Thereupon the Buddha, wishing to repeat what he had said, sang in gāthās:

From this onward is a chant consisting of a double set of the preceding seven similes. The first thirty-seven gāthās chant the first paragraph of the parable, regarding calamities in the house. Omitted and not chanted in the gāthās is the second [paragraph], regarding “the doorway,” [symbolizing] the Buddha’s enlightenment to the various sufferings because its meaning is easy to perceive.

The Buddha said to Śāriputra: “So it is, so it is. It is just as you say. Śāriputra! The same can be said of me.

[The rest of the chapter up to the gāthās] following this sentence likewise can be divided into seven segments and it is conjoined by the preceding parable. The first four paragraphs deal directly with the internal meaning, so that they are conjoined by the preceding parable. The latter three paragraphs first speak of the parable externally, later to be conjoined by the internal sense. Why? The latter three first discuss the three carriages; next, the giving of a great carriage; and finally, the fact that it is not false. [The Buddha] set up this discourse for the purpose of putting forth the One Vehicle, of course. This intent regarding the One Vehicle is manifested in the latter three [paragraphs]. That is the reason why I have said that [the latter three] first speak of [the external], then conjoin it with [the internal sense]. The first four paragraphs are designed to complete the latter three and, therefore, are directly connected with the preceding parable.

World-Honored One! Even if he had not given them the smallest cart, he should not have been accused of falsehood because he thought at first, ‘I will cause them to get out with an expedient.’

And how much the more would it be true when [the elder] did not think of giving one big carriage in the beginning! The fact that now he has not given it is not contradictory to his earlier promise; how can it be false! How much the more would it be true when he gives them a great carriage! Thus what they have gained is great.

Śāriputra said: “No, World-Honored One! He saved his children from the fire and caused them to survive. [Even if he had not given them anything,] he should not have been accused of falsehood because the children should be considered to have already been given the toys [they had wished to have] when they survived. He saved them from the burning house with the expedient.

The reason why it is not false is explained here. [Even] if [the Buddha] from the beginning really wanted to give them the three vehicles, but did not give them, he would still not [be guilty of] falsehood. “For what reason is that so?” [The Buddha] “has enabled them to preserve wholly” the wisdom-“life.” Such munificence [shown by the Buddha] is very great, sufficient to make up for and neutralize what would otherwise be false. So, how can there be any falsehood?

Śāriputra! What do you think of this? Do you think that the rich man was guilty of falsehood when he gave his children the large carts of treasures?

This is the seventh segment. He promised earlier to give them three carriages; now he gives them one [big carriage]. What has turned out is contradictory to the earlier promise, making it look like a false [promise]. Thus, conversely, [the Buddha] asks Body-son [Śāriputra] indicating that it is not false.

The cart was yoked with white bullocks. The color of the skin of the white bullocks was bright; their build, beautiful and stout; and their pace, regular. They could run as swift as [fleet like] the wind. The cart was guarded by many attendants. [This great rich man gave one of these carts to each of his children] [What is the reason?] because his wealth was so immeasurable that his various storehouses were full [of treasures].

The dustless purity of the Buddha’s six supernatural powers (abhijñā) is what a white ox symbolizes. [The Buddha] is utterly pure inside and outside: that is the implication of skin is pure white. li is wondrous and all encompassing: it is what his bodily form is lovely implies. There is nothing that it cannot break: [it has] “great muscular strength.” Moving forward toward the middle path is what its tread is even means. There is nothing that it cannot destroy or reach: it is “fleet like the wind.” Applying and propagating the teaching of the Greater [Vehicle] and entrance into [the cycle of] the five ways of existence (gatis) is the intended meaning of the yoke. The phrase that [this ox] has many attendants illustrates that those who attend to [the Buddha] who teaches practitioners are gathered [as many in number] as the trees in the woods. [The paragraph including] “What is the reason?” explains the reason why he intends to give [the doctrine] equally to them.

The cart was tall [high], wide and deep, adorned with many treasures [multitude of jewels], surrounded by railings [posts], and having bells hanging on the four sides. [Parasols and] a canopy adorned with rare treasures was fixed on the top of it. Garlands of flowers, tied with jeweled ropes, were hanging from the canopy. In the cart were quilts spread one on another, and a red [vermillion] pillow.

The statement that the carriages are adorned with a “multitude of jewels” is designed to demonstrate the wondrous li of the Greater Vehicle, which encompasses every kind of goodness that exists. With regard to “high and wide,” li surpasses empirical calculation: it is “high”; [it] fills up and covers the illimitable[wu-chi]: it is “wide.” Concerning “a multitude of jewels,” eighty-four thousand pāramitās in total are signified by a multitude of jewels. A multitude of jewels [surrounded by] posts and handrails analogize dhārāṇis. Little bells suspended on four sides symbolize four kinds of [unhindered] eloquent speech. Parasols and canopies symbolize compassion (karunā). Miscellaneous jewels refer to the jewels of the seven riches. Jeweled cords are comparable to the great vows (mahāpraṇidhāna); they connect [being] with all the goodness and wondrous fruits. Flowered tassels refer to the flowers of the seven enlightenment [factors]. Heaps of carpets decorated with strips of cloth refer to various kinds of meditation. Vermillion-colored cushions symbolize various meritorious virtues, and cushions [symbolize] mutual support.

Śāriputra! Then the rich man gave each of them a large cart of the same size.

On account of their demand, they have obtained the discourse on li, that three are identical with the One. li [in reality] does not consist in the three; now [the Buddha] gives them the One. The One has not been known as something to be given to them; it was not given in the beginning. What they previously understood turns out to be nothing; there is no point to resort again to metaphorical speeches. He has resorted to them only in order to awaken those who have not reached it. The reason why he has resorted to them is because men tend to believe in self (ātman) and are not willing to receive teaching. Because when they heard that [the One] appeared they did not comprehend it, [the Buddha] has to tell them about it. Now they have no alternative but to accept it, so that they may attain enlightenment.

They said to their father, ‘Father! Give us the toys! Give us the sheep-carts [carriages], deer-cart and bullock-carts you promised us!’

Even though they, having understood what they were told, know there are no three in reality, yet they have not yet come fully out of the doorway; this is tantamount to saying that they do not really know yet. As they have come out, they begin to realize that there are no three, though they still do not know the One. Hence there is the demand for the doctrine the [Buddha] promised [namely, of the three]. Yet as the Buddha himself has not previously promised them the One, they dare not demand the One. This is the reason why they demand the reward of the three. If li does not lie in three, it follows logically (tzu-jan) that [the Buddha] will give them the One. The meaning of their demand is such, with the implication that their subtle triggering-mechanism (chi) for grasping (k’ou) the One has been so profoundly manifested that [the Buddha], for their sakes, has devised this manner of speaking. Carriage points to the consummate knowledge of the two vehicles; that is, the knowledge of non-origination. How could there be no “carriage” in the three spheres? [The Buddha] merely gives no names to them, because he wants to lead travelers [to enlightenment] even in their ignorance. “Carriage” is [the means] that takes them to the ultimate destination. What does the Greater Vehicle refer to? Because the domain the Buddha is so subtle, profound, remote, and hard to connect with the coarse [world], [the Buddha] has brought himself close to men by means of the trace of [the Buddha,] [in the form of the transformation body] sixteen feet tall. Hence, [the Greater Vehicle] points to the superficial level of knowledge of [the Buddha] sixteen feet tall; it is “carriage.” The bodhisattvas in the seventh stage are the ones who have suppressed the bondage of the three spheres. The doctrine is outside of “the house” [of the three realms], and this is what men are demanding.

The rich man, who saw them having come out safely and sitting in the open on the [at a] crossroad with no more hindrance, felt relieved and danced with joy.

Being present in [the realm] of the [ultimate] reality, there is no one that has not penetrated li: they are “[at] a crossroad.” They have settled in it: they are “seated.” There are no more “bondage and instigators of the passions,” concealment (mrakṣa), and obstructions they are in open space.