七子

Từ Điển Thuật Ngữ Phật Học Hán Ngữ

The parable in the Nirvana Sutra of the sick son whose parents, though they love all their sons equally, devote themselves to him. So does the Buddha specially care for sinners. The seven sons are likened to mankind, devas, sravakas, pratyeka-buddhas, and the three kinds of bodhisattvas of the 藏, 通 and 別教.