Gosho 諸宗問答抄 Questions and Answers on Various Buddhist Sects

設(たと)ひ爾(に)前(ぜん)の円を今の法華に開会(かいえ)し入るるとも爾前の円は法華の一味となる事無し、

Even though the perfect teaching of the earlier sutras may now have been “opened up and merged” with the Lotus Sutra, this does not mean that the perfect teaching of the earlier sutras is one in flavor with the Lotus Sutra.

Although the perfect teaching in the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings is refuted in the Lotus Sutra in order to reveal the truth, it will never be equal to the perfect teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

法華の体内に開会し入れられても体内の権(ごん)と云われて実とは云わざるなり、

Though it maybe opened up and merged with the body of the Lotus Sutra, it is still what is termed the provisional teaching within the body of the Lotus Sutra, not the true teaching.

Even after it is refuted and incorporated into the Lotus Sutra, it cannot be called the true teaching, since it remains provisional [within the Lotus Sutra].

体内の権を体外(たいげ)に取出して且(しばら)く於(お)一仏乗(いちぶつじょう)分別(ふんべつ)説三(せっさん)する時、権に於(おい)て円の名を付(つけ)て三乗の中の円教と云われたるなり

When this provisional teaching within the body of the Lotus Sutra is for a time extracted and becomes external to that body, when the Buddhas “apply distinctions to the one Buddha vehicle and preach as though it were three,” then the term “perfect” is applied to this provisional teaching and one speaks of the perfect teaching that is in the three vehicles.

When this provisional teaching within the Lotus Sutra is temporarily set aside and then, when “the one vehicle of Buddhahood is explained by means of the three vehicles,” it [the perfect teaching in the pre-LotusSutra teachings] can expediently be called the perfect teaching of the three vehicles.


本文 Original text 　目次 Index