Through their consecutive previous existences,
Their small embryos have continued to grow up
To become men of few virtues and merits.

[Hurwitz: That, receiving the frail form of a foetus,
For generation after generation they would constantly grow;]

Being within the delusion of the three realms, they are referred to as frail. Only the Dharma-body (-kāya) is great.

Some bhikṣus who live in a period in which no Buddha lives after my extinction may not believe the Dharma after they attain Arhatship because in that period it will be difficult to meet a person who keeps, reads, and recites this sūtra, and understands the meanings of it. They will be able to understand the Dharma when they meet another Buddha.

[For the interim period] between two Sages, when there is no Sage-Lord, unbelief may prevail. If one lives when a Buddha is present, one is certain to have faith and no doubts. Contemporary men have been taken unwittingly to where the Buddha is present, so there should be no [trace of] unbelief.

Therefore, the Buddhas divide the One Buddha-Vehicle into three as an expedient.

As the Buddha thought that men in the defiled age had no lofty will, and because the li of the Buddhas was so profound and distant that they (men) were unable to believe in it, the Buddha designed the doctrine of the three vehicles in order to make it accessible to men. Although it is said that he preached the three, what he preached always [in reality] was the One. Men are now personally in contact with the Buddha. Isn’t this a case of adaptation to make it accessible to men? Traces are closer to men. External demonstration is easier to apprehend. Even if it is possible to make it easy to learn, there is the distance inherent in its self-soness (Izu-jan). Moreover, it has been said that [followers of] the two vehicles had exhausted the bonds of existence; [and yet] they did not have [their] perfuming impressions (vāsanā) disposed of. By moving men close to [the One], [the Buddha] makes [it] easier to go beyond [the three]. If it is possible for them to go beyond [the three] and seek the self-soness [of the One at the same time], they will head for the total obliteration [of the three].

The worlds are defiled by the decay of the kalpa, by illusions, by the deterioration of the living beings, by wrong views, and by the shortening of lives.

Beings in the earlier generations were of a natural disposition, clean and void, and their bondages (lei) were minimal and thin. Compared with them, the contemporary generation can be characterized only as “defiled.” Kalpa refers to time. Being in this evil state, beings sometimes encounter armed soldiers and sometimes face the scarcity of grains, diseases, or epidemics.

[Beings] being entangled with various delusions, how can the Tao be stimulated to arise [in them]?

[Deterioration] refers to the evil (or sufferings?) arising from the full-orbed activities of the aggregates (skandhas), five in total.

The five false views are in opposition to the true and are in conflict with li. Hence, they are listed separately.

The false [views] and life get intertwined, keeping (beings) from encountering the Path (Tao). How could this not be defilement?

“Śāriputra! The Buddhas appear in the evil worlds in which there are the five defilements.

The gist of this segment is as follows. The Sage did not intend to set up the doctrine of the three, but because beings mired in defilement were found to have difficulty in acquiring the one single enlightenment, [the Buddha] had no alternative but to come into the world to preach the three vehicles. How could he wish to do so [for his own sake]?

All the present Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters also do the same.

[The Buddha] draws out the Buddhas of past, present, and future from the ten directions as witnesses. The Buddhas in the three periods all have preached and will preach the three vehicles first and manifest the One Ultimate later. In other words, although the periods are different and the men are varied, the paths (tao) are identical.

There is no other vehicle, not a second or a third. Śāriputra!

[The word] two means the second vehicle, and three the third vehicle. It is also natural that there is no first. The first does not contradict what the great stands for. Therefore it is not nonexistent. [Yet,] now that there is neither “two” nor “three,” “one” is gone as well.

In the next five segments [the Buddha] expounds the purport. The first segment is about distinguishing the difference between the true and the false. The second properly clarifies the process of becoming one at [the point of] the foundational-cum-ultimate. The third illustrates that the tracks of the Buddhas in the three periods—past, present, and future—are identical. The fourth explains why preaching the three vehicles was not what the Sage [originally] wanted but that he could not help but appear [in the world to preach them]. The fifth is about the men who obtained [the Buddha’s] original purport and those who did not.

Listen to me attentively, and think over my words! Now I will expound [the Dharma] to you.”

When he had said this, five thousand people among the bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, and upāsikās of this congregation rose from their seats, bowed to the Buddha, and retired because they were so sinful and arrogant that they thought that they had already obtained what they had not yet, and that they had already understood what they had not yet. Because of these faults, they did not stay. The World-Honored One kept silence and did not check them.

The story of the five thousand men withdrawing [from the scene]. This belongs to the first segment, on distinguishing the difference between true and false. The speech proper is about to be revealed. Then true and false will be clear of themselves, which is, figuratively speaking, like when the sun and the moon shine brightly, the difference between black and white becomes distinct and clear. The purpose of showing this trace is to guide the collective sentiment of the time to a hushed readiness [for the doctrine]. By showing it to those like the people with “overweening pride,” who are not prepared to attend the auspicious assembly, [the Buddha wishes] to elate the mood of the time and lead to the point where all drive (literally, “flagellating”) themselves toward faith and enlightenment.

Thereupon the World-Honored One said to Śāriputra:

“Now this congregation has been cleared of twigs and leaves, only sincere people being left. …”

This is the second segment. In the following part the Buddha attempts to explain the path of unification. The bothersome branches are gone; the firm trunk remains. “What he preaches accords with what is appropriate”; he preaches in the way that befits [the varying levels or existential conditions of] the various beings. Even though [the Buddha] speaks of the three, his emotional posture remains committed to manifesting the One. Hence it is said, “their purport is hard to understand”

“Śāriputra! What is the one great purpose for which the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds?”

Earlier a similar [statement] suggested this central theme [of the preaching, namely, the One]. This [passage] represents the [Buddha’s] further [attempt] to preach it. [The Buddha] already has stated that the three vehicles are expedient devices; now he explains that there is the One. The Buddha is for the One Ultimate. He has appeared [in the world] to manifest the One. If li consists in three, the Sage would appear for the sake of three. But there are no three in li, just the mysterious One alone. Hence, it is said, “[the Buddhas] for one great cause alone appear in the world.”

The Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, appear in the worlds in order to cause all living beings to open [the gate to] the insight of the Buddha, and to cause them to purify themselves.

The idea of subtle speech and profound import becomes manifested here. These four phrases (making up the paragraph] from beginning to end are designed to express the doctrine of the One. Because all sentient beings are originally endowed with the Buddha’s knowledge and insight, although they are not manifested on account of defilement obstacles, when the Buddha opens [the original nature] and removes [defilement obstacles], they will be capable of achieving [what they are endowed with]. One theory [by a commentator] says that, from the first stage to the seventh, defilements (kleśa) are gradually removed, a process which is called opening (k’ai); nothing gets out of the luster of illumination, which is called purity.

It has been stated that [beings] have an original endowment of it. Instigated by the present teaching they can realize it. If realization is achieved through the teaching, this external “demonstration” (shih) is certain to bring about “understanding” (wu). By achieving “understanding” one is bound to “enter” (ju) the path (tao). One theory holds that [a bodhisattva] in the eighth stage attains samādhi by contemplating [the characteristic marks of] the Buddha. Eternity (nitya) and bliss (ānanda) “demonstrate” the Buddha’s wisdom.

One theory has it that a bodhisattva in the ninth stage gets good wisdom (sādhumati), and acquires a deep understanding of the Buddha’s knowledge and insight.

According to one theory, a bodhisattva in the tenth stage, having the traces of defilements and the perfuming impression (vāsanā) discharged and destroyed by means of the diamond (vajra)-samādhi, turns to enter into [the realm of] the Buddha’s wisdom. When we discuss the background and compare the contents [of the preceding passage], such a division and classification can be made. To sum it up, what a novice takes as a single enlightenment consists practically of these four components.

Thereupon the Buddha said to him, “No, no, I will not. If I do, all the gods and men in the world will be frightened and perplexed.”

By the first cease, the Buddha wanted them to cease harboring doubts. Body-son (Śāriputra) said [that the Buddha should] preach and then [they will] cease harboring doubts. Hence, the repeated request. The two words show a vast difference [in what they refer to], and yet they are the same in that they are intended for dispelling men’s doubts.

“You asked me three times with enthusiasm. How can I leave the Dharma unexpounded?

As the Sage sets forth the teaching, his speech must be unfolded gradually; awakening, likewise, is achieved step by step. As the request was made thrice, the doubts of the congregation were both prevalent and lingering; the doubts of the congregation being widely prevalent and lingering, their desire to hear was very intense. The triple request was made not because the Buddha wished it, but because the circumstances of the time [with respect to his listeners] dictated it.

Thereupon Śāriputra, seeing the doubts of the four kinds of devotees, and also because he, himself, did not understand [why the Buddha had said this], said to the Buddha:

“World-Honored One! Why do you extol so enthusiastically [what you call] the highest [Truth, and the power of the Buddhas to employ) expedients?”

Sharing the [collective] sentiment [prevalent in the congregation] at the time, [Śāriputra] has availed himself of the opportunity to raise a question. As the doubts intensify in his mind, his will to resolve them also becomes very strong.

The path (tao) being lofty and li being recondite, who would dare to ask about them? If the Buddha did not preach, the traces would look like the Dharma they (the congregation) envisioned them to be. Therefore, the World-Honored One rose from samādhi and preached of his own accord, though unsolicited, praising the Buddha’s wisdom as “extremely profound” and immeasurable. The gāthās that follow are designed to praise [the Buddha’s wisdom] in a chant.