法華玄論 6.18

6.18

Answer: Subduing afflictions or severing afflictions—the various schools differ on this. The Sautrāntikas say they subdue afflictions, while the Sarvāstivādins say they sever afflictions; one should not exclusively adopt one. Furthermore, the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra itself expressly states that non-Buddhists sever afflictions, not that they subdue them. In addition, the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa and the Mahāyānasaṃgraha both state that non-Buddhists sever afflictions and should not be said to subdue them. Furthermore, the Mahāvibhāṣā says, 'Kātyāyanīputra was a great arhat of the three clarities and six supernatural knowledges, and the five hundred commentators were also arhats.' Nāgārjuna rebuked them, saying, 'In the eight skandhakas you have errors everywhere; how much less can you be said to understand the meaning of the Mahāyāna?' The arhats answered, 'Upon hearing the Mahāyāna, our minds have no faith at all.' If an arhat incurs faults upon hearing the Mahāyāna, how could he know it spontaneously without having heard it? Furthermore, after the Buddha's extinction, the five hundred sects hearing that the Mahāyāna Dharma is ultimate emptiness felt as if a knife had wounded their hearts; how much less could they immediately believe upon hearing of the eternal? How could they be able to know the eternal? Furthermore, the 'Parable of the Conjured City' chapter states: 'When the Buddha Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū preached the Lotus Sūtra, the sixteen bodhisattvas immediately faithfully accepted it, while among the assembly of śrāvakas there were some who faithfully accepted it and some who did not.' When arhats encounter a Buddha and hear the Lotus Sūtra, there are still those who believe and those who do not yet believe; how could they know it spontaneously without hearing it?