大般涅槃經義記 7.327

7.327

上明善友，「以是親」下明近有益，次明聽法，先問、後辯。辯中，初先正明聞法得近涅槃，「我處處」下引說彰益。前中經文有五復次，初一法說，後四喻況。法中，初言「以聽法故則具信根，乃至佛果」明聽有益，「是故」下結，是中正明由聽得佛，「噵須陀」等乘以論之。

Above, [the sūtra] explained the good spiritual friend; from "by being close to..." onward, it explains the benefit of being close to [them]; next, it explains listening to the Dharma, first questioning and then explaining. Within the explanation, it first directly clarifies that hearing the Dharma allows one to draw near to nirvāṇa; from "In various places I..." onward, it quotes teachings to reveal the benefits. Within the former part, the text of the sūtra has five iterations: the first is an exposition in terms of dharmas, and the latter four are metaphorical illustrations. Within the exposition in terms of dharmas, the initial statement, "Because of listening to the Dharma, one becomes complete in the faculty of faith, up to the fruit of buddhahood," clarifies that listening is beneficial; from "Therefore..." onward is the conclusion. In this, it directly clarifies that one attains buddhahood by listening, discussing this by drawing upon [such attainments as] "the stage of srotāpanna" and so forth.