In reading Hsuan Hua’s Commentary on the Lotus Sutra, I’ve been repeatedly impressed with the depth of the work. Particularly impressive has been the use of explanatory footnotes. Here’s an example from Volume 3, Chapter 2, Expedients.

All of the Tathāgatas,
By countless skillful means,
Will lead all living beings across
To realize the Buddhas’ nonoutflow wisdom.
Of those who have heard the Dharma,
None will fail to become a Buddha.

These six lines refer to “the oneness of people.” The Dharma Flower Sutra can be understood through the ten wonders of the door of the original and the ten wonders of the door of the derivative.

A note at this point references this note at the end of the chapter.

Editorial Note About the Ten Wonders:
In the Fahua xuanyi (Profound Meanings of the Dharma Flower), Master Zhiyi of the Tiantai School explains the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sūtra through three groupings of ten wonders. In his commentary, Venerable Master Hua refers only to the first two:

1. The ten wonders of the door of the derivative (Ch.門十秒)
2. The ten wonders of the door of the original (Ch.本門十分)
3. The ten wonders of the contemplation of the mind (Ch.觀心十秒)

1. The ten wonders of the door of the derivative pertain to the first half of the Dharma Flower Sutra (chaps. 1-14). The Tiantai School classifies the Dharma that Śākyamuni Buddha taught from the time of his awakening until he started teaching the Dharma Flower Sutra as the Dharma of the Three Vehicles of Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas, and the teaching of the Dharma Flower Sutra as the One Vehicle Dharma, the Buddha Vehicle. Based on his explanation. of “the essence of things as they really are (諸法實相)”in chapter a “Skillful Means,” Master Zhiyi asserts that the Dharma set forth for the Three Vehicles is introduced to expediently unfold the ultimate teaching. The Dharma of the Three Vehicles is provisional. The Dharma Flower Sutra is the ultimate teaching, which is the perfect teaching of the One Vehicle – that is, the Buddha Vehicle. The perfect teaching of the One Vehicle transcends the contradistinction between the provisional and the ultimate, in that the provisional is the ultimate and the ultimate is the provisional. The provisional and the ultimate are nondual; this nonduality embodies “the essence of things as they really are.” From the perspective of the perfect teaching, both the provisional and the ultimate possess “wonders” or “subtleties.” This is known as the wonder that transcends dualities.

The ten wonders of the first half of the Dharma Flower Sūtra, which elucidate the subtleties of the Buddha’s provisional manifestations (“the derivative”), are the wonders of:

i. His state of thusness: the ultimate truth that all Buddhas hold in reverence and realize.

ii. His wisdom: a Buddha’s omniscient wisdom arising from such realization.

iii. His practice: all practices leading to that realization.

iv. His position: the realization of varied attainments.

v. The three principles: The three principles are thusness, meditation upon and understanding of it, and extension of this understanding to all its workings. The three, taken from chapter to of the Dharma Flower Sutra, “The Dharma Teacher,” are respectively symbolized by the Tathagata’s room, which represents compassion; the Tathagata’s robe, which represents gentleness and forbearing; and the Tathagata’s throne, which represents the emptiness of all phenomena. These three principles guide the propagation of the Dharma Flower Sutra. Although they are three in name, they are none other than the One Vehicle Dharma, the supreme truth. The One Buddha Vehicle is replete with these three principles.

vi. His response: In stillness, without thought, the Buddha responds to every situation. Transcending time, he manifests everywhere at once. This is an inconceivably wondrous response. It is also like a bright mirror, clear and translucent, that reflects any number of images without discrimination. Without the least effort, it reflects whatever is there.

vii. His spiritual powers: All the spiritual powers that the Buddha applies in saving living beings accord with the One Vehicle teaching, without distinctions of inferiority and superiority.

viii. His teaching the Dharma: The Buddha can skillfully and perfectly explain all kinds of Dharma according to principle, inspiring all living beings to unfold, show, awaken to, and realize the knowledge and vision of the Buddhas.

ix. His retinue: The Buddha has a great retinue of faithful followers.

x. His benevolence: The Buddha benefits living beings by inspiring them to undertake various practices.

2. The ten wonders of the door of the original pertain to the second half of the Dharma Flower Sutra (chaps. 15-28). This section discusses the eternal, original Buddha. Through manifesting in various forms to save living beings, Śākyamuni Buddha reveals his origins in the distant past. The Buddha actually realized Buddhahood immeasurable, limitless billions of koṭis of nayutas of cons ago. Since then, the Buddha has always remained in the Sahā world, teaching the Dharma to transform living beings, as described in chapter 16, “The Tathagata’s Life Span,” and other chapters. While the first half of the sutra focuses on the Buddha’s expedient teaching of the Three Vehicles to unfold the One Buddha Vehicle, the second half reveals the Buddha’s distant origins through his various provisional manifestations.

The ten wonders of the second half of the Dharma Flower Sutra differ from those of the first set. They elucidate the subtleties of the Buddha’s eternal origins (“the original”), from which his provisional manifestations derive. These ten wonders are:

i. The formative stage of practice

ii. The fruition of awakening

iii. His (Buddha) land

iv. His response

v. His spiritual powers

vi. His teaching of the Dharma

vii. His retinue

viii. His nirvana

ix. His life span

x. His benevolence

Hsuan Hua Lotus Sutra Commentary, v3, p248