新華嚴經論 3.44

3.44

第七時說《涅槃經》令諸三乘捨權向實教者，為餘三乘教中為責慢故、為不信故，說有情畢竟不得成佛，令起信進修行。於此經中明一切有情皆有佛性、如佛無異，但為無明覆故不見。前為三權，末後是實。是三乘中修假真如，及空教三祇之滿極是見性之初門。於中佛與迦葉菩薩問答，亦和會初成正覺時為大菩薩說法界法門時道理故。更有餘同別意，前判教分宗門中已說。《涅槃經》是三乘中捨權就實、相盡見性之門，《法華》即是捨權就實、法界緣起理事性相之門。一部之經俱三乘中第六時教，但為化相門中說時前後，故分《涅槃經》為第七時教，然其智境無有次第、古今時也。

Regarding the teaching of the seventh period, which expounds the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra to cause all three vehicles to relinquish the provisional and turn toward the ultimate: because in the teachings of the other three vehicles, in order to reprove arrogance or address lack of faith, it was said that some sentient beings ultimately cannot attain buddhahood, so as to induce them to give rise to faith and advance in practice. In this sūtra, it is clarified that all sentient beings possess the buddha-nature, no different from the Buddha, but because they are obscured by ignorance, they do not see it. What preceded were the three provisional [teachings], and what comes at the end is the ultimate. In the three vehicles, cultivating provisional suchness and fulfilling the ultimate of three asaṃkhyeya kalpas in the teaching of emptiness is the initial gate to seeing the nature. In it, the dialogue between the Buddha and Bodhisattva Kāśyapa also harmonizes with the principle when he first attained perfect enlightenment and taught the Dharma-gate of the dharmadhātu for the great bodhisattvas. The further purports regarding convergences and divergences have already been explained in the earlier section on classifying teachings and distinguishing tenets. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is the gate within the three vehicles of relinquishing the provisional to take up the ultimate, where characteristics are exhausted and nature is seen; the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra is the gate of relinquishing the provisional to take up the ultimate, of the dharmadhātu's pratītyasamutpāda, principle and phenomena, nature and characteristics. Both sūtras belong to the sixth-period teaching within the three vehicles; it is merely due to the chronological order of exposition within the gate of teaching phases that the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is distinguished as the seventh-period teaching. However, its realm of wisdom knows no sequential order, nor distinction between past and present.