維摩經略疏 2.43

2.43

Question: How is it known that dhyāna is a designation for the cause? Answer: The Dàzhìdù lùn says that dhyāna is translated here as "cultivation through thought" (cintā-bhāvanā). The Buddha's mental wisdom-mirror is completely luminous—how could it give rise to discursive thought? Being ultimately in the stage beyond study (aśaikṣa), how could one speak of "cultivation"? Furthermore, it is translated as "casting away evil." In the Tathāgata's purely pure wisdom, what evil is there to cast away? Hence the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra says: "One who has something to sever is called a person with superior [attainment] (sottara); one who has nothing to sever is called an unsurpassed person (anuttara)." Therefore, the meanings of discursive thought and so forth all pertain to the cause.