Q: Are the Ten Suchlikes merely Dharma teachings concerning causality, or do they also include other Dharma teachings?

A: Whether of cause or result, whether of the world or its inhabitants, all [teachings] are contained in these [Ten Suchlikes] and are beyond conceptual understanding. An expansion of this [teaching] fills the entire universe. If one does not know it, on what basis can one transcend [this triple world]?

Q: Why is this so?

A: The Ten Suchlikes are identical to “all dharmas.” All dharmas are identical to the three virtuous qualities [of Buddhahood]. The three virtuous qualities are identical to reality. Reality is identical to a single mind. If this meaning is understood, the vast sermons during [the last] eight years [of Śākyamuni’s life] do not go beyond one single thought. [The Bodhisattvas who welled up out of the earth, as explained in the fifteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, praised Śākyamuni] for fifty short aeons, but it seemed to pass in a moment. For example, the sermons of the Buddha in his one life [of eighty years] are innately present in the mind, and the activity of Buddhas in the ten directions [in saving sentient beings] is clearly observable. The basic nature of the universe can be easily perceived, and the expositions taught in accordance [with the capabilities of sentient beings] all point to the reality of the innate potential [for Buddhahood]. This is explained in detail in the commentary [the Fa-hua hsüan-I (Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra)].