English
English version In terms of ‘essence’ (体), skillful means (权) and reality (实) are its function (用). However, other interpretations only grasp the function of the scriptures but do not recognize the essence. If one does not understand the essence, how can one understand the function? Even if one understands the function, the meaning of the function is incomplete. If one clings to ‘cause’ (因) as the ‘vehicle’ (乘), then one is rejecting the ‘result’ (果); if one clings to ‘result’ as the ‘vehicle,’ then one is negating the ‘cause’; if one clings to either ‘cause’ or ‘result,’ then one is simultaneously negating the function of both ‘cause’ and ‘result.’ This scripture, from beginning to end, possesses four statements to clarify the meaning of ‘vehicle’: first, the ‘cause-vehicle’ is not the ‘result-vehicle,’ meaning the disciples ride this precious vehicle until they reach the Bodhi-mandala (道场); second, the ‘result-vehicle’ is not the ‘cause-vehicle,’ hence it is said, ‘The Buddha dwells in the Great Vehicle (大乘), according to the Dharma (法) he has attained, adorned with the power of Samadhi (定) and wisdom (慧), he uses this to liberate sentient beings’; third, simultaneously using ‘cause’ and ‘result’ as the ‘vehicle,’ which includes the previous two statements; fourth, neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result’ as the ‘vehicle,’ which says, ‘This Dharma cannot be shown, the characteristics of words and speech are extinguished.’ Question: ‘Vehicle’ means to carry out, how can neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result’ be a ‘vehicle’? Answer: Saying neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result’ is to allow sentient beings to transcend the four statements and surpass hundreds of wrong views, therefore it is called the true meaning of carrying out. Moreover, the scripture says, ‘Buddha-nature (佛性) has five names,’ and among the five names, one name is called ‘One Vehicle’ (一乘). Since the scripture has already clarified that Buddha-nature is neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result,’ how can the ‘One Vehicle’ not be neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result’? Although there are three or four statements as the function of the ‘vehicle,’ the fourth statement is the essence of the ‘vehicle,’ therefore it is said that the previous three statements all return to neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result,’ and the fourth statement also has the functions of ‘cause,’ ‘result,’ etc., because of neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result.’ Question: Who in ancient times used neither ‘cause’ nor ‘result’ as the essence of the scripture? Answer: The ‘Commentary on the Lotus Sutra’ (《注法华经》) adopts the important sayings of eight masters from Jiangzuo: Master An (安法师), Master Lin (林法师), Master Yi (一法师), Master Yuan (远法师), and from Heyou: Kumārajīva (鸠摩罗什), Sengzhao (僧肇), Daorong (道融), Sengheng (僧恒), and writes them in the preface of the scripture, therefore it says, ‘When leaving the house to seek a cart, why bother about the size of the cart; when destroying the city to collect treasures, why bother about the distance of the road; the teachings are condensed beyond the three and one, the fruition is mysterious beyond the sixteen-foot golden body.’ Fourth, neither negating nor establishing: In reality, there are no doctrines of the three schools that can be refuted, nor are there any present doctrines that can be established. If there is negation and establishment, then it can be expressed in words, how can it be said that ‘the characteristics of all dharmas are extinguished and cannot be expressed in words’? Master Sengzhao (僧肇) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
《涅槃论》云“须菩提无言以显道，释梵绝听以雨花，释迦掩室于摩竭提，净名杜口于毗耶离，故口以之而默。岂曰无辨？辨所不能言”，即是《法花》“言辞相寂灭”，寂灭宁有破立之可存耶？若能如此照达，即是《法花》之宗旨也。斯之四句盖经论之大宗，开道斥病之妙术也，必须采之以贯通众义。 第三、释经题目，更开七门： 一立名意门 二立名不同门 三转不转门 四具义多小门 五前后门 六翻译门 七释名门 第一、立名意门者，《涅槃经》云“低罗婆姨实不食油强名食油，涅槃亦尔，实无名相强名相说”。涅槃即是法花之异名，涅槃既无名相强名相说，法花亦无名相强名相说。所以强名相说者，欲令众生因名以悟理、因理以起行、因行以得解脱故也。 二、立名不同门者，众经或佛自立名，或待弟子发问然后方立，或序品之中预前立名，或正说之内方始立名字，或随说一义即立名字，或说一经竟最后制名，或一经之内但标一题，或一经之内立于多名，或有众经立于一名字，或有一部无别立名，立名不同略有五双十义，具如《净名玄义》已广述之。今此《法花》是佛于正说中自立名字。若依经，佛但立一名；若《法花论》，明一部始终有十七种名字，如彼广说也。 现代汉语译本：《涅槃论》中说：‘须菩提（Subhuti，佛陀的十大弟子之一，以解空第一著称）以无言来彰显佛道，释天（Śakra，佛教的护法神）和梵天（Brahmā，印度教的创造之神，佛教中也被认为是护法神）停止听讲而降下鲜花，释迦（Śākyamuni，佛教的创始人）在摩揭陀国（Magadha，古印度十六雄国之一）掩室静默，维摩诘（Vimalakirti，一位著名的在家菩萨）在毗耶离城（Vaishali，古印度城市）闭口不言，所以口才因此而沉默。难道是没有辩才吗？只是辩才无法用言语表达。’这也就是《法华经》所说的‘言辞相寂灭’，寂灭之中哪里还有破斥和建立可以存在呢？如果能够如此明了通达，那就是《法华经》的宗旨了。这四句话概括了经论的大纲，是开启智慧、破斥谬误的精妙方法，必须采纳它来贯通各种义理。 第三、解释经题，进一步展开七个方面： 一、立名意门；二、立名不同门；三、转不转门；四、具义多小门；五、前后门；六、翻译门；七、释名门。 第一、立名意门，《涅槃经》中说：‘低罗婆姨（Tilapia，一种鱼）实际上不吃油，却勉强称之为食油，涅槃（Nirvana，佛教术语，指解脱）也是这样，实际上没有名相，却勉强用名相来说明。’涅槃就是法华的别名，涅槃既然没有名相，却勉强用名相来说明，法华也没有名相，却勉强用名相来说明。之所以勉强用名相来说明，是为了让众生通过名相来领悟真理，通过真理来发起修行，通过修行来获得解脱的缘故。 第二、立名不同门，各种经典，有的佛自己立名，有的等待弟子发问然后才立名，有的在序品之中预先立名，有的在正式宣说内容之内才开始立名字，有的随着宣说一个义理就立即立名字，有的宣说一部经完毕最后才制定名称，有的一部经之内只标一个题目，有的一部经之内立于多个名称，有的众多经典立于一个名字，有的一部经典没有另外立名。立名不同，大概有五双十义，详细情况如《净名玄义》已经广泛阐述过了。现在这部《法华经》，是佛在正式宣说内容中自己立的名字。如果依据经文，佛只立了一个名字；如果依据《法华论》，说明一部经始终有十七种名字，如《法华论》中广泛说明的那样。
English
English version: The *Nirvana Sutra* says, 'Subhuti (Śubhūti, one of the Buddha's ten principal disciples, known for his understanding of emptiness) used silence to reveal the Way, Śakra (Śakra, a protector deity in Buddhism) and Brahmā (Brahmā, the Hindu god of creation, also considered a protector deity in Buddhism) rained down flowers, ceasing to listen; Śākyamuni (Śākyamuni, the founder of Buddhism) closed his room in Magadha (Magadha, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of ancient India), and Vimalakirti (Vimalakīrti, a famous lay bodhisattva) kept silent in Vaishali (Vaishali, an ancient city in India), therefore eloquence is silenced. Does this mean there is no eloquence? It is simply that eloquence cannot express it.' This is what the *Lotus Sutra* means by 'the characteristic of words is extinction.' In extinction, where can refutation and establishment exist? If one can understand this clearly, that is the essence of the *Lotus Sutra*. These four lines summarize the main points of the sutras and treatises, and are a wonderful method for opening wisdom and refuting errors. They must be adopted to connect all meanings. Third, explaining the title of the sutra, further opening seven aspects: 1. The meaning of establishing the name; 2. The differences in establishing names; 3. Turning and not turning; 4. Possessing meaning, many or few; 5. Before and after; 6. Translation; 7. Explaining the name. First, the meaning of establishing the name. The *Nirvana Sutra* says, 'The Tilapia (Tilapia, a type of fish) actually does not eat oil, but is forcibly called oil-eating. Nirvana (Nirvana, a Buddhist term referring to liberation) is also like this, actually having no characteristics, but forcibly using characteristics to explain it.' Nirvana is another name for the Lotus. Since Nirvana has no characteristics but is forcibly explained using characteristics, the Lotus also has no characteristics but is forcibly explained using characteristics. The reason for forcibly using characteristics to explain it is to enable sentient beings to understand the truth through names, to initiate practice through truth, and to attain liberation through practice. Second, the differences in establishing names. In various sutras, sometimes the Buddha establishes the name himself, sometimes he waits for a disciple to ask before establishing the name, sometimes the name is established in advance in the introduction chapter, sometimes the name is established within the main discourse, sometimes a name is immediately established as one meaning is explained, sometimes the name is determined at the end after a sutra is explained, sometimes only one title is marked within a sutra, sometimes multiple names are established within a sutra, sometimes many sutras share one name, and sometimes a sutra has no separate name established. There are roughly five pairs and ten meanings regarding the differences in establishing names, as extensively described in the *Profound Meaning of the Vimalakirti Sutra*. Now, this *Lotus Sutra* is a name established by the Buddha himself during the main discourse. According to the sutra, the Buddha only established one name; according to the *Lotus Sutra Treatise*, it is explained that there are seventeen kinds of names from beginning to end, as extensively explained in the *Lotus Sutra Treatise*. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese
三、转不转门者，一切佛经立名有二：一者、名字古今不转，二者、随佛出世名字改易。如《涅槃》云“或名法镜或云名甘露鼓”等，今此《法花经》于二种中名字古今不转，故大通智胜佛、威音王、二万日月灯明，及释迦佛所说，皆称妙法莲花。所以有转不转门者，盖是随宜不同，适时而说也。 四、具义多少门者，众经立名多小无定，或一义立名，或二义立名，或三义标名。一义立名者，或但人、但法、但处、但时、但事、但喻。但人者，《提谓》之流；但法者，如《涅槃》之例；但处者，如《楞伽》也，此翻为度处；但时者，即《时非时经》也；但事者，谓《枯树经》等也；但喻者，《金光明》等也。二义立名者，或法譬双举，如《妙法莲花》；或人法俱题，如《维摩诘不思议解脱》等也。三义立名者，如《胜鬘师子吼一乘大方便》，胜鬘者谓为人名也，师子吼谓喻名，一乘大方便即法名也。 五、前后门者，依天竺梵本前皆无题，但云悉昙，此言好法亦名成就，立名皆在经末。而回后在初者，盖是翻经之人随震旦国法，欲令因名字不同识部类差别故也。 六、翻译门者，依梵本云“萨达摩分陀利修多罗”，竺法护翻萨为正，故云“正法花经”；晋罗什翻萨为妙，故云“妙法莲花经”，迳 现代汉语译本 三、转不转门：一切佛经的命名方式有两种：一是名字古今不变，二是随着佛的出世而改变名字。例如，《涅槃经》（Nirvana Sutra）中说：‘或者名为法镜，或者名为甘露鼓’等等。而这部《法华经》（Lotus Sutra）属于两种中的第一种，名字古今不变。所以，大通智胜佛（Mahābhijñā-jñānābhibhū Buddha）、威音王佛（King Voice Buddha）、二万日月灯明佛（Two Million Sun Moon Light Buddha），以及释迦牟尼佛（Śākyamuni Buddha）所说的，都称为妙法莲花。之所以有转不转门，是因为随着情况不同，应时而说。 四、具义多少门：众多佛经的命名，所包含的意义多少不定，或者用一个意义来命名，或者用两个意义来命名，或者用三个意义来标明。用一个意义来命名，或者只用人、或者只用法、或者只用处所、或者只用时间、或者只用事件、或者只用比喻。只用人来命名，如《提谓经》（Trapusa and Bhallika Sutra）之类；只用法的，如《涅槃经》（Nirvana Sutra）的例子；只用处所的，如《楞伽经》（Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra），此经翻译为度处；只用时间的，即《时非时经》（Seasonable and Unseasonable Sutra）；只用事件的，如《枯树经》（Dry Tree Sutra）等；只用比喻的，如《金光明经》（Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra）等。用两个意义来命名，或者法和比喻双重并举，如《妙法莲花经》（Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra）；或者人和法一起提及，如《维摩诘不思议解脱经》（Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra）等。用三个意义来命名，如《胜鬘师子吼一乘大方便经》（Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Ekayāna Mahopāyaka Sūtra），胜鬘（Śrīmālādevī）是指人名，师子吼（Siṃhanāda）是指比喻名，一乘大方便（Ekayāna Mahopāyaka）即指法名。 五、前后门：依据天竺（India）梵文本，前面都没有题目，只写悉昙（Siddhaṃ），此言好法，也名成就，立名都在经书的末尾。而把经名从后面移到前面，是因为翻译佛经的人，顺应震旦（China）的习惯，想要通过名字的不同来区分经书的类别。 六、翻译门：依据梵文本，经名为‘萨达摩分陀利修多罗’（Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra），竺法护（Dharmarakṣa）将萨（Sat）翻译为正，所以译为‘正法花经’；晋朝鸠摩罗什（Kumārajīva）将萨（Sat）翻译为妙，所以译为‘妙法莲花经’。