placed twice’” belongs to the opposing explanation it refutes |
| A Certain City / So-and-So | The scripture supplies no city or personal name; the root treatise only uses 「或可」 tr. “‘perhaps’” to propose a possible explanation through the causal account of Great Universal Wisdom Excellence |
| All That Is Possessed | Correlated by the root treatise with all ten thousand practices and ten thousand virtues of the Great Vehicle |
| Went Out and Came In | The root scripture and root treatise both preserve this wording; the root treatise refers it back to the earlier command to understand the Prajñā teaching |
| Gaining of Itself Without Seeking | Under the Tripiṭaka teaching the original mind does not seek; in the Vaipulya period one is ashamed of the Lesser and regards the Great as beyond hope; in the Prajñā period one understands it yet claims no share; now one suddenly hears the prediction |
| Seeming | The root treatise divides it into great-capacity and lesser-capacity meanings and answers the difficulty concerning 「似／入真」 tr. “‘seeming / entering the real’” by distinguishing flight from the father from the time of awakening |
| Abandon / Release | The Taishō root treatise reads “abandon,” witness A reads “release,” and the present root scripture reads “release” |
| Not Sparing | The Buddha was originally not sparing with the great Dharma; it was not entrusted early because living beings delighted in the Lesser and could not yet bear it |
The seven later shorthand expressions “five periods and eight teachings,” “modes of conversion,” “teachings of conversion,” “Tripiṭaka, Shared, Distinct, and Perfect,” “ten subtleties of the Trace Gate,” “ten subtleties of the Origin Gate,” and “three thousand in one thought-moment” do not occur verbatim in this domain.
VII. Similes · Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
The central image of this chapter is not a family estate suddenly coming into existence. The poor son is already trusted by the elder, can already enter and leave, and already knows how much the storehouses contain, yet still has no thought of seeking so much as a single meal. Gold, silver, precious things, brimming storehouses and treasuries, and quantities taken and given disclose layer by layer the distance between being able to know and speak and recognizing that one has a share. Only when the elder assembles the people and publicly declares their father-son relation does he expressly say that the estate formerly managed belongs to the son. Joy therefore rests upon 「不求自得」 tr. “‘gaining without seeking,’” not upon receiving a separate possession that did not previously exist.
The five-flavor simile places this long course in a sequence from milk through clarified essence. The root treatise lists in turn the attendant, the secret sending of two men, mutual trust, commission with the estate, and formal entrustment, connecting each stage with the five-flavor chain of the Great Parinirvāṇa Sutra. The number and order of milk, curds, raw ghee, refined ghee, and clarified essence are fixed and are not interchanged. Understanding and entrusting the family estate proximately understands the equal bestowal of great carts in the burning house and remotely understands the unsurpassed path in the “Skillful Means” chapter. It thereby interilluminates the preceding Dharma teaching and parable: the Dharma teaching already elucidates the destination, while the poor-son parable makes trust, understanding, entrustment, and joy visible as narrative.
The application does not pour the Dharma correlated with the parable backward into the elder’s story as statements made by that story itself. The root scripture first says that the great wealthy elder is the Tathāgata and the four great disciples seem to be buddha-sons, then uses their own experience to apply pursuit and inducement, clearing dung, receiving wages, understanding the estate, and receiving it. The root treatise likewise 「依文點意」 tr. “‘identifies the meaning according to the text’” in this sequence. The opening parable describes the gold, silver, storehouses, and public declaration in detail, while the application gathers the meaning in brief. They differ in detail yet correspond in sequence.
Read with the Sūtra of Immeasurable Meanings, the three passages transmitted by the root treatise describe the scriptures converging in this scripture. Read with the Great Parinirvāṇa Sutra, the five-flavor chain supplies the scriptural basis for the simile from milk through clarified essence. Read with the Prajñā scriptures, the Buddha’s command that bodhisattvas be taught and the statement that everything taught comes through the Buddha’s power illuminate how one may speak under command while still claiming no share. Read with the passages elsewhere in this scripture concerning two myriads of koṭis of buddhas, the causal account of Great Universal Wisdom Excellence, and opening the Buddha’s knowledge and vision, one sees that father and son, relatives, a certain city, and formal entrustment each have proximate and remote supports within the scripture.
Zhanran continues this chapter by distinguishing the Northern exegetes from the opposing explanation, clarifying the relation between entrusting possessions and entrusting the estate, and presenting Jiaxiang’s five pairs and ten single items as another layer of reception. He immediately criticizes merely matching numbers while losing the purport of the teaching. The five pairs can therefore be read as an old master’s interpretation but cannot be written backward as an enumeration originally made by Master Zhiyi in this chapter.
VIII. Placement of the Editions
1. Nineteen Paired Variants in the Taishō and Witness A
| No. | Line Anchor | Anchor Type | Taishō | Witness A | Short Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 0086a26 | Numeric anchor 0086001 | 車 tr. “cart” | 大車 tr. “great cart” | Jointly understanding the four meanings in equal bestowal of the cart in the burning house |
| II | 0086b10 | Numeric anchor 0086002 | 位 tr. “stage” | 味 tr. “flavor” | Maturing through four stages of compassion |
| III | 0086b17 | Numeric anchor 0086003 | 革 tr. “transform” | 隔 tr. “separate” | Transforming ordinary beings into noble ones |
| IV | 0086c06 | Numeric anchor 0086004 | 之 tr. genitive particle | Witness A omits | After the Prajñā teaching |
| V | 0086c07 | Numeric anchor 0086005 | 說 tr. “teach” | Witness A omits | Entrusting possessions, giving predictions, and teaching the Lotus |
| VI | 0086c08 | Numeric anchor 0086006 | 以 tr. “through” | 已 tr. “already” | All through the Tathāgata’s extinction |
| VII | 0086c12 | Numeric anchor 0086007 | 文 tr. “passage” | 文又 tr. “the passage again” | Passage on understanding the family estate |
| VIII | 0087a12 | Numeric anchor 0087001 | 云 tr. “says” | 言 tr. “states” | Therefore it says 「汝悉知之」 tr. “‘you know all of it’” |
| IX | 0087a16 | Numeric anchor 0087002 | 命 tr. “command” | 命令 tr. “commanded” | Command to transmit the teaching |
| X | 0087b06 | Numeric anchor 0087003 | 去 tr. “distant from” | 去般若 tr. “distant from the Prajñā” | At this time, distant from the Lotus |
| XI | 0087b10 | Numeric anchor 0087004 | 是 tr. “these” | 此 tr. “these” | These three vehicles |
| XII | 0087b13 | Numeric anchor 0087005 | 謂 tr. “namely” | Witness A omits | Namely, first, entrustment |
| XIII | 0087c17 | Numeric anchor 0087006 | 甞 tr. “formerly” | 常 tr. “constantly” | Formerly taught the great Dharma |
| XIV | 0087c21 | Numeric anchor 0087007 | 言 tr. “says” | 云 tr. “states” | Therefore it says 「捨吾逃走」 tr. “‘abandoned me and fled’” |
| XV | 0088a01 | Numeric anchor 0088001 | 窮 tr. “poor” | 實 tr. “true” | The poor son heard these words of his father |
| XVI | 0088b01 | Numeric anchor 0088002 | 棄 tr. “abandon” | 縱 tr. “release” | Then let them go |
| XVII | 0088b05 | Numeric anchor 0088003 | 力說 tr. “power, taught” | Witness A omits | Through the power of skillful means, taught Tathāgata-wisdom |
| XVIII | 0088b23 | Numeric anchor 0088004 | 付 tr. “entrustment” | 付與 tr. “giving in entrustment” | Entrustment has two meanings |
| XIX | 0088b25 | Numeric anchor 0088005 | 下 tr. “below” | Witness A omits | Below, this scripture uses today to demonstrate the past |
All nineteen are paired <app> variants with numeric anchors. In the fourth, fifth, twelfth, seventeenth, and nineteenth, witness A has an empty reading. Starred corresp cross-references, unilateral <note type="mod"> notes, and abbreviated “first graph, last graph, plus count” variants are all zero in the strict domain.
2. Transmitted Inline Notes
| Line Anchor | Verbatim Reader Form |
|---|---|
| 0087c02 | 「今不用彼解，依《薩云經》〔云云〕。」 tr. “Now I do not use that explanation, but follow the Sayun Sutra [and so forth].” |
| 0088a14 | 「子既逃父，貶之言似〔云云〕。」 tr. “Since the son fled his father, he is disparagingly said to ‘seem’ [and so forth].” |
Both <note place="inline"> notes retain 〔云云〕 within their respective sentences and are not counted among the nineteen variants.
3. Gaiji, Table of Contents, and Page Anchors
The strict domain contains zero <g> tags and zero unresolved gaiji. This means only that there are no unresolved gaiji in this domain; it does not imply that the entire fascicle has none.
The reader source uses one page marker and precise inline anchors at paragraph openings. Three are presently visible: 〔T34 0086a23〕, 〔T34 0087b03〕, and 〔T34 0088a14〕. Each verbatim citation in the apparatus is separately located at the nearest preceding Taishō <lb> before its first graph; a single reader page marker cannot replace phrase-level line anchors. The domain’s final sentence and the next unit’s opening sentence share 〔0088b29〕, so their boundary is further separated by the paragraph division.