Now the rich man became ill. He knew that he would die soon. He said to the poor son, ‘I have a great deal of gold, silver, and other treasures. My storehouses are filled with them. You know the amounts of them. You know what to take, and what to give. This is what I have in mind. Know this! You are not different from me in all this. Be careful lest the treasures be lost!’

They already knew that [the Buddha] had preached various sūtras of the Greater Vehicle, such as when, [for instance], he ordered Subhūti to preach the Prajña(-pāramitā Sūtras) so that all might be taught that it was their own property.

“Thereupon the poor son obeyed his order. He took custody of the storehouses of gold, silver, and other treasures, but did not wish to take anything worth even a meal from them. He still stayed in his old lodging. He could not yet give up the thought that he was base and mean [lowly and inferior].

Although he received what he was entrusted with, he did not yet realize that it was his own property. He felt, therefore, [lowly and inferior].

“After a while the father noticed that his son had become more at ease and peaceful, that he wanted to improve himself, and that he felt ashamed of the thought that he was base and mean. The time of the death of the father drew near. The father told his son to call in his relatives, the king, ministers, kṣatriyas, and householders.

This is the third paragraph. His mind became open, and the incipient, subtle triggering-mechanism for embracing the Greater [Vehicle] was manifested. Following this [the father] gathered his kinsmen, announcing to them that he was his son: this refers to the preaching of the Dharma Blossom Sūtra.

When they all assembled, he said to them, ‘Gentlemen, know this! This is my son, my real son. He ran away from me when I lived in a certain city,

This refers to the place where formerly two trillion [future] Buddhas received transformative teaching. The merits of the transformative teaching had not yet matured, and he forsook “me” and ran off to hide himself in the three spheres.

and wandered with hardships for more than fifty years

He drifted through the five forms of existence, ready to taste “loneliness” and “hardship.”

“World-Honored One! At that time the poor son was very glad to hear these words of his father. He had the greatest joy that he had ever had. He thought, ‘I never dreamed of having this store of treasures myself. It has come to me unexpectedly.’

The preceding three paragraphs explain how the unsurpassed treasures reached him of themselves. Here this meaning is clearly shown.