四信五品抄三 On the Four Stages of Faith and Five Stages of Practice ３

　問う、其(そ)の義を知らざる人唯南無妙法蓮華経と唱うるに解(け)義(ぎ)の功徳(くどく)を具(ぐ)するや否(いな)や、

　Question: If a person simply chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with no understanding of its meaning, are the benefits of understanding there by included?

答う小児乳を含むに其の味を知らざれども自然(じねん)に身を益(やく)す、

　Answer: When a baby drinks milk, it has nounderstanding of its taste, and yet its body is naturally nourished.

耆婆(ぎば)が妙薬(みょうやく)誰か弁(わきま)えて之を服(ふく)せん、

　Who ever took the wonderful medicines of Jīvaka knowing of what they were compounded?

水(みず)心無けれども火を消し火物を焼く、豈(あに)覚有らんや。

　Water has no intent, and yet it can put out fire. Fire consumes things, and yet how can we say that it does so consciously?

竜樹(りゅうじゅ)・天台皆此の意なり、重ねて示す可し。

　This is the explanation of both Nāgārjuna and T’ien-t’ai,and I am restating it here.

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