Methods of the Buddha 法門

    Dharmaparya^ya. The doctrines, or wisdom of Buddha regarded as the door to enlightenment. A method. Any sect. As the living have 84,000 delusions, so the Buddha provides 84,000 methods法門of dealing with them. Hence the法門海 ocean of Buddha's methods.

   梵語 dharma-parya^ya。即佛法、教法。佛所說，為世之準則者，稱為法；此法既為眾聖入道之通處，故稱為門。佛用「八萬四千法門對八萬四千煩惱」，以便使不同根機的眾生從適合自己的法門而入，除煩惱，了生死。「八萬四千」極言其多，可作無盡無量解釋。如大乘、小乘、頓悟、漸悟、理門、事門等等，都是種種「法門」。