Question: Is it the case that the disciples are given their prediction because they will actually achieve buddhahood, or are they given it even though they will not achieve [buddhahood]? If disciples can actually achieve buddhahood, why [then] do bodhisattvas practice and accumulate a countless variety of merit for immeasurable world-ages? If disciples cannot achieve buddhahood, then why do [the tathāgatas] give them a false prediction?

Answer: That the disciples have received their prediction [shows that] they have attained fixed resolve. It is not the case that these disciples have perfected the true nature (dharmatā). The tathāgatas teach the Dharma of the single vehicle through the three equalities. [They] give the disciples their predictions because the absolute body of the Buddha and the absolute body of the disciples are equal and undifferentiated. It is not the case that [the disciples] have completed the practice of cultivating merit. Therefore [the distinction between the disciples and the bodhisattvas is that] the merit of a bodhisattva is complete, while the merit of a disciple is not.