菩薩瓔珞本業經 1.65

1.65

「佛子！若退若進者，十住以前一切凡夫法中發三菩提心，有恒河沙眾生學行佛法信想心中行者，是退分善根。諸善男子！若一劫二劫乃至十劫修行十信得入十住，是人爾時從初一住至第六住中，若修第六般若波羅蜜正觀現在前，復值諸佛菩薩知識所護故，出到第七住常住不退。自此七住以前名為退分。

"Buddha-son! As for retrogression and advancement: prior to the ten abodes, among all the practices of ordinary people, when they generate the mind of sambodhi, there are sentient beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges who learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma within minds of faith and conception—these belong to the wholesome roots subject to retrogression. Good sons! If one cultivates the ten faiths for one kalpa, two kalpas, or even ten kalpas, and manages to enter the ten abodes, at that time, from the initial first abode up to the sixth abode, if one cultivates the correct contemplation of the sixth prajñāpāramitā so that it manifests before oneself, and furthermore encounters the protection of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and spiritual friends, one will emerge into the seventh abode and constantly abide without retrogression. Prior to this seventh abode, it is called the stage subject to retrogression."