妙法蓮華經玄義 開合
因為完整不是封閉，總名也不會吞掉細節。
五章合起來共釋一經，打開來又能由事理、教行、因果、自他、說默五雙觀看；也能在道、識、性、般若、菩提、大乘、身、涅槃、三寶、德十法中逐一運作。
人身譬最直接：說『一身』時，識、命、煖都在其中；分開來看，三者各有作用，貴賤賢愚又有差別。總身沒有因開而破裂，諸分也沒有因合而消失。
開合的心要，是能合而不混、能開而不散。抓住一面便排除另一面，架構就成牢籠；讓總與別彼此照明，五章才是活的讀法。
Why can a complete framework still keep opening? Because completeness is not closure, and a general name does not swallow detail.
The five chapters combine to explain one scripture. Opened, they can also be viewed through the five pairs phenomena and principle, teaching and practice, cause and fruit, self and other, and speech and silence. They can further operate one by one within the ten Dharmas path, consciousness, nature, prajñā, awakening, Great Vehicle, body, nirvāṇa, Three Jewels, and virtues.
The human-body simile is most direct. When one says “one body,” consciousness, life, and warmth are all within it. Viewed separately, each has its own function, while noble and lowly, worthy and foolish reveal further differences. The general body does not break apart because it is opened, and the parts do not disappear because they are combined.
The heart of opening and combining is the ability to combine without confusion and open without scattering. If grasping one side excludes the other, a structure becomes a prison. When general and particular illuminate each other, the five chapters become a living way of reading.
隋天台智者大師說《妙法蓮華經玄義》〔私記緣起＝沙門灌頂述〕· 大正藏 T33n1716〔起 T33 0685a19〕。段/行首〔T33 …〕＝大正藏頁·欄·行錨（換頁一枚）。
〔T33 0685a19〕○四、開合者，五章共釋一經，種種分別，令易解故。凡三種開合，謂五種、十種、譬喻。 初、釋名通論事、理，顯體專論理，宗、用但論事，教相分別事、理。釋名通說教行，顯體非教、非行，宗、用但行，教相但教。釋名通說因果，顯體非因、非果，宗自因果，用教他因果，教相分別上法耳。釋名通論自行、化他，體非自、非他，宗是自行，用是化他，教相分別自、他。釋名通論說默，體非說、非默，宗默、用說，教相分別〔云云〕。 十種者，釋名總論三軌：體、宗、用開對三軌，教相分別三軌。釋名總論三道：體、宗、用開對三道，教相分別三道。乃至第十，釋名總論三德：體、宗、用開對三德，教相分別三德〔云云〕。 譬喻者，譬如總名人身，開身則有識、命、煖，分別諸身貴、賤、賢、愚，種種差降。人身譬名，識以譬體，命以譬宗，煖以譬用，分別譬教相〔云云〕。
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.
第四番說開合。五章合在一起，共同解釋一部經；又把其中關係作種種分別，使人容易理解。開合共有三路：第一是五種開合，第二是十種開合，第三是譬喻開合。
五種開合
第一，從事與理來看：釋名兼說事與理；辨體專說理；明宗與論用只說事；教相則分別事、理。
第二，從教與行來看：釋名兼說教與行；體既不只是教，也不只是行；宗與用著重在行；教相著重在教。
第三，從因與果來看：釋名兼說因果；體不是因，也不是果；宗是修行者自身的因果；用是以教化利益他人的因果；教相分別以上各法。
第四，從自行與化他來看：釋名兼說自身修行與教化他人；體不能固定屬於自或他；宗屬自行；用屬化他；教相分別自、他。
第五，從說與默來看：釋名兼說言說與默然；體既非言說，也非默然；宗取默契；用取說法；教相分別何時說、何時默，以及兩者的同異。
十種開合
十種依次是道、識、性、般若、菩提、大乘、身、涅槃、三寶、德。每一種都依同一方式展開，不能省併其中任何一項。
『道』依三道開合，『識』依三識，『性』依三佛性，『般若』依三般若，『菩提』依三菩提，『大乘』依三大乘，『身』依三身，『涅槃』依三涅槃，『三寶』依三寶，『德』依三德。十組都類通前述三軌的總模板：釋名總說，體、宗、用分別對應，教相再作分辨。
譬喻開合
譬如『人身』是一個總名，把人身展開來看，便有識、命與煖；再分別種種身分，又有貴與賤、賢與愚等不同差等。
在這個譬喻中，人身的總名譬喻釋名；識譬喻體；命譬喻宗；煖譬喻用；分別各種人的貴賤賢愚與差等，譬喻教相。總名能合攝諸分，諸分又能由總名開出，這就是第三種開合。
The fourth pass explains opening and combining. The five chapters combine to explain one scripture in common. Their relationships are also distinguished in various ways to make them easy to understand. Opening and combining has three routes: first, five modes of opening and combining; second, ten modes; and third, opening and combining through a simile.
Five Modes of Opening and Combining
First, viewed through phenomena and principle: explaining the name treats both phenomena and principle; discerning the substance treats principle alone; clarifying the purport and discussing the function treat only phenomena; and the characteristics of the teaching distinguish phenomena and principle.
Second, viewed through teaching and practice: explaining the name treats both teaching and practice; the substance is neither only teaching nor only practice; purport and function emphasize practice; and the characteristics of the teaching emphasize teaching.
Third, viewed through cause and fruit: explaining the name treats both cause and fruit; the substance is neither cause nor fruit; the purport is the cause and fruit of practitioners’ own practice; function is the cause and fruit through which transformation benefits others; and the characteristics of the teaching distinguish all the preceding Dharmas.
Fourth, viewed through one’s own practice and transforming others: explaining the name treats both one’s own practice and the transformation of others; the substance cannot be fixed as belonging to self or other; the purport belongs to one’s own practice; function belongs to transforming others; and the characteristics of the teaching distinguish self and other.
Fifth, viewed through speaking and silence: explaining the name treats both speech and silence; the substance is neither speech nor silence; the purport takes silent realization; function takes teaching through speech; and the characteristics of the teaching distinguish when to speak, when to remain silent, and the sameness and difference of the two.
Ten Modes of Opening and Combining
The ten, in sequence, are path, consciousness, nature, prajñā, awakening, Great Vehicle, body, nirvāṇa, Three Jewels, and virtues. Every one unfolds in the same way, and no item may be omitted or combined with another.
“Path” opens and combines through the three paths; “consciousness” through the three consciousnesses; “nature” through the three buddha-natures; “prajñā” through the three prajñās; “awakening” through the three awakenings; “Great Vehicle” through the three Great Vehicles; “body” through the three bodies; “nirvāṇa” through the three nirvāṇas; “Three Jewels” through the three jewels; and “virtues” through the three virtues. All ten correspond by analogy to the general template of the three tracks described above: explaining the name states them generally; substance, purport, and function correspond separately; and the characteristics of the teaching then make distinctions.
Opening and Combining through a Simile
For example, “human body” is a general name. When the human body is opened up, there are consciousness, life, and warmth. When the many different social identities are further distinguished, there are different ranks such as noble and lowly, worthy and foolish.
Within this simile, the general name “human body” represents explaining the name; consciousness represents substance; life represents the purport; warmth represents function; and distinguishing the noble, lowly, worthy, foolish, and other ranks among people represents the characteristics of the teaching. The general name can combine and embrace the parts, and the parts can be opened from the general name. This is the third kind of opening and combining.
五章共同解釋一經，看來已是一個完整架構。開合番卻說，完整不等於封閉：五章能合攝一經，也能從不同關係一再展開。問題因此不是『還要增加多少章』，而是『同一五章如何在不同門徑中保持完整』。
五雙不是五個固定配對
事與理、教與行、因與果、自行與化他、說與默，五雙都能橫看五章。釋名往往兼說兩端，體不落兩端，宗與用各有著重，教相再分辨其關係。若把第一雙交給第一章、第二雙交給第二章，開合便成簡單對號；本論卻讓每一雙都穿過五章。
這使五章不只是一列前後次第，也是一張可從多面觀看的網。宗偏向自行，並不表示化他與宗毫無關係；用偏向化他，也不表示自行全被排除。說與默尤其顯出，體不能被任何表現方式佔有，而宗、用又能依不同面向取默取說。
十法為何都依三軌展開
正文先以三軌總示十種的共同模板，再以『道』類通三道，中間以省文承接，直到『德』類通三德。十種雖未逐項重寫，仍須依道、識、性、般若、菩提、大乘、身、涅槃、三寶、德的本名逐項讀。
這不是把十法削成同一內容，而是說十組都可類通三軌的開合模板。逐項仍是道對三道、識對三識、性對三佛性、般若對三般若、菩提對三菩提、大乘對三大乘、身對三身、涅槃對三涅槃、三寶對三寶、德對三德；正文省的是中間展開語句，不是逐項本名。
一個身體如何同時是總與別
人身譬把開合變得可見。『人身』是一個總名；打開來看，有識、有命、有煖。識使此身有所覺，命使生命相續，煖顯身中作用；再分貴賤、賢愚，種種身分差別又現前。
總名沒有吞掉諸分，諸分也沒有分裂成幾個人。釋名如總稱人身，體如識，宗如命，用如煖，教相如分別各種身分。合時一身不亂，開時諸義不缺；這就是短篇要守住的完整。
三路由此各顯一面，而不互相吞沒。
釋籤之眼
湛然先把本番科成標、明意、列數、正釋四步，再指出五雙各自都能收攝五章。五雙次第也非任意：由事理而有教行，由教行因而成果，因果圓滿才能化他，根機不同才有說默。
鏡中列足十法原序，又以蓮、華、鬚分配真性、觀照、資成，照明三軌如何成一組。這項蓮華譬與末後人身譬各有所用，不互相代替；一個顯三軌，一個顯總身開成識、命、煖。
The five chapters explain one scripture together and appear already to form a complete structure. Opening and Combining nevertheless says that completeness does not mean closure. The five chapters can combine and embrace one scripture, and they can be opened repeatedly through different relationships. The question is therefore not “How many more chapters must be added?” but “How can the same five chapters remain complete within different approaches?”
The Five Pairs Are Not Five Fixed Correlations
The five pairs—phenomena and principle, teaching and practice, cause and fruit, one’s own practice and transforming others, speech and silence—can each view all five chapters horizontally. Explaining the name often treats both sides; the substance falls into neither side; purport and function each have their emphasis; and the characteristics of the teaching distinguish the relationship. If the first pair were assigned to the first chapter and the second pair to the second chapter, opening and combining would become a simple matching exercise. The treatise instead makes every pair pass through all five chapters.
The five chapters thereby become not only a sequence before and after but a net that can be viewed from many sides. The purport emphasizes one’s own practice, but this does not mean transforming others has no relation to it. Function emphasizes transforming others, but this does not mean one’s own practice is wholly excluded. Speech and silence show especially clearly that substance cannot be possessed by any mode of expression, while purport and function can take silent realization and spoken teaching from their respective perspectives.
Why Do All Ten Dharmas Unfold through the Three Tracks?
The body text first uses the three tracks to show the shared template of the ten modes. It then correlates “path” by analogy with the three paths, carries the middle by abbreviation, and reaches “virtues,” correlated by analogy with the three virtues. Although all ten are not rewritten item by item, they must still be read under their own names in order: path, consciousness, nature, prajñā, awakening, Great Vehicle, body, nirvāṇa, Three Jewels, and virtues.
This does not reduce the ten Dharmas to identical content. It says that all ten groups can correspond by analogy to the template of opening and combining through the three tracks. Each remains distinct: path with the three paths, consciousness with the three consciousnesses, nature with the three buddha-natures, prajñā with the three prajñās, awakening with the three awakenings, Great Vehicle with the three Great Vehicles, body with the three bodies, nirvāṇa with the three nirvāṇas, Three Jewels with the three jewels, and virtues with the three virtues. The body text abbreviates the intervening explanatory sentences, not the names of the individual items.
How Can One Body Be General and Particular at Once?
The human-body simile makes opening and combining visible. “Human body” is one general name. Opened up, there are consciousness, life, and warmth. Consciousness lets the body be aware, life allows it to continue, and warmth manifests function within it. When noble and lowly, worthy and foolish are further distinguished, the many differences in social identity appear.
The general name does not swallow the parts, and the parts do not split into several people. Explaining the name is like the general term human body; substance is like consciousness, purport like life, function like warmth, and the characteristics of the teaching like distinguishing social identities. Combined, the one body is not confused; opened, none of the meanings is absent. This is the completeness the short passage must preserve.
The three routes thus each reveal one side without swallowing the others.
Through the Eye of the Shiqian
Zhanran first analyzes this pass into the four steps setting out, clarifying the intent, listing the numbers, and properly explaining. He then points out that each of the five pairs can itself embrace all five chapters. Their sequence is not arbitrary: phenomena and principle give rise to teaching and practice; teaching and practice as causes produce fruit; when cause and fruit are fulfilled, one can transform others; and because faculties differ, there is speech or silence.
The mirror lists the complete original sequence of the ten Dharmas and assigns lotus fruit, flower, and stamens to true nature, contemplative illumination, and supporting accomplishment, illuminating how the three tracks form one group. This lotus simile and the human-body simile at the end each have their own function and do not replace one another. One reveals the three tracks; the other reveals the general body opened into consciousness, life, and warmth.
考據Apparatus
開合番先以五章共釋一經為合，再把五章依五雙、十法與人身譬三路展開。篇幅極短而層次不可壓平：五種是五雙各自橫攝五章，十種是十法各依三軌開釋，譬喻則以一身之識、命、煖及差別回配五章。
一、科判定位
本番起於「四、開合者，五章共釋一經」〔T33 0685a19〕，止於「分別譬教相」〔0685b05〕；下一行「五料簡者」〔0685b07〕已入第五番。
《法華玄義釋籤》（T1717）總科為「次開合中為四：先標，次明開合意」〔T33 0828a18〕，繼以凡三以下列數、初釋以下正釋。三種依次是五種、十種、譬喻，不能把『三種』誤讀為五、十以外另有三個同級數目。
五種依事理、教行、因果、自他、說默五雙逐一橫判五章；十種依道、識、性、般若、菩提、大乘、身、涅槃、三寶、德十法逐一以三軌開釋；譬喻以人身為總名，開成識、命、煖，再以貴賤賢愚等差別譬教相。
二、成立與傳本
本論緣起所誌為智者於江陵說玄義、灌頂受聞筆錄，並明記《玄》《文》各十卷〔T33 0681a16–a23〕。本番未見換入章安私釋的標記，《法華玄義釋籤》亦作論主正說連續科釋，故作智者講說、灌頂記錄。
現存正文於十種先以三軌總示共同模板，再以首組『道』類通三道，至第十組『德』類通三德，中間以乃至承接；《法華玄義釋籤》保存十項原序。這是正文省文與注家科列的分層，不可把注家補列冒充 T1716 每項逐字，又不可因正文省略而併縮十項。
三、所引經論覆核
本番有法華題義、因果、自行化他及三軌等內部回指，但完整場景逐段清點未見新增具名經論逐字引句。其考據重點不在另尋根經，而在保存本論三路開合的原序。
| 本論現文 | 覆核結果 | 處理 |
|---|---|---|
| 「凡三種開合，謂五種、十種、譬喻」〔T33 0685a20〕 | 三個同級類別皆在本論逐字 | 依原序完整保留 |
| 五種以事理、教行、因果、自他、說默五雙展開〔T33 0685a21–a28〕 | 是本論對五章的橫判，未署外典 | 不強配單一經論 |
| 十種正文先以三軌總示共同模板，再以首組『道』類通三道，省至第十組『德』類通三德〔T33 0685a28–b03〕 | 《法華玄義釋籤》列足十項；本論中段用乃至 | 正文與注釋兩層分誌 |
| 「譬如總名人身，開身則有識、命、煖」〔T33 0685b03〕 | 本論自設譬解，未署外典 | 不冒充根經譬喻 |
本番沒有新的具名引文，是依整段正面清點所得；它不妨礙本番與全書後文三法、三道、三德等義互讀。內部承衍與外部典據須分開。
四、釋籤釋要〔鏡〕
《法華玄義釋籤》明說五種不是五雙各固定配給一章，而是「以一一雙皆攝五章故也」〔T33 0828a23〕。五雙次第又有內在承接：「由有事理故有教行」〔0828a26〕，由教行為因而感果，由因果滿而能化他，由他機異而宜說宜默。
十種的完整原序是「道、識、性、般若、菩提、大乘、身、涅槃、三寶、德」〔0828b01〕。每一法都可由總名而開體、宗、用三面，再由教相分別；不是只把三軌、三道、三德三組列成十種。
三軌的蓮華譬由《釋籤》明配：「蓮譬真性，華譬觀照，鬚譬資成」〔0828b03〕。這是釋家對十法第一組的開解；人身譬則仍依本論的識、命、煖與身分差別，不與蓮華三分混作一譬。
五、諸家異釋
智銓《法華經玄籤證釋》（X0592）以「四，開合」〔X 0566c19〕直接進入本番，又說「十種後明三法玅中開七科」〔X 0566c19〕，把十法承接到後文三法妙；此為後出古注的承衍提示，不改本番五種、十種、譬喻三路。
智旭《法華經玄義節要》（X0589）以「四開合者，五章釋一經」〔X 0510b24〕保存入口與三種開合，是直接節錄的結構見證。
限定所檢智圓著作範圍內，未見直接扣合本番三路開合的連續釋文；只見五章玄義鄰近框架。查無直接場景即如實記錄，不虛列山外一目。
六、術語
開、合。 五章合則共釋一經，開則每章可依多組關係展開。開不是拆散，合也不是抹平差別。
五種。 指事理、教行、因果、自他、說默五雙。每一雙都橫攝釋名、辨體、明宗、論用、教相，不是五雙與五章一對一。
十種。 指道、識、性、般若、菩提、大乘、身、涅槃、三寶、德。正文用乃至省中間項，完整原序由《法華玄義釋籤》科出。
三軌。 十法每一法皆可總論三軌，再以體、宗、用分對，最後由教相分別。三軌是每項的開法，不是與十種並列的第四路。
識、命、煖。 人身譬中，識譬體，命譬宗，煖譬用；人身總名譬釋名，身分差別譬教相。
七、譬喻、互讀與承衍
人身譬最能顯開合：說『人身』時是一個總名，展開則有識、有命、有煖；再看不同人的貴賤賢愚，又有種種差別。總名沒有取消諸分，諸分也沒有離開一身。
五雙呈橫向互攝：任何一章都可從事理、教行、因果、自他、說默看。十法呈多門展開：任何一法都可依三軌分體、宗、用，再由教相辨別。人身譬則把抽象關係落到一個可見整體。
與前一生起番互讀，生起說五章為何前後相生，開合說同一五章如何橫攝與展開；一縱一橫，彼此不代替。承接下一料簡番，開合已顯名、體、宗、用、教相彼此聯結，料簡才進一步追問其界線是否混亂。
八、校本定位
一、本單元以 T33n1716 為底，起於 0685a19，止於 0685b06；0685b07 已入料簡番。
二、通解七番全範圍三處正文異讀標記在 0683b01、0684a08、0688a01；本單元無正文異讀標記。此結論依異讀節點閉合清點。
三、正文三處『〔云云〕』皆是行內註的顯示形，分別承說默、十種及人身譬省文；不可吞為正文，也不可藉省文任意補造 T1716 逐句。
四、十項原序取自 T1717 0828b01，屬釋家科列；T1716 先以三軌總示共同模板，再逐字寫出首組『道』類通三道與第十組『德』類通三德，兩層不混。
The pass Opening and Combining first takes the five chapters’ shared explanation of one scripture as combining, then opens the five chapters through three routes: five pairs, ten Dharmas, and the simile of the human body. Although the passage is extremely short, its levels cannot be flattened. In the five modes, each of five pairs horizontally embraces all five chapters; in the ten modes, each of ten Dharmas opens according to the three tracks; and in the simile, the consciousness, life, warmth, and distinctions within one body are assigned back to the five chapters.
1. Doctrinal-Outline Placement
This pass begins with 「四、開合者，五章共釋一經」 tr. “Fourth, as for opening and combining, the five chapters together explain one scripture”〔T33 0685a19〕 and ends with 「分別譬教相」 tr. “Distinguishing represents the characteristics of the teaching”〔0685b05〕. The next line, 「五料簡者」 tr. “Fifth, as for resolving questions”〔0685b07〕, has already entered the fifth pass.
The Fahua Xuanyi Shiqian (T1717) analyzes the whole as 「次開合中為四：先標，次明開合意」 tr. “Next, Opening and Combining has four parts: first setting it out, then clarifying the intent of opening and combining”〔T33 0828a18〕, followed by listing the numbers beginning with “in all there are three,” and properly explaining them beginning with “first, explaining.” The three in sequence are five modes, ten modes, and simile. “Three kinds” cannot be misread as three additional coordinate numbers besides five and ten.
The five modes use the pairs phenomena and principle, teaching and practice, cause and fruit, self and other, and speech and silence to judge all five chapters horizontally. The ten modes use the ten Dharmas path, consciousness, nature, prajñā, awakening, Great Vehicle, body, nirvāṇa, Three Jewels, and virtues, opening each through the three tracks. The simile takes the human body as a general name, opens it into consciousness, life, and warmth, then uses differences such as noble and lowly or worthy and foolish to represent the characteristics of the teaching.
2. Formation and Transmission
The origins recorded in this treatise state that Zhiyi taught the Profound Meaning at Jiangling and Guanding heard and transcribed it, and explicitly note that the Profound Meaning and Words and Phrases each comprised ten fascicles〔T33 0681a16–a23〕. No marker shifts this pass into Zhang’an’s private explanation, and the Shiqian continuously analyzes it as the treatise master’s proper teaching. It is therefore treated as Zhiyi’s oral teaching recorded by Guanding.
In the extant body text, the ten modes are first shown generally through the shared template of the three tracks. The first group, “path,” is then correlated by analogy with the three paths; an ellipsis carries the text through to the tenth group, “virtues,” correlated by analogy with the three virtues. The Shiqian preserves the original sequence of all ten items. This is a distinction between the body text’s abbreviated wording and the commentator’s analytic list. The commentator’s completed list cannot be passed off as every item stated verbatim in T1716, and the ten items cannot be compressed together merely because the body text abbreviates the middle.
3. Scriptures and Treatises Cited by Zhiyi
This pass contains internal references to the meaning of the Lotus title, cause and fruit, one’s own practice and transforming others, and the three tracks. A complete scene-by-scene inventory, however, found no newly named verbatim quotation from a scripture or treatise. Its apparatus must therefore preserve the original sequence of the three routes of opening and combining rather than search for a separate root scripture.
| Present wording in the treatise | Verification result | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 「凡三種開合，謂五種、十種、譬喻」 tr. “In all, opening and combining has three kinds: five modes, ten modes, and simile”〔T33 0685a20〕 | All three coordinate categories appear verbatim in the treatise | Preserve the complete original sequence |
| The five modes unfold through the pairs phenomena and principle, teaching and practice, cause and fruit, self and other, and speech and silence〔T33 0685a21–a28〕 | This is the treatise’s horizontal judgment of the five chapters, with no external text named | Do not force a single scripture or treatise upon it |
| In the ten modes, the body text first uses the three tracks to show the shared template, correlates the first group 『道』 tr. “path” by analogy with the three paths, and abbreviates until the tenth group 『德』 tr. “virtues,” which it correlates with the three virtues〔T33 0685a28–b03〕 | The Fahua Xuanyi Shiqian lists all ten items; the body text uses an ellipsis through the middle | Record the body text and commentary as two layers |
| 「譬如總名人身，開身則有識、命、煖」 tr. “It is like the general name human body: opening the body, there are consciousness, life, and warmth”〔T33 0685b03〕 | A simile established by the treatise itself, with no external text named | Do not present it as a simile from the root scripture |
The absence of a new named quotation is established through a positive inventory of the whole passage. It does not prevent this pass from being read together with the later teachings on the three Dharmas, three paths, and three virtues throughout the work. Internal carrying forward and external textual evidence must remain separate.
4. Essential Explanations from the Shiqian [the Mirror]
The Fahua Xuanyi Shiqian makes clear that the five modes do not assign each pair permanently to one chapter. Rather, it says 「以一一雙皆攝五章故也」 tr. “Because each pair embraces all five chapters”〔T33 0828a23〕. The five pairs also have an internal sequence: 「由有事理故有教行」 tr. “Because there are phenomena and principle, there are teaching and practice”〔0828a26〕; teaching and practice as causes bring forth fruits; once cause and fruit are fulfilled one can transform others; because the faculties of others differ, speech or silence is appropriate.
The complete original sequence of the ten modes is 「道、識、性、般若、菩提、大乘、身、涅槃、三寶、德」 tr. “path, consciousness, nature, prajñā, awakening, Great Vehicle, body, nirvāṇa, Three Jewels, and virtues”〔0828b01〕. Each Dharma can be opened from its general name into the three aspects substance, purport, and function, then distinguished through the characteristics of the teaching. The ten modes do not consist only of listing the three groups three tracks, three paths, and three virtues.
The Shiqian explicitly assigns the lotus simile for the three tracks: 「蓮譬真性，華譬觀照，鬚譬資成」 tr. “The lotus fruit represents true nature, the flower represents contemplative illumination, and the stamens represent supporting accomplishment”〔0828b03〕. This is the commentator’s explanation of the first group among the ten Dharmas. The human-body simile continues to follow the treatise’s consciousness, life, warmth, and differences in status; it is not merged with the three parts of the lotus into one simile.
5. Explanations of Various Masters
Zhiquan’s Fahua Jing Xuanqian Zhengshi (X0592) enters the present pass directly with 「四，開合」 tr. “Fourth, Opening and Combining”〔X 0566c19〕. It further says 「十種後明三法玅中開七科」 tr. “After the ten modes, the later explanation of the subtlety of the three Dharmas opens into seven divisions”〔X 0566c19〕, carrying the ten Dharmas forward into the later Subtlety of the Three Dharmas. This is a later ancient commentary’s indication of what follows; it does not alter the three routes five modes, ten modes, and simile in the present pass.
Zhixu’s Fahua Jing Xuanyi Jieyao (X0589) preserves the entrance and the three kinds of opening and combining with 「四開合者，五章釋一經」 tr. “Fourth, as for opening and combining, the five chapters explain one scripture”〔X 0510b24〕. It is a structural witness through direct selection.
Within the limited range of Zhiyuan’s works examined, no continuous explanation was found that directly corresponds to the three routes of opening and combining in this pass. Only a neighboring framework for the Fivefold Profound Meaning was found. The absence of a direct scene is recorded truthfully; a Shanwai interpretation is not fabricated to fill the section.
6. Terminology
Opening and combining. Combined, the five chapters explain one scripture in common; opened, each chapter can unfold through many sets of relationships. Opening does not scatter them, and combining does not erase their differences.
Five modes. These are the five pairs phenomena and principle, teaching and practice, cause and fruit, self and other, and speech and silence. Each pair horizontally embraces explaining the name, discerning the substance, clarifying the purport, discussing the function, and the characteristics of the teaching; the five pairs are not correlated one-to-one with the five chapters.
Ten modes. These are path, consciousness, nature, prajñā, awakening, Great Vehicle, body, nirvāṇa, Three Jewels, and virtues. The body text abbreviates the items in the middle with an ellipsis; the complete original sequence is analyzed by the Fahua Xuanyi Shiqian.
Three tracks. Each of the ten Dharmas can be discussed generally through the three tracks, separately correlated with substance, purport, and function, and finally distinguished through the characteristics of the teaching. The three tracks are the method for opening each item, not a fourth route coordinated with the ten modes.
Consciousness, life, and warmth. In the human-body simile, consciousness represents substance, life represents purport, and warmth represents function. The general name human body represents explaining the name, while differences in social identity represent the characteristics of the teaching.
7. Similes · Cross-Reading · Carrying Forward
The human-body simile makes opening and combining most visible. When one says “human body,” there is one general name. Opened, it includes consciousness, life, and warmth. When noble and lowly, worthy and foolish people are further considered, many differences appear. The general name does not cancel the parts, and the parts do not leave the one body.
The five pairs show horizontal mutual inclusion: every chapter can be viewed through phenomena and principle, teaching and practice, cause and fruit, self and other, and speech and silence. The ten Dharmas show unfolding through many gates: each Dharma can distinguish substance, purport, and function according to the three tracks, then be analyzed through the characteristics of the teaching. The human-body simile brings the abstract relationship into one visible whole.
Read together with the preceding pass How the Chapters Arise in Sequence, that pass explains why the five chapters produce one another before and after, while Opening and Combining explains how those same five chapters horizontally embrace and unfold. The vertical and horizontal do not replace one another. Resolving Questions follows next: once opening and combining has shown that name, substance, purport, function, and characteristics of the teaching are linked, the next pass can inquire further whether their boundaries have become confused.
8. Placement of the Editions
First, this unit takes T33n1716 as its base. It begins at 0685a19 and ends at 0685b06; 0685b07 has already entered Resolving Questions.
Second, the three body-text variant markers across the full range of the seven shared passes occur at 0683b01, 0684a08, and 0688a01. This unit has no body-text variant marker. This conclusion rests on a closed inventory of the variant nodes.
Third, the body text’s three instances of 『〔云云〕』 tr. “and so forth” are visible inline notes that respectively carry abbreviated wording in the discussions of speech and silence, the ten modes, and the human-body simile. They cannot be swallowed into the body text, nor can their abbreviations be used to fabricate T1716 sentences at will.
Fourth, the sequence of ten items comes from T1717 0828b01 and belongs to the commentator’s analytic list. T1716 first uses the three tracks to show their shared template, then writes verbatim the first group 『道』 tr. “path” correlated by analogy with the three paths and the tenth group 『德』 tr. “virtues” correlated by analogy with the three virtues. The two layers are not conflated.