大般涅槃經義記 1.12

1.12

The sūtra is that which expresses. The correct sound in foreign lands is sūtra, which is translated here as "thread" [or "warp-string"]: because it can thread through all marks of dharmas just as a thread strings flowers, it is called a thread by way of metaphor. As for saying "scripture" (jing): a thread can string flowers, and warp-threads can hold the weft; their functions are similar, hence it is also called a scripture (jing). According to worldly glosses, jing means constant: as a dharma of teaching, it passes through the ancient and traverses the present, and being ever-existent, it is called constant.