大般涅槃經集解 41.44

41.44

Sengliang comments: The principle along with words and sentences constitute a sūtra. There are three kinds: first, the name sūtra; second, the phrase-and-sentence sūtra; third, the paper-and-ink sūtra. The people of that time all had powerful memories and did not need paper and ink; therefore the paper-and-ink sūtra perished. 'Is there this sūtra or not?': if there were this sūtra, people should have revered it and the Dharma of the sūtra should not have perished. If it did not exist, then it was not common to all, and one should not say that this scripture is the secret treasury of all Buddhas.
Sengzong comments: Within speech there was an apparent contradiction, which prompted this question. He provisionally sets up two alternatives, intending to hear the principle of non-perishing, which is how he praises the sūtra. If the eternal teaching were always present, one should not speak of perishing; since it perished completely, it should not be eternal.
Baoliang comments: He first makes an inquiry and then frames a dilemma with two alternatives. If the Dharma of Krakucchanda Buddha possessed this eternal sūtra, one could not say it perished in seven days; if it lacked it, one could not call it the secret treasury of all Buddhas.
Zhixiu comments: In the second section, about to reveal the characteristics of flourishing and decline, he first poses a dilemma with two alternatives.