大方廣佛華嚴經搜玄分齊通智方軌 1.13

1.13

Dividing the text into three means: the preface, the main body, and the dissemination. The preface is the mark of upāya; the main body is the mark of the substance explained; the dissemination is the mark of widespread application. Here, the 'Pure Eye Chapter' is the preface; from the 'Vairocana' [Chapter] onward, the main body is distinguished. The sūtra did not arrive in its entirety, so there is no dissemination. How is this known? The Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā says: 'The Inconceivable Sūtra has one hundred thousand gāthās; this [translation] only has thirty-six thousand gāthās.' Therefore it is known. It could also be said that there is dissemination, namely the text from 'the dust motes of sentient beings' minds' downward. It is merely that when Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna assembled the matters and other places, he abridged it in accordance with the hundred thousand [verses], and thus it is incomplete. If divided according to the meaning of the text, it will be distinguished specifically when reaching that text.