十方佛土中，唯有一乘法，
无二亦无三，除佛方便说。
但以假名字，引导于众生；
说佛智慧故，诸佛出于世。
唯此一事实，余二则非真；
终不以小乘，济度于众生。
佛自住大乘，如其所得法，
定慧力庄严，以此度众生。
自证无上道，大乘平等法；
若以小乘化，乃至于一人，
我则堕悭贪，此事为不可。
《妙法莲华经》
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In all the Buddha-lands in the ten directions,
There is only the Dharma of the single vehicle,
Not a second or a third,
Except what Buddhas teach by skillful means.
Buddhas use provisional expressions
To lead and guide sentient beings;
They all appear in this world
To teach their Buddha’s wisdom.
Only this is real,
The other two are not;
Buddhas do not ultimately liberate sentient beings Through a lesser vehicle.
Buddhas themselves abide in the Great Vehicle,
In accordance with the Dharma they have attained.
Adorned with concentration, wisdom, and powers They liberate sentient beings with the Great Vehicle.
Buddhas have self-realized the unsurpassed path,
The impartial Dharma of the Great Vehicle;
If I used a lesser vehicle to liberate
Even one person,
Thus would I begrudge—
And this could never happen.
The Lotus Sutra
Translation of the scriptural passage referenced Gene Reeves’The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of A Buddhist Classic (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008), 88-89.
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这一段偈里面已经明白地说明，十方诸佛刹土的本质都是唯一大乘，也就是唯一佛乘。佛乘，当然不可能是声闻乘，不可能是缘觉乘，一定不可能只成就阿罗汉果或缘觉果。譬如我们说“佛法”时，就表示不是“声闻法、缘觉法”；如果所修学的是佛法，就表示它是可以使人成佛之法，也表示那是诸佛所证的法。如果他所修学的是只能成就声闻或者缘觉的果位以及智慧，那就不能够叫作佛法，那只能叫作声闻法、缘觉法，因为它不能使人成佛。
《法华经讲义》第三辑，页59
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These verses state clearly that the essence of the Buddha-lands in the ten directions is the one and only Great Vehicle—the Buddha Vehicle.Given that it is named the Buddha Vehicle, it is certainly not the Hearer Vehicle or the Solitary-Realizer Vehicle, and it certainly would not lead only to the fruition of arhatship or pratyekabuddhahood.In the same vein, when we talk about the “Buddha Dharma,” we are not talking about the Dharma for the hearers or solitary-realizers.If it is the Buddha Dharma that we are cultivating, this Dharma understandably leads to the attainment of Buddhahood,as it is the Dharma realized by all Buddhas.If the Dharma we cultivate can only bring us to attain the fruition and wisdom of hearers or solitary-realizers, this Dharma cannot be called “Buddha Dharma.” It can only be called the ?rāvaka Dharma or Pratyekabuddha Dharma.
A Discourse on the Lotus Sutra, vol.3, 59
