Thereupon the rich man thought of an expedient to persuade his son to come to him. He [wished to] dispatch messengers in secret. He said to two men looking worn-out, powerless and virtueless,

Two men symbolizes the Dharma of the two vehicles. [The Buddha] made up his mind to bestow [it upon] them: thus he “dispatched.” But he hid the real, thus the word secretly. li did not illuminate itself completely: its “appearance was miserable.” Also their inner understanding was not manifest: they had “no dignity of bearing.” Such men were not “the [Dharma-]king’s messengers.”

‘Go and gently tell the poor man that he will be employed here for a double day’s pay.

To follow his sentiment, but not his original [plan], is what is implied by say gently. He was made to work and practice and was provided with pleasure: they were in a “work place.” What he was given surpasses [what he could enjoy] in the world: he was “given double wages.”

If he agrees with you, bring him here and have him work. If he asks you what work he should do, tell him that he should clear dirt and that you two also will work with him.’

Dharma consists of men’s practice: it is [what they] “shall work with.”

The poor son [came back with them,] drew his pay in advance, and cleared dirt with them.

He received what the messengers promised: he “first took his pay.” He did not have any doubts: he “swept the dung with them.”

“The messenger pulled him by force.

The Greater Vehicle “grasped” him, making his feelings meritorious; li could not be discarded; it [used] “force” [to hold him].

The poor son thought, ‘I am caught though I am not guilty. I shall be killed.’ More and more frightened, the poor son fainted and fell to the ground.

He felt extremely unhappy. He had faults but was innocent, and he came to grasp the transformative teaching of the Greater [Vehicle]. His mind was very much disturbed; he was “helpless with agony, and fell to earth.”

Seeing all this in the distance, the father said to the messenger, ‘I do not want him any more. Do not bring him forcibly! Pour cold water on his face and bring him to himself! Do not talk with him any more!’

[Now, the Buddha provisionally] suspended and did not entertain the idea of [presenting] the transformative teaching of the Greater [Vehicle]. These are words [with] provisionary [value] (or metaphorical words) that he said merely to the messenger.

[The messenger poured water on the son. The son was brought to himself.] The messenger said to him, ‘Now you are released. You can go anywhere you like.’

If [the Buddha] praises the transformative teaching of the Greater [Vehicle], the son would be “helpless with agony, falling [to earth].” So he simply suspended the transformative teaching of the Greater [Vehicle]. The son was then “brought to.” [The phrase] sprinkling him [with cool] water expresses this. The statement that “the messenger said to the son, ‘I am now letting you go”‘ also is a provisionary (or metaphorical) statement.

The rich man, who was sitting on the lion-like seat, recognized him at first sight as his son. He was delighted. He thought, ‘Now I have found the person to whom I can transfer my treasures and storehouses. I have been thinking of my son all this time, but I have had no way to find him. Now he has come by himself all of a sudden.

Past conditions became reactivated in a subtle way: it is like [the father] “seeing his son.” Although he (the son) again felt like turning away, he was bound to realize afterwards the Greater [Vehicle]. For this reason, [the father was] “greatly pleased.” The profoundly subtle triggering-mechanism arrived in a subtle way, although he did not realize this; thus, “quite suddenly, he came of his own accord.”

“He immediately dispatched a man standing beside him to quickly bring back the poor son.

The sixteen feet tall was not “that by which the Buddha was” he was, as it were, “an attendant.” The “attendant” wanted to set forth the teaching of the Greater [Vehicle]: he thus “dispatched” a messenger. “Going” to the Greater [Vehicle] was the first thing to do: it was [something) “to follow.”

The messenger ran up to the poor son and caught him.

The wondrous Dharma of the Greater Vehicle is li, which grasps them firmly. li does not allow any lapse; it is something that requires “running.”

The poor son was frightened. He cried, ‘You Devil! I have done nothing wrong. Why do you catch me?’

[The Buddha’s] appearance was not what the son originally had anticipated: he was “alarmed.” It greatly offended his feelings, and he “cried out resentfully,” [because] it was like “committing no offense” and yet ending up seized.

“Seeing the exceedingly powerful father, the poor son was frightened. He regretted that he had come there.

The li of the “father” is able to suppress the son’s emotion: it has “great Power.” What he was afraid of, the suppression of emotion, is what fear symbolizes. The subtle triggering-mechanism for embracing the Greater (Vehicle) actively contacted (“struck”) the Sage: he “had seen his father.” But his feelings deluded and blinded his mind, being still unable to receive “the Greater”; he “regrettcd having come to that place.”

He thought, ‘Is he a king or someone like a king? This is not the place where I can get something by labor.

The subtle triggering-mechanism for the “Greater” [Vehicle] was not yet manifest. [Therefore the Buddha] set forth a wide variety of (provisionary) expressions.

I had better go to a village of the poor, where I can work to get food and clothing easily.

The three spheres are “poor villages.” Practicing the five precepts and the good virtues, and seeking the pleasure of men and gods (devas) are “easy to obtain.”

If I stay here any longer, I shall be forced to work.’ Having thought this, the poor son ran away.

By “staying long,” he certainly would be made to practice the path of the Greater. By being caused to practice the path of the Greater, he would certainly have to work for the sake of [other] beings. One who works for the sake of [other] beings does not [ascribe] the merit to himself (“me”). One who does not [ascribe] the merit to himself (“me”) is made to see [the Greater] and is “coerced,” [this is] what “others [are coerced to] work” means, which is [the antithesis] of “I [may be coerced to] work.” He has thus quickly “run off” to the antithesis of worldly pleasure, where the calamities have quickly stopped.

At that time the poor son, who had worked at various places as a day worker, happened to come to the house of his father. Standing by the gate of the house, he saw his father in the distance.

He practiced good [deeds] in his past stations of life in order to obtain worldly pleasures; he “hired himself out as a laborer.” But in reality what he received was not good. Therefore he followed his past conditions: he “reached his father’s house.” The discourse of the Greater Vehicle is “the father’s house.” The place where he is made to appear is the “gate.” His original conditions would have made him enter [the gate], but his emotion led him not to do so. Therefore he hesitated at the side of it.

His father was sitting on a lion-like seat, putting his feet on a jeweled footstool.

Their past conditions enabled them to see the intent of what was said of the Greater Vehicle: they “saw in the distance [their] father.” li as the Dharma-body (-kāya) [can] place itself [anywhere] fearlessly (or securely) [abhaya]: [it isl “seated on a lion throne.” He had his feet resting always in the unconditioned (wu-wei); he had his “feet resting on a jeweled footstool.”

Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and householders surrounded him respectfully.

All these gods (devas) hold in themselves pride and arrogance, but they all serve [the Buddha] as their master, because [his] li has subjugated them.

He was adorned with a necklace of pearls worth ten million.

There is not any form [of him] that is not Dharma; hence, his bodies are adorned with the Dharma-treasures.

The secretaries and servants were standing on either side of him, holding insect-sweepers [in their hands] made of white hairs.

Like the “hands” of faith holding the teaching, they held the dusters of wisdom free from depravities, which are meant to “attend on their left and right” and brush off dust and stupidity.

He was exhibiting treasures and engaging in trade.

[The Buddha] had the external mark of the Dharma laid bare, making sure that they obtained it. They obtained it, and so the doctrine became their property: it was “given and received.”

“The poor son, having wandered from town to town, from country to country, from village to village, came to the city where his father was living.

Past conditions led [him] toward the city where “his father” was staying: li is [what is to be] “reached. ”

The father had been thinking of him for more than fifty years since he had lost him, but never told others [that he had a missing son]. He was alone, pining for his son.

Compassion [arose in the Buddha], thinking they might go astray from li. Yet the “sons,” after receiving the teaching, were lost and immersed in the five forms of existence: this is [the meaning of] “fifty years. ”

[never told others] This means that [the Buddha] never mentioned to others that the two vehicles would achieve Buddhahood. The Buddha’s Great Benevolence was originally aimed at uprooting the suffering [of others], but as they enjoyed birth and death, the true transformative teaching was then turned backward. Here arose the necessity for the exigency of the three. The three [were presented] in accord with the subtle state of their (beings’) minds, and thereafter he would be able to produce the One for them.

[The Buddha] regretted that the earlier transformative teaching was not intensive, with the result that they (beings) returned to delusion and transmigration (saṃsāra). Entirely out of compassion he devised all-round, [provisionary] expressions.

He thought, ‘I am old and decrepit. I have many treasures. My storehouses are filled with gold, silver, and other treasures. But I have no son [other than the missing one]. When I die, my treasures will be scattered and lost. I have no one to transfer my treasures to. Therefore, I am always yearning for my son.’ The father thought again, ‘If I can find my son and give him my treasures, I shall be happy and peaceful, and have nothing more to worry about.’

[The words] old and decrepit refer to [the Buddha’s] last stage of incarnation. [The statement] we have no son means that [the Buddha] has not yet said that the two vehicles will attain to the Buddhahood. [The Buddha] worries that there is nobody to whom to bequeath the treasure of the unexcelled Dharma.

Suppose there lived a man [in a certain country]. When he was a little boy, he ran away from his father.

The first paragraph, which explains what father and son stand for. Formerly when they as bodhisattvas received the transformative teaching, the li of teaching was the One. The One came from the Buddha; it was the “son,” and the Buddha is identical with the “father.” The process of teaching began like that: it was “young in years.”

The process of the transformative teaching began very early, not yet bearing fruit. He returned to the depth of worldly delusion, and delusion rode [over] the right path. All [the achievements of] the transformative teaching also were gone. This is the implication of “forsaking his father and running off.”

[The boy] lived in another country for a long time, say, for ten, twenty or fifty years.

The self-soness (tzu-jan) of the transformation of sphere is “native land.” The perversion of the [cycle of] birth and death (saṃsāra) is “another country.” It was a long period of departure from the transformative teaching and he stayed there as a human [in saṃsāra]”: he “dwelt” [there].

[The word] five [of fifty or five tens] refers to the five forms of existence. [The word] ten means “dwelling long.” It is not definite; hence, or.

As time passed by, he became poorer [reduced to destitution]. He wandered about all [four] directions, seeking food and clothing.

It is a long time since he abandoned the transformative teaching; he “grew old.” He stumbled in [the cycle of] birth and death”; he was “reduced to destitution.”

He wandered through all the five forms of existence; no place was left unvisited: he “ran about in all four directions.” Growing old, he sought after the joy of the Greater [Vehicle] and that of [the] parables; being in the state of destitution, he sought after the joy of the Lesser [Vehicle].

“While wandering here and there, he happened [gradually] to walk towards his home country.

One does not suddenly receive the retribution of delusion: it is “gradual.” He was advancing gradually toward a nonoriginal place: he was [in the state of] “wandering.” Responding to the force of the transformative teaching, he went back toward enlightenment; he “[happened” to head gradually toward his native land.” He was led by unseen conditions to come [back], but it was not what he intended; hence, happened.

At that time his father stayed [midway] in a city [of that country]. He had been vainly looking for his son ever since.

The second paragraph demonstrates that he (the father) was incarnated as the Buddha in order to preach the doctrine of the three vehicles. The Buddha, having transformed himself and accumulated [meritorious] deeds, had always wanted to seek his sons who might have fallen into [the cycle of] birth and death. This ended badly, as [the Buddha was left] “without finding” them. His sons, having yielded to past conditions (pratyaya) [which were] bound to reach them [soon], had become attached to the pleasure of birth and death and had developed emotional inclinations of a direction different from those they had originally had. Their “father,” in responding to them, condescended to become a Buddha. The trace stopped short of reaching the real: it “stopped midway.” The li of the One Vehicle can ward off what is wrong; it is the “city.” [All beings from] the ten directions have converged on the transformative teaching: [in that sense] they are “one.”

He was now very rich. He had innumerable treasures. His storehouses [treasure houses] were filled [to overflowing] with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, amber and crystal.

Even though he is the Buddha in human form, li encompasses all dharmas. This means that it is rich with the treasure of the dharmas, which is inexhaustible.

The seven sacred treasures cannot be spied on [for stealing]: they are “[in] treasure houses.” li surpasses words: it is “filled to overflowing.”

He had many servants, clerks, and secretaries. He also had countless elephants, horses, carts [carriages], cows, and sheep.

The heretics (tīrthikas) are “attendants”‘ the devils (māras) are “servants.” They are destined to return and follow the transformative teaching: this is what attendants and servants imply. The bodhisattvas are “assistants,” helping spread the right transformative teaching. The voice hearers are “officers,” warding off and restricting the false and wrong. The multitudinous beings in the three spheres are “vassals”; the Buddha is the king who controls them. Elephants and horses, oxen and sheep refer to the meritorious virtues of the three vehicles and “five supernatural powers.” As for carriage, it means that li penetrates everywhere.

He invested his money [profits that flowed in and out] in all the other countries, and earned interest. He dealt with many merchants [and traders] and customers.

The transformative teaching is what “out” refers to. Out of the transformative teaching they went: hence, “the profits that flowed.” “The profits,” belonging to the transformed throughout the five forms of existence, “filled other countries.”

The bodhisattvas received the Dharma to transform [all beings in] the ten directions: they are “merchants and traders.”

They felt like dancing with joy, rose from their seats…

The next three [statements] describe why they are pleased. [In the paragraph] from [the clause] “[we], who were at the head of the saṃgha” to [the phrase] “made no effort to seek Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi (unsurpassed, complete enlightenment),” they told [themselves] that they “had already attained” realization, and felt that they did not hope for anything further. [This is] the first [statement].

You have been expounding the Dharma for a long time.

[This is] the second [statement]. In the past they heard the Buddha preaching the Prajn͂āpāramitā Sūtras. Hearing them preached, they became “tired and idle,” thinking solely of “emptiness” (śūnyatā) and “signlessness” (animitta), and giving up forever the will to transform the minds of living beings through the purity of the Buddha-land.

We elders of the Saṃgha were already old and decrepit [when we heard of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi].

[This is] the third [statement]. They are already approaching the last stage of life, advanced in age. Being advanced in years, [“when the Buddha instructed bodhisattvas”] in the unexcelled path, [in their words], “this did not arouse in us the least thought of desire.”

But now we are very glad to hear that you have assured a Śrāvakas of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi. We have the greatest joy that we have ever had. We have never expected to hear such a rare teaching all of a sudden. How glad we are! We have obtained great benefits. We have obtained innumerable treasures although we did not seek them.

The aforementioned three [statements] refer to the faults caused by self-esteem. Now, as they suddenly hear the voice hearers receive the prophecy, their hearts are filled with joy but with no self-esteem. Thus, “the immeasurable amount of precious treasures, unsought by us, of themselves” have reached [them]. The meaning of their joyfulness is shown here.

“World-Honored One! Allow us to explain our understanding by telling a parable.

The men of the Lesser Vehicle from the beginning had no great hope; they had hope only in the two vehicles. Again for the sake of them a parable is devised. This part, divided into three paragraphs, illustrates what “the immeasurable amount of precious treasures, unsought by us, of themselves have come into our possession” means. The first [paragraph] shows that formerly when they were in the place where twenty thousand Buddhas were, they were ignorant of the path of Śākyamuni. This formed the relationship of father and son. The second [paragraph] explains that their spiritual triggering force grew so profound and manifest that Śākyamuni deigned to respond to them, preaching the doctrine of the three vehicles. The third [paragraph] discusses the purport of the One ultimate of the Dharma Blossom. This allows, as a secondary effect, the Buddha’s idea to be manifested and helps them, as an immediate effect, to verify what they have heard.

Thereupon the men living the life of wisdom: Subhūti, Mahā-Kātyāyana, Mahā-Kāśyapa, and Mahā-Maudgalyāyana felt strange because they heard the Dharma from the Buddha that they had never heard before, and because they heard that the World-Honored One had assured Śāriputra of his future attainment of Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi.

As a departure from what was mentioned as three, now they have heard that they are [in reality none other than] the One, and then [have witnessed] [the Buddha’s] granting Body-son the prophecy [of his future enlightenment to] the unexcelled Tao. They heard these words directly pronounced by the Buddha, which they had never heard before. Thanks to this they realized it themselves. What they have attained is something beyond what they had expected; (naturally,] their happiness is double.

Chapter 4: Understanding by Faith
Although the four eminent voice hearers have attained to enlightenment through the parable, it seems that their traces have not been thoroughly examined because they have become enlightened just lately. Therefore, they tell themselves [the parable of] “the poor son” in order to [examine and] display their understanding. Their understanding must be thoroughly examined, which is then called belief and understanding. Again, also illustrated here is the process (tao) of the three turned One.