妙法蓮華經文句 1.36

1.36

Explaining according to the teachings: the sūtras state that the Buddha-dharma of the three times is always 'Thus' at the beginning. The prior Buddhas had gradual, sudden, secret, and indeterminate sūtras; under the gradual there were further the Tripiṭaka, shared, distinctive, and perfect teachings. The present Buddha is also like this; as the various sūtras differ, their 'Thus' also differs; one should not use a single key to open all doors. Furthermore, that the two texts of the Buddha and Ānanda do not differ is 'as' (ru); that the expresser expresses that which is expressed is 'such' (shi). Now, what kind of text does Ānanda transmit from the Buddha, and what kind of 'such' does he express? One cannot transmit the sudden 'such' by means of a gradual text, nor express the perfect 'such' by means of a biased text. If the transmission and expression are mistaken, then the text is not 'as'; if the text is not 'as', then the principle is not 'such'. This meaning is difficult to comprehend and requires careful, meticulous examination.