大般涅槃經義記 2.13

2.13

Following these three, the Tathāgata responds individually, which should be noted and understood. In the first [part], there are four sections: first, because the Buddha is now to pass into extinction, [the bhikṣus] inversely praise the past teaching, showing that the Dharma they attained in the past is real and not false; second, from "Just as among the footprints of living beings" onward, they show that their past ability to contemplate and conceptualize was superior and not false; third, from "If the Tathāgata were free from the concept of impermanence" onward, they raise an objection to refute the Tathāgata's meaning of "peaceful abiding", clarifying that the Buddha definitely passes into extinction, thus establishing the truth of the dharma of impermanence in the first section; fourth, from "Just as a farmer" onward, they reiterate their praise of their past ability to contemplate and conceptualize as superior, establishing the superiority of the ability to contemplate and conceptualize from the second section above.