“Śāriputra! Suppose there lived a very rich man [great elder] in a certain country, in a certain village, in a certain town. He was old [advanced in years]. His wealth was immeasurable. He had many paddy fields, houses, and servants.”

The Buddha is certainly in charge of them, and rules over them, being the one whom they pay respect to: he is “the elder”

[The Buddha] reincarnated himself and advanced to the later stage of his life in order to set forth the doctrine of the three vehicles.

In preaching the Dharma, [the Buddha] uses wisdom-life as its source: it is “wealth.” li is inexhaustible and limitless: it is “incalculable.”

Transformative teaching removes their defilements and produces shoots of the Tao in them; it is “fields.” They come to reside in it [Tao]: it is “house.” They comply with the teaching in their conduct: they are “servants.” There is no place where it does not exist: it is “many.”

“Śāriputra! Suppose there lived a very rich man in a certain country, in a certain village, in a certain town.

From this phrase on [the Buddha’s] doctrine is explained analogically. There are seven segments, in total, illustrating li. The first segment relates the frequent occurrence of calamities and various misfortunes in the house. In the second is shown that only those who are awakened to these calamities and misfortunes are Buddhas. The third tells that the Buddha, having been awakened himself, has great compassion (Mahākaruṇā) arising in him, [and that he means] to rescue all children. In the fourth, as he will later offer the happiness of the three vehicles, he first talks about the dreadful happening in the house. Fifth, [the Buddha] offers them the happiness of the three vehicles. Sixth, [the Buddha] provides them with the utmost happiness of the One Vehicle, which is true and real. Seventh, it turns out that the three carts [the Buddha] promised earlier are not to be given at the end, [the promise] being empty and false.

A country refers to a place where cities are located. The multitudinous beings are situated in the cities of the three realms (triloka); we call them the country. The first segment [begins here]. A city-state refers to the supreme ultimate. The ultimate is analogized as the city-state. [The Buddha’s] limited approach to men is compared to “a municipality,” which is synonymous with a city. The Buddha in accordance with doctrine follows [varying] existential situations (shih); thus all kinds of names have been created.

All these teachings of the Buddhas are for the purpose of teaching Bodhisattvas. Śāriputra! Now I will explain this with a parable.

What the Buddha has said up to now is aimed at cutting off the doubts they harbor. Now he mentions those who have intelligence in order to get them to the [main] idea. Intelligence counters stupidity. It was said earlier that men of intelligence, when hearing parables, can have their minds awakened. By this statement, what was said before is further extended to encourage them to move toward a speedy enlightenment.

But [both the twelve hundred people and the two thousand people] are now quite perplexed because they have heard from you [the Dharma] which they had never heard before.

Formerly they lived on “three,” now they have to take “One.” Both are what the Sage has said, and so are contradictory to each other, Consequently they come to cast doubts on what they heard.

Thereupon Śāriputra said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One! Now my doubts are gone.

Insofar as one’s virtue is great, one’s concern [for others] is deep; when the Tao [one has achieved] is great, it extends to kingliness as well. Body-son, having already been inducted into the path of enlightenment, wants others with the same intention [to receive a prophecy] to share his profound understanding. Therefore. on behalf of twelve thousand people, he raises the question and addresses the Buddha. These voice hearers had no doubts before, but they harbor some now. They should be opened up and put forward first, and then explanations [responding to their doubts] can follow.

At that time the great multitude included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās and upāsikās, that is, the four kinds of devotees; and gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras and mahoragas. When they saw that Śāriputra was assured of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi by the Buddha, they danced with great joy.

This is the third segment. [Here, the Buddha] led those with [excessive] self-esteem to realize that they were [in fact] all endowed with [the capacity for enlightenment]; hence, joy of heart.

At the end of his life of twelve small kalpas, Flower-Light Tathāgata will assure Resolution-Fulfillment Bodhisattva of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

The [Buddha’s] intention in presenting further a prophecy to Hard-Full is to prove to Body-son that obtaining a prophecy is not an empty [word].

Although the world in which he appears will not be an evil one, that Buddha will expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles according to his original vow.

The teaching of the three vehicles was designed originally for the impure ages. Now that the lands have been purified, there is no need for the three. But why does [the Buddha] speak of the three? He wants to show that the three are identical with the One; there is no separate “three” anymore. What he formerly understood as three is the One; hence, former vow. He did not really mean to preach the three kinds of transformative teaching as such.

Under two billion Buddhas in the past, I always taught you in order to cause you to attain unsurpassed enlightenment. You studied under me in the long night. I led you with expedients. Therefore, you have your present life under me.

“Śāriputra! I caused you to aspire for the enlightenment of the Buddha in your previous existence. You forgot all this, and thought that you had already attained extinction. In order to cause you to remember the Way you practiced under your original vow, I now expound to the Śrāvakas this sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the ‘Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.’

Formerly [Śāriputra wrongly assumed] with delight that he was enlightened, but [the Buddha], contradicting him, admonished him to drive himself to achieve it. The fact that the Lesser Vehicle had no great hope in earlier times, but now [the Buddha] grants the group a prophecy, implies that there is no “lesser” in li. The [Buddha’s] motive fog reviewing the practices [of Śāriputra] in the remote past is to show that it was [Śāriputra’s own] merits that invited such prophecies, but he did not mention this, because he had his mind set on secretly directing the collective sentiment of the congregation at the time.

Thereupon the Buddha said to Śāriputra: “Now I will tell you in the presence of this great multitude including gods, men, śramaṇas, and brāhmanas.”

This is the second segment. The gist of this part is that because there never has been the path of the Lesser Vehicle (Hinayāna) it turns out that [the Lesser] merely has been pointing toward the Buddha [path]. The enlightenment Body-son [Śāriputra] has built up was so profoundly manifest that [the Buddha] granted him a prophecy of his enlightenment. The story of the prophecy should not be held to be true in a real sense. [It was designed] merely for leading forward those who aspired to the prophecy.