迦叶，譬如三千大千世界，山川溪谷土地，所生卉木丛林及诸药草，种类若干，名色各异。密云弥布，遍覆三千大千世界，一时等澍，其泽普洽。卉木丛林及诸药草，小根小茎，小枝小叶，中根中茎，中枝中叶，大根大茎，大枝大叶，诸树大小，随上中下各有所受，一云所雨，称其种性而得生长。
逐句解释
密云弥布，遍覆三千大千世界，一时等澍，其泽普洽
「药草喻」是《法华经》的第三个大比喻。大云从天而降，将整片大地覆盖，然后降下同一场雨，普润大地上所有的草木。这场雨象征佛陀的教法，或更广义上的佛陀慈悲——它不挑剔，不偏向，平等地降临在一切众生身上。
Dense clouds spread out, covering the entire three-thousand-great-thousand world system. All at once the rain falls in equal measure, moistening everything without distinction.
The great cloud and rain (大云等雨) is one of the most beautiful metaphors in Buddhist literature. The cloud does not hover over only the tallest trees, or rain only on the strongest plants. It covers everything equally — hills and valleys, forests and meadows, wildflowers and weeds. This is the image of the Buddha's compassion (慈悲): it is not selective. Every being, regardless of their spiritual capacity or past karma, receives the same rain of Dharma. The sutra is making a point about the fundamental equality underlying all apparent differences in spiritual progress.
小根小茎……大根大茎……随上中下各有所受
虽然下的是同一场雨，小草、中木、大树各自吸收的水分不同，按照自己的根性和容量生长。这说明：佛法的平等，不是结果的一致，而是机会的平等。每个众生都得到了完整的教法，但每个人根据自己当下的根器，吸收不同的部分。
Plants with small roots, stems, branches, and leaves; those of medium size; and those with large roots and trunks — each according to its upper, middle, or lower nature receives its portion, and grows from the one rain according to its own kind.
This is one of the Lotus Sutra's most nuanced observations about the nature of spiritual teaching. The rain is the same — one Dharma, given equally. But the plants are different, and they absorb different amounts. A grass seedling and an ancient oak both drink the same rainwater, but the oak draws far more. Neither is being cheated; both are receiving exactly what their current nature can use. Applied to human beings: a practitioner at the beginning of the path and a bodhisattva near full awakening hear the same teaching, but their capacity to receive it differs vastly. The teaching is always perfect; the reception varies. And all of them grow.
如来亦复如是，出现于世，譬如大云起，以大音声，普遍世界天人阿修罗
佛陀在这里直接点明比喻的含义：他出现于世，就像那片大云。他以洪亮的声音向天、人、阿修罗等一切众生宣说，没有任何例外。他自称「如实知见三界之相」——他看到轮回的真实状态，看到每一个众生的处境，然后选择说法。
The Tathagata is just like this. He appears in the world like a great cloud rising, and with his great voice he speaks to the whole world — gods, humans, asuras — moistening all dry and withered living beings so they can escape suffering and find peace.
The Buddha makes the allegorical correspondence explicit: he is the cloud; his teaching is the rain; all beings are the plants. The phrase "dry and withered living beings" (一切枯槁众生) is unexpectedly tender — it acknowledges that beings arrive at the Dharma depleted, worn down by suffering and confusion. The rain doesn't judge them for being dry. It simply falls. The sutra also specifies the audience: gods, humans, and asuras (修罗) — beings across the entire cosmological spectrum. No category of existence is excluded from the Buddha's teaching.
我知是众生，有种种欲乐，深心所著……随其所堪，而为说法
佛陀说：我了解众生的不同欲望、习气和执著，因此根据每个人的承受能力来说法。这是整部《法华经》方便论的最清晰表述：法是一，但教的方式因人而异。佛陀从不强迫，也从不简化真理——他只是找到每个人能进入的门。
I know these living beings have various desires and deep attachments. According to their natures and capacities, I teach the Dharma in different ways, so each is able to hear what suits them.
This verse is the Lotus Sutra's most explicit statement of the teaching principle behind "skillful means." The Buddha's knowledge of each being's inner life is total — he sees their desires, fears, habits, and capacities. This is not manipulation; it is the deepest form of attentiveness. A truly great teacher doesn't give the same lesson to everyone; they see each student clearly and offer exactly what is needed. The rain analogy holds: the rain is always the same water, but it falls on different soil, in different amounts, with different results. The Dharma is always the same truth, but it meets each being in the form they can receive.
总结 · Summary
「药草喻」用一场雨、万种植物的画面，说明了两件看似矛盾的事：佛法是平等的，同时又是因人而异的。同一场雨落在大树上和小草上，结果不同，但雨从未偏心。这是佛陀慈悲与智慧的完美结合——他看见每一个众生，了解他们的处境，然后以最合适的形式给予。没有人被遗漏，没有人被过度要求。
The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs resolves a paradox that runs through the entire Lotus Sutra: if the Dharma is one and equal, why do different practitioners receive such different teachings? The answer is the rain. One rain, countless plants, each absorbing according to its nature. The equality is in the giving, not in the receiving. The Buddha's compassion is non-discriminating; his wisdom is discriminating — he sees each being precisely and adapts. These two qualities together produce the infinite variety of Buddhist teaching. And like all the great parables of the Lotus, it ends with a promise: all the plants will grow. All the beings will, eventually, be nourished enough to flower.