觀無量壽佛經疏 1.8

1.8

As for the characteristics of the teaching: this is subsumed under the Mahāyāna Vaipulya teachings. Responding to capacities and adapting to conversion, there are differences in length: the larger text in two fascicles was translated by Dharmarakṣa in the Yongjia era of the Jin dynasty; this present text was translated in Yangzhou by Kālayaśas in the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty. Both sūtras were preached in the city of Rājagṛha. Furthermore, there is the shorter text entitled Amida, preached in the country of Śrāvastī. "Amida" and "Amitāyus" are local dialects of one and the other. In clarifying the doctrine through the two piṭakas, it is subsumed under the Bodhisattva Piṭaka. As for gradual versus sudden awakening and entry, this is the sudden teaching. It is aimed directly at Vaidehī and her attending maidservants, all of whom were ordinary mortals who had not yet realized the lesser fruits; hence we know that it is sudden, not an entry through the gradual. The title states "Preached by the Buddha," which excludes the four [other kinds of] persons: preachings by disciples, sages (ṛṣis), devas, and transformation persons.