[In Chapter 4, Understanding by Faith] Sakyamuni predicted the enlightenment of the four great disciples just as he had with Sariputra. Chapters Three (“A Parable”), Four (“Understanding by Faith”), and Five (“The Simile of Herbs”) had used parables to clarify the basic lesson from Chapter Two (“Expedients”) – namely, all teachings are only expedients leading to the One Buddha Vehicle. The parables were followed up with assurances of future Buddhahood. In the next chapter, “The Parable of the Magic City,” he employs a different teaching method, showing how events in the remote past can affect the present and the future. This is called teaching by affinities with the past. These three methods – doctrinal teaching, parables, and affinities – are known as the Three Stages of Preaching. All three are designed to make the basic lesson easy for us to understand.