維摩經略疏 1.65

1.65

問：聲聞經說須依念處。摩訶衍教無生入道，豈須念處有所觀耶？答：大乘有無生無量無作念處，若離此三則無正觀。但佛教雖多不出半滿，生滅念處即是半字，三種念處即是滿字。半枯滿榮，枯榮中間得見佛性，住大涅槃名諸佛法界。出念處外無入道法，故佛遺囑令依念處。

Question: The Śrāvaka sūtras say one must rely on the stations of mindfulness. But since the Mahāyāna teaching enters the path through non-arising, does it really require the stations of mindfulness to have something to contemplate?
Answer: The Mahāyāna has the non-arising, immeasurable, and unconditioned stations of mindfulness; if one departs from these three, then there is no correct contemplation. Although the Buddha's teachings are many, they do not exceed the partial and the complete: the stations of mindfulness of arising and perishing are the partial word (half-letter), while the three kinds of stations of mindfulness are the complete word (full-letter). The partial is withered and the complete is flourishing; between the withered and the flourishing, one sees the buddha-nature and abides in the great nirvāṇa, which is called the realm of phenomena of all buddhas. Outside the stations of mindfulness there is no method for entering the path; therefore, the Buddha's testamentary bequest instructed them to rely on the stations of mindfulness.