大般涅槃經集解 41.48

41.48

Sengliang comments: All Buddhas are endowed with both pure and impure lands. When a Buddha is in an evil land, he sets forth the teachings of the three vehicles, first the shallow and later the deep, gradually eliminating various evils; hence it is called a treasury.
Sengzong comments: Regarding whether this sūtra existed at the time of Krakucchanda Buddha or not, the principle was established above, and now he answers the question. Could it be absent at the time of Krakucchanda Buddha? The reason the teaching was not transmitted was that the people's faculties at that time were easily awakened and their afflictions were few; without relying on verbal teaching, they could naturally contemplate the profound meaning deeply. One cannot let the eternal principle also be lost merely because people did not transmit it. Because the sentient beings of this present world have many afflictions, this sūtra must be preached. 'If there are sentient beings who mistake the self for non-self' identifies such persons. It is precisely because there are such persons whose delusions are dense and heavy that the eternal teaching is needed to instruct their minds.
Baoliang comments: It is not a question of whether it existed or not; rather, because the eleven divisions did not make it clear, it is considered to have perished.