D. Revealing the Aspects

1. Further in terms of three steps we reveal the aspects of causality and conditions.

Living beings are ever the recipients of the skillful means of the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, who are making the seeds for the causality and conditions of the path of enlightenment. During the interim period, the various aspects have been unfolding and becoming mature in turn, and by different ways and means they have been helping to reveal the highest significance. Today, the blossoms rain down and the earth shakes because of the impending extinction of The One That Has Come, and they get it.

And then:
     Eternity is the seed.
     The past is the ripening.
     The immediate world is the harvest.
This is the springing forth from the earth¹.

And then:
     The interim period is the seed.
     The four flavors of the doctrine are the ripening.
     The Royal City (Rajagriha) is the harvest.
Now, this is opening it up, revealing it, awakening it, and entering into it².

And then:
     The world now is the seed.
     The next world will be the ripening.
     The last world will be the harvest.
This is the attainment of deliverance in the future, however even this is not the idea that will be taught in The Door to the Source.

These intervals of time create the divisions of the past, present and future. There is also no problem for there to be nine worlds of seed, ripening harvest as described above. How is this so? The One That Has Come has mastered the power of spiritual penetration. The Aroused Lion³ has the great powers of energy, strength and bravery and has mastered of teaching the Dharma.

Because of ‘Like this I have heard’ and the other settings of the opening sequence, there is the introductory part. The audience sees the rare omens, looks up in reverence and awe, and longs and thirsts to hear of the perfect way to enlightenment.
With the capacity of the Buddha Vehicle having established spiritual influence, they open up, reveal, awaken and enter into the knowledge and vision of enlightenment, and so there is the part on the main teaching.
This not however the only time for the attainment of the great benefit. Five hundred years later, there will still be the wonderful path that is distant and vast in time and space, and so there is the part on its general propagation.

2. And in revealing the aspects of the doctrine:

The introduction was not made for those of personality or heaven with their limited measures of purity. It was not made for those on the small path of the Two Vehicles. It was not made for the Three Vehicles of the General Doctrine with their understandings of emptiness. It was not made for the Bodhisattvas alone. It was therefore made for “simply discarding the ways and means and only teaching of the supreme path of enlightenment⁴.”
The main teaching was not made for revealing the truth to be the materialism of this world. It was not made for revealing the truth to be the light of the firefly that is the analysis of wisdom. It was not made for revealing the truth to be the burning lamp that is embodiment of the Dharma and its wisdom. It was not made for revealing the truth to be the stars and the moon that are the wisdom of the various paths. It was therefore made for revealing the truth to be the sunlight that is the wisdom of all kinds⁵.
The part on the general propagation was not made for the willow leaves, the wooden oxen or the wooden horses⁶. It was not made for the propagation of words with half meanings, shared meanings or specific meanings⁷. The part on the general propagation was made for the total and perfect meaning of the totally full Sutra.

3. Next we indicate the source and manifestation.

In the eternal practice of the Bodhisattva, there are three kinds of language proclaiming and extolling the first Buddha of The Lotus Sutra; higher, middle and lower. There is also the matter of the source and the manifestation. However, the signs of the Buddhas that can be sought are inexhaustible.

We distinguish and hold the time of the very first attainment of enlightenment and the first teaching of the Dharma to be the source and to be at the highest level. This idea is possible to understand.
The practices and incarnations in the interim, assisted by the Buddha Greatest Penetrating Wisdom, the Buddha Steadily Burning Lamp⁸ and others were proclaimed and extolled in The Lotus Sutra but they were referred to as only manifestations and to be at a middle-level. This is because only the first is considered to be the source and at the highest level.
Now the teaching at the Royal City (Rajagriha)⁹ is referred to be only a manifestation and to be at a lower level.
Finally there is the power of the Aroused Lion³, which forever into the future will be revealed to be the very first, the source and at the highest of the three levels.

Compare this to a great tree. Although it has a thousand branches and a myriad leaves, upon discussing its root source, one does not indicate the aspects of the various transmissions that similarly conclude in the single root. This illustration is possible to understand.

4. Next we indicate the aspects of Observing the Mind

In terms of one’s own mind, we should discuss it in three parts; morality, mental concentration and spiritual insight.

In cultivation of one’s practice, morality comes first, mental concentration comes next, and spiritual insight comes last.
In terms of being door into the Dharma, spiritual insight is the source whereas morality and mental concentration are the manifestations.

And morality, mental concentration and spiritual insight each have three levels:

With the preliminary ways & means of moral conduct, the declaration of the four-part proceedings of a Buddhist council (Jnapti-caturtha karman), and conclusion of the meeting, there are the three parts on morality¹⁰.
With the twenty-five ways & means, proper observation in a series of different conditions, and skillfully entering into, exiting from and abiding in a hundred thousand Samadhis there are the three parts on mental concentration¹¹.
Causality and conditions produce all things spiritual - they are identical with emptiness, that which is temporary, and the mean¹². These are the three parts on spiritual insight.

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Footnotes:

1. Springing forth from the earth: Time as seen in the fifteenth chapter of The Lotus Sutra, on The Bodhisattvas Springing Forth From the Earth, the beginning of the teaching on the door to the source of enlightenment (C. Pen-men, J. Honmon). The Sudden Awakening.

2. Opening it up, revealing it, awakening it, and entering into it: Time as seen in the second chapter of The Lotus Sutra on Ways & Means, describing the 40 stages of the Bodhisattva Path and the teaching on the door to the manifestation of enlightenment (C. Chi-men, J. Shakumon). The Gradual Awakening
A. Opening it up: The Ten Abodes, or progressively deeper stages of inspiration and spiritual understanding.
B. Revealing it in one's own life - the Ten Paramitas, 'reaching across to the other shore'
C. Awakening it in others - The Ten Parinamanas, 'turning one's life over to another'
D. Enter Into it - The Ten Bhumis, 'The grounding of the one spiritual realm'

3. The Aroused Lion: Referring to the ten powers & the fourfold fearlessness, among the unique qualities of the Buddha.

4. A reference to The Five Vehicles of Enlightenment and The Four Doctrines:
First there is a reference to Those of personality or heaven: Those that develop morality, character and personality development (Personality) and those that master desire, and cultivate serenity, mindfulness and mental concentration through the practice of worship and meditation or Samadhi (The Heavens of Brahma)
A. The small path of the Two Vehicles: The Doctrine of the Three Baskets, the teaching of birth & extinction for those of the Two Vehicles - spiritual disciples (Sravakas) and the spiritually self-awakened (Pratyekabuddhas).
B. The Three Vehicles of the General Doctrine: In The General (or 'Shared' or 'Common') Doctrine, the different vehicles of enlightenment (Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha and Bodhisattva) are all seen as being equal in that they all eventually return to emptiness and transcendance.
C. For the Bodhisattvas alone: This is a reference to The Specific (or 'Distinct') Doctrine which views the Bodhisattva vehicle as the superior means to enlightenment because it alone transcends spiritual selfishness, serves the higher purpose and is the true cause of the supreme universal enlightenment.
D. Only teaching of the supreme path of enlightenment: A reference to the all-inclusive One Vehicle of the Buddha and The Total Doctrine

5. This passage explains the different levels of wisdom in The Four Doctrines:
The materialism of this world is a reference to worldly wisdom.
A. The analysis of wisdom is a reference to The Doctrine of the Three Beskets.
B. The embodiment of the Dharma and its wisdom is a reference to The General Doctrine.
C. The wisdom of the various paths is a reference to The Specific Doctrine.
D. The wisdom of all kinds is a reference to The Total Doctrine.

6. The willow leaves, the wooden oxen or the wooden horses: This allusion is from The Maha Parinirvana Sutra. Living beings are likened to children with different toys to play with.
* The golden willow leaves are used as play money and are likened to the vehicle of the sravakas (spiritual disciples).
* The wooden toy oxen is likened to the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas (the spiritually self-awakened)
* The wooden horse is likened to the vehicle of the Bodhisattvas of the General Doctrine.

7. The words of The Four Doctrines have different levels or 'fullness' of meaning:
In The Doctrine of the Three Baskets the words have half-meanings
In The General Doctrine they have shared meanings,
In The Specific Doctrine they have distinct meanings and
In The Total Doctrine they have total and perfect meaning.

8. The Buddha Greatest Penetrating Wisdom, the Buddha Steadily Burning Lamp: The Bodhisattvas of the interim, the manifestation of the different Buddhas over time. The appearance and disappearance of the Buddhas.

9. Now the teaching at the Royal City (Rajagriha): The Buddha of the present in the imperfect human Saha World that we all live in.

10. The three parts on morality:
A. The preliminary ways & means of moral conduct; One's own practice of the following the rules of the community
B. The declaration of the four-part proceedings of a Buddhist council (Jnapti-caturtha karman) - the four-part council of one’s peers); these are held to make important decisions for the community (Sangha). In monasteries these would be held to decide on inclusion and exclusion of members to the order and other important matters affecting the life and welfare of the community. Whereas minor matters could be decided by a single vote, these important matters would have to be raised and considered four times to be finally decided.
C. The conclusion of such meetings; Decisions, determinations & judgments. The enacting of Laws.

11. The three parts on mental concentration:
A. The twenty-five ways & means, preparation for proper observation of the mind.
B. The proper observation in a series of different conditions; the various different subjects of meditation
C. Skillfully entering into, exiting from and abiding in a hundred thousand different Samadhis in every possible circumstance.

12. The three parts on spiritual insight: Insight into the mind (causality & conditions) and The Three Truths emptiness, that which is temporary, and the mean

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