大般涅槃經義記 4.3

4.3

In the second teaching, the text is divided into four sections: first, addressing the one-sided views of annihilation and permanence held by ordinary beings, it explains the duality of the characteristics of dharmas; second, from 'ordinary beings have no doubt therein' onward, addressing and dispelling ordinary beings' two views of existence and non-existence, it explains the non-duality of the principle; third, from 'if one speaks of suffering' onward, addressing the one-sided views of the two vehicles, it explains the duality of marks and reality; fourth, from 'if one says ignorance conditions actions' onward, addressing and dispelling the two vehicles' dual views of differentiation, it explains the non-duality of reality. What is the difference between the two 'dualities' in the first and third? The first proclaims the duality of the dharmic characteristics of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa; the third proclaims the duality of the dharmic characteristics of causes and conditions versus their real nature. What is the difference between the two 'non-dualities' in the second and fourth? In the second section, it proclaims that the dharma-nature is non-dual with respect to existence and non-existence; in the fourth section, it clarifies that its real nature is non-dual between earlier and later, just as the bovine flavor in milk, curds, and so forth is non-dual, and simultaneously reveals that the marks and reality of all dharmas are non-dual.