金光明經文句記 1.59

1.59

First, refuting departure. Wishing to clarify the principle of the Perfect [Teaching], [the author] first censures the fault of the Distinct [Teaching]. Although the Distinct [Teaching] speaks of the middle, the middle is exclusively the Buddha realm; although it creates and transforms the causes and effects of the nine realms through transformation, the nine are not inherent in nature, and one must rely on the Middle Way to progressively cut them off completely before achieving the Buddha realm. The Buddha is different from the nine, and therefore it is not called 'thus'; the first contemplation emerges from the conventional, the next contemplation emerges from the ultimate, and upon reaching the third contemplation, one simultaneously emerges from both truths to then realize the Middle Way; because the middle is not identical to the extremes, it is not the meaning of 'right'.