大般涅槃經義記 4.306

4.306

〈長壽〉至此廣明學法，自下第二明其學行。於中先明顯行由序，「聖行」已下正明行體。序中有五；第一迦葉問經功德，如來嘆深，不肯宣說；二大眾偈請「彼迦葉等猶故未至，唯願小住，除斷我疑」，佛答「迦葉及阿難等能斷眾疑，不須我住」；第三大眾以佛不許，謂佛交滅，設供奉佛，佛時現疾，示欲取滅；第四迦葉知眾心殷，請止病言，如來因請，身現無病；第五大眾知佛無病，請佛說法，如來欲說，口現無病。五中，前三望上流通，望後為序，良以望前為流通，故此品明之；後二唯得望後為序，故在後品。

From the chapter "Longevity" up to this point, the dharmas of learning have been extensively clarified; from here below, the second part clarifies the practice of learning. Within this, it first reveals the introductory circumstances for the manifestation of practice; from "Holy Practice" onward, it directly clarifies the substance of practice. In the introduction there are five parts: First, Kāśyapa inquires into the merits of the sūtra; the Tathāgata praises its profundity and is unwilling to proclaim it. Second, the great assembly requests in verse: "That Kāśyapa and the others have still not arrived; we only pray that you remain a short while to eradicate our doubts"; the Buddha replies: "Kāśyapa, Ānanda, and the others can sever the doubts of the assembly; there is no need for me to remain." Third, because the Buddha does not grant [their request], the great assembly supposes that the Buddha is about to enter extinction, and prepares offerings to serve the Buddha; the Buddha at that time manifests sickness, showing that he intends to enter extinction. Fourth, Kāśyapa, knowing that the minds of the assembly are earnest, requests him to stop speaking of sickness; the Tathāgata, in response to the request, manifests no sickness in his body. Fifth, the great assembly, knowing that the Buddha has no sickness, requests the Buddha to preach the Dharma; the Tathāgata, wishing to speak, manifests no sickness in his mouth. Among the five, the first three serve as circulation with respect to what came before, and serve as an introduction with respect to what comes after; precisely because they serve as circulation with respect to what came before, this chapter clarifies them; the latter two can only serve as an introduction with respect to what comes after, and so are in the subsequent chapter.