法華遊意 1.26

1.26

直往之人久行佛道福德利根，是故前為；迴小入大之人不行佛道薄福鈍根，是故後為。故〈方便品〉云「有佛子心淨柔軟亦利根，無量諸佛所而行深妙道，為此諸佛子說是大乘經」；「鈍根樂小乘法、貪著於生死，於諸無量佛不行深妙道，眾苦所惱亂，為是說涅槃」，乃至「今正是其時，決定說大乘」。故知菩薩利根先聞大道，聲聞淺劣後入佛慧，明既其證也。

Direct persons have long practiced the Buddha Way, possessing merit and sharp faculties, and for that reason he taught them first. Persons who turn from the small to enter the great did not practice the Buddha Way, possessing meager merit and dull faculties, and for that reason he taught them later. Therefore the "Chapter on Upāya" states: "There are Buddha's children whose minds are pure, pliant, and sharp-witted, who in the presence of immeasurable Buddhas have practiced the profound and subtle Way; for these Buddha's children, I preach this Mahāyāna sūtra." And: "Those of dull faculties delight in the Hīnayāna dharma, are greedily attached to saṃsāra, and in the presence of immeasurable Buddhas do not practice the profound and subtle Way; afflicted by a multitude of sufferings, for them I preach nirvāṇa"—down to: "Now is precisely the time; I definitively preach the Mahāyāna." Thus we know that bodhisattvas of sharp faculties hear the Great Way first, while śrāvakas of shallow and inferior [faculties] enter the buddha-jñāna later; the text itself is evidence of this.